Thank you to all those who have contributed to the debate over the recently announced changes at the Worlds, the main one being the decision to hold Juvenile and Novice grades on the Friday.
I have a few thoughts to share in response. The problem with making the Friday of the Worlds ‘heats’ day – as has been suggested by a number of correspondents – is overseas bands.
By the Editor
They spend thousands of dollars or rand getting to Glasgow. They’re on early in their qualifier at a rainy Green playing to a scattering of spectators and security men in hi-vis. They have a poor run. They don’t make it through. They have no participation on the Saturday with a tasty fish supper and perhaps a warm welcome in a city pub their only consolation.
This can’t be a satisfactory outcome. After travelling long distances these bands deserve to be involved in the Saturday atmosphere, even if it is only to hear their name announced at the March Past.
Win or lose, they have made a contribution to the biggest day in the pipe band calendar and can journey home with a story to tell. So for me, a heats day has too many potential negatives for those planning a trip from overseas.
Moving on, I am concerned that the new Friday rule for Juvenile and Novice bands will favour private schools over state. The former will have no trouble getting the day off; parents are paying for the privilege. Moreover, their summer terms may be more aligned with English schools which are off for most of August.
What about the state school kids? Will head masters and mistresses be just as accommodating? We would hope so. Come August 15th most of these pupils will have only just returned from their summer break. One day off for these young pipers and drummers would hardly be missed during what is always a settling in period in the classroom.
Have the RSPBA asked the Scottish Government’s education department to help with this? You know the answer to that, but a phone call to the education secretary Ms Gilruth would surely be in order.
Lastly on the juveniles, why not offer the Friday winners a spot in the main arena on the Saturday to play their winning set? And make sure they are included in the main prizegiving as well.
None of the above would be necessary if we reverted to a one-day Worlds. I am with Alastair Dunn on this. Do we really need four runs to judge Grade 1? For goodness sake, we only have six G1 band in Scotland these days. Add to them SLOT, SFU and FMM and a few aspiring mid tablers and that is it.
I refuse to believe that eight of our well trained, skilful adjudicators could not come up with a fair result after hearing one MSR and one Medley.
The other grades? Introduce caps as we do in the solos. Max 35 in 4A and 4B, or less if necessary. It would be easy enough to apportion places based on track record at home or abroad.
One taut day of competition followed by a pruned back March Past would do much to restore confidence in the Worlds and the RSPBA – and lessen the possibility of the embarrassing compiling and judging errors of recent years.
Great points, and remember when Grade 1 played in one arena then went straight into final tuning, then into the second arena. (Was it MSR first then Medley?) I am not saying it was perfect but it worked. It’s time things were done for the good of pipe bands and the people that play in them – but don’t hold your breath.
Your article makes loads of sense, Will the RSPBA listen? I doubt it. I can see youngsters on the Friday, their day at the Worlds over at lunch time and nothing to do until the announcements. Young bands work hard all year for their moment of glory and to take this away is bad for the reputation of the event. Youngsters will keep piping alive in the future – treat them a little better.
Well said. Agree with all of that. Surely it can all be done in one day for one main reason. Numbers. Can someone confirm? Surely there cannot be as many bands entering the worlds as there was say for example, 20 years ago. The amount of bands that have folded, including my own, is huge. Grades 1, 2 and 3 for sure, are much smaller than many of us would remember from the past. So why can the contest not be facilitated in one day?