The Eastern United States Pipe Band Association offers an interesting model on how to create a pathway between amateur and professional grades.
EUSPBA operates competitions across a unified grading structure from novice to professional with players graded according to skill and previous competition results – but I am not suggesting that Scotland simply copies that. The Scottish piping tradition, competition structure and history are different.
By Adam Aitchison
But there is something attractive about having a recognisable competitive ladder, where a competitor can understand what the next level is, what standard is expected and how they get there.
In Scotland, we have CLASP, and we also used to have some other open amateur contests as well until they ceased – and we have CPA and major solo competitions.
We have established judging structures. What seems less clear is the bridge between those elements for the adult amateur piper. We should also be careful about oversubscription
The CPA was originally established partly because major competitions were becoming heavily oversubscribed. Its
subsequent graded structure has helped provide additional opportunities for developing competitors. But that problem has not disappeared.
If there are more competent pipers wanting to enter CPA competitions than there are available places, the solution cannot simply be to allow everyone to enter and hope that the competition itself sorts them out.
We already have the foundations of a better solution: use CLASP to develop amateur competitors; use a formal assessment process to identify those ready to move on; allow the strongest competitors to progress towards A and Premier level.
In other words, make the ladder clearer rather than making the first step into professional competition harder. I believe the following deserve serious consideration by the organisations involved in solo piping:
Consider a board or grading panel to assess progression, not to prevent competitors from progressing, but to ensure that progression. More in-person CLASP/amateur competitions in Scotland, particularly in areas currently poorly served by the calendar, such as Edinburgh and the east of Scotland.
Retain online CLASP competitions but recognise them for what they are and keep them separate. They are an excellent international accessibility tool, but they should complement rather than replace traditional competition, or at least not be treated as the same.
Maintain traditional set-tune competitions as an important part of the amateur development process. Consider a domestic/UK in-person CLASP circuit alongside international online competitions. This could allow overseas competitors to participate remotely without requiring the entire amateur system to conform to the limitations of remote competition.
Establish a recognised CLASP-to-CPA pathway. Grade 1 achievement, competition record and judge feedback could form part of a formal CPA grading application.
This is not an attack on CLASP; I want to make that particularly clear. CLASP has done an enormous amount for adult amateur piping. Without it, many adult pipers would have little or no structured opportunity to compete other than making the immediate jump into the CPA.
The issue is that CLASP has now developed into an international organisation, and that creates competing priorities.
What works brilliantly for an adult piper in North America, Europe, Asia or elsewhere may not necessarily be ideal for a piper living within travelling distance of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth or Inverness. We should not have to choose between international accessibility and traditional Scottish competition conditions which many domestic pipers are currently doing due to home constraints. This is somewhat discriminating and needs further discussion around inclusion.
Ultimately, the question is what we want adult amateur solo piping in Scotland to be. Do we want CLASP to be primarily an international online competition organisation? Or do we want it to remain a genuine developmental pathway for amateur pipers who may eventually wish to compete at a professional level?
If the latter is the ambition, then we need to give competitors opportunities to experience the conditions they will encounter beyond CLASP, and it may be that the CLASP is too small to accommodate these needs
We need to make the transition beyond amateur competition clearer. I would much rather see a competitor spend two or three years progressing through a structured amateur system, learning how to compete properly, building a body of results and eventually entering CPA competition at a grade appropriate to their ability, than see a promising amateur make an enormous jump into open competition and discover, in front of a large field and a panel of experienced judges, players and spectators, that they were not yet ready.
That is not good for the competitor. It is not good for the competition. And ultimately, it is not good for Scottish solo piping. The infrastructure to improve this already exists. What appears to be missing is a coordinated pathway connecting these pieces together. Perhaps the time has come to establish one.
