Following our report from the Solo Judges Association last week we received this anonymous comment: ‘In your report on the judging of solo piping there is a reference that judges must not judge their pupils and I understand this has been extended to include genres of pipe music the judge may in fact not teach that individual. ‘It would appear that if she/he teaches him solely ceòl beag, she/he may not…
We are grateful to the reader who forwarded the complete programme from Inverness 1978. We are sure it will jog the memories of all the pipers who were there. Prizes of note include the Gold Medal going to Dr Bill Wotherspoon (Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon), the Clasp going to John MacDougall (MacLean’s March) and the Former Winners going to P/M Angus MacDonald. John was looking to complete the ‘big…
The United Kingdom Pipe Band Championships will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday, 13 June 2026. Securing the fifth major is a significant success for the RSPBA and its Chief Executive Colin Mulhearn and his team. They had come under criticism for not fulfilling the statutory number of championships in 2025, and until now only four had been announced for 2026. These are: British Championships, Ingliston, May 30;…
New Zealand will host fifty-six pipe bands at the 2026 NZ Championships in March, making it one of the largest pipe band competitions outside Europe. Bands will compete over two days at Inglewood on the North Island on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st March 2026. We are delighted with the entries to the ‘Nationals’ – they show the depth and breadth of our teaching and development programmes across the country. By Liam Kernaghan, President NZPBA…
CLASP, the Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers, runs three ‘live online’ competitions each year, writes Margaret Houlihan. This format was introduced in Covid times, but continues to grow in popularity attracting amateur adult pipers to compete ‘live’ from the comfort of their own home and from anywhere in the world. Once the live video performance is captured, these are emailed to the judges for consideration. This gives the judge a visual…
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