I am writing this not as a criticism of any individual organisation, judge or competitor, but because I believe there is a wider issue concerning the development of adult amateur solo piping in Scotland and the pathway from amateur competition into the professional circuit.
I am a Grade 1 CLASP competitor and have progressed through the CLASP grading system from Grade 3 onwards. Like many adult amateur pipers, I have invested considerable time in competing, improving, learning set tunes and attempting to prepare myself for the possibility of eventually moving into the wider competitive piping circuit.
By Adam Aitchison
The more I have competed, however, the more I have become convinced that there is a gap in the current system. That gap is not necessarily the standard of CLASP itself.
Rather, it is the lack of a clearly defined, properly supported pathway between adult amateur piping and CPA/open competition, combined with the increasing reliance on online competition and the lack of in-person CLASP opportunities in large parts of Scotland.
I believe these issues are connected. What is CLASP supposed to achieve? The CLASP has provided something valuable to adult amateur pipers.
For many people who take up piping later in life, or who have not had the opportunity to enter the traditional competition circuit from childhood, it provides a structured competitive environment with grades, league tables, judging and progression.
That is important. However, if CLASP is to function as a means of progression, there needs to be sufficient opportunity for competitors to experience the conditions of traditional solo competition.
At present, that opportunity is increasingly limited, and the means of competition do not wholly emulate that of the Competing Pipers’ Association.
CLASP’s own rules distinguish between non-remote competitions and remote competitions. In-person competitions involve competitors attending a venue, being stewarded through the draw, tuning and performing before a judge.
The rules also specifically provide suitable competition spaces and tuning rooms. Most of these in-person competitions also require players to learn set tunes but online do not.
That is a fundamentally different experience from recording a performance at home. I do not question the value of online competitions. They have made CLASP accessible to competitors around the world and undoubtedly helped the organisation continue to expand following COVID pandemic.
The question is whether online competition should have become such a significant part of the amateur circuit that in-person competition is now the exception rather than the norm.
Online competition does not replicate the conditions of live competition. There are things which simply cannot be replicated by a camera in the home. A live competition requires a competitor to:
- arrive at an unfamiliar venue;
- register and follow an order of play;
- tune in a designated tuning area;
- manage nerves while listening to other competitors;
- walk into a competition room;
- play before a judge in an unfamiliar acoustic;
- perform within the constraints of the draw;
- deal with the pressure of playing when called; and
- perform tunes selected from a set list.
These are competitive skills in themselves. They become particularly important when a competitor reaches Grade 1 and begins considering the transition towards CPA and open competition.
Often players with difficult situations at home, such as having a young family, can make it impossible to use the home for online contests, whereas in-person competitions provide the exact same environments for all, which is also important for parity when tuning our pipes.
Tunes are also submitted weeks in advance for judges’ selection, unlike in-person where you give your tunes as you arrive at the judge’s table. There is also another significant difference.
- To be continued.
