The Scottish Pipe Band Championships at Dumbarton last Saturday completed the first four majors of 2026. The results have been quite variable this year so it is difficult to predict who might prove to be this year’s World Championships winner – there are a variety of factors which might affect the outcome.
Firstly, however, it was pleasing to see the return of the five majors this year, there having been no British Championships in 2025. The RSPBA CEO Colin Mulhern and the Directors can take credit for getting the normal programme back on track, and funding appears to be in place to maintain the Championships for at least the immediate years ahead.
By Alistair Aitken OBE
More still needs to be done, however, to increase the numbers of participating bands. Numbers in Grade 1 have fallen, but there must still be problems in other grades too – overall bands participating in three of the Majors are down on 2025.
The Scottish fell from 133 in 2025 to 117 this year, and the Europeans from 135 to 106. The UKs at Ingliston in 2025 had 65 bands compared to 55 in Belfast this year (albeit that the Northern Ireland venue had fewer Scottish bands participating in view of the cost of travel and some last-minute concerns about security).
The only increase this year so far was at the British with 118 competing bands whereas the last British Championships at Forres in 2024 had 100. In general there must still be some doubts as to whether pipe band numbers across all the grades have returned to near normal following the pandemic.
As I say, the problem relates to Grade 1 as well as to other grades. Much has been made in online comments to the fact that there are now only six Grade 1 pipe bands in Scotland. Views have been divided about the reasons, many thinking that a cap on player numbers is needed as at least one way of solving the problem – most top pipe bands are now double the size they once were.
There have also been online debates about the concept of ensemble; comments about adjudicator differences in placings and positioning when judging; and about the construction of theme-based medleys and dominant harmonies, as well as how traditional tunes are at times outweighed by contemporary ones.
Many of these issues and debates are not new and are likely to remain as pipe band music continues to evolve. Some are concerned about how far the boundaries can be stretched.
Many or some of these debates and issues may have had an impact on the Grade 1 performances and results this year. To some extent the results over the first four Championships have varied significantly. Other contributory factors of course are that two of the Championships have been Medleys, one (the UK) has been MSR, and the requirements at the Scottish were both. Three of the bands – Inveraray, Scottish Power and Ravara – have each missed one Major.
A more in-depth analysis of the Grade 1 results has produced some interesting facts:
Ensemble: There is a reasonable argument to firstly look at the ensemble results to see how they compare with the final band positions. The outcome can of course be affected by variances in piping and drumming, but you would assume that the ensemble placings should either be the same as the final band placings or at least fairly close.
At the British Championships they were exactly the same. In fact the results across piping, drumming and ensemble at the British were very similar. At the Scottish, the ensemble and final results were close to being the same in both MSR and Medley. At the UK and European Championships the differences were greater.
Piping: Based on combining the results of the two piping adjudicators, Boghall & Bathgate and Field Marshal Montgomery are the equal leaders in piping across all four Championships, closely followed by Inveraray (when taking the MSR and Medley sections of the Scottish into account separately). Not far behind are Fife Police, St Laurence and Shotts, so piping has all been very close although varied.
Drumming: Field Marshal won the drumming at the UKs, the Europeans and in the Medley section of the Scottish, Shotts at the British, and St Laurence O’Toole at the Scottish (although the SLOT result was based on being 2nd and 3rd in the MSR and Medley respectively). Boghall & Bathgate won the drumming in the MSR section of the Scottish. Taking into account drumming placings over the four championships, Field Marshal lead Boghall and St Laurence O’Toole in that order. Even with having missed a championship, however, Inveraray are equal in drumming placings with Boghall.
Final Band Placings: The most consistent bands in terms of winners across the four Majors have been Boghall and Field Marshal. Shotts won the first Championship (the British) but have not achieved higher than fourth in the subsequent Championships. Although missing the UKs, Inveraray took first at the Scottish having been placed second in both MSR and Medley.
Based on these statistics it is very difficult to predict what might happen at the Worlds on August 14/15. Seven pipe bands have been in the top six at the Championships to date. At first glance it might be assumed that Field Marshal could have a marginal psychological advantage having won two.
However assumptions about the Worlds can be unwise as there will be a variety of different factors at play. These will include four overseas bands in the mix; all bands will need to play in four separate competitions over the two days (2 x MSRs and 2 x Medleys); and weather conditions (good or bad) could affect some or all of the performances; and there will be 16 different adjudicators across the four competitions.
The way the results have gone this year suggests that the rivalry will be keen and hopefully the cream will come to the top. It is not unusual for there to be a surprise winner. I hope that the World Championships, in all grades, will prove to be a rewarding and enjoyable day of pipe band music for players, spectators and organisers alike.
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