Category: Blog

Why There Can Be Anomalies in Pipe Band Competition Results – Part 2

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The circle formation for pipe band competitions has remained constant since the early days of the original SPBA.  The concept was based on the principle of the arena allowing bands space to enter and leave whilst also allowing spectators maximum opportunity to see and hear the performances, in effect from three sides of a roughly square arena.  The other principle was to allow bands to march into a circle to…

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Piobaireachd Society Summer School/ Uist & Barra/ Highlands & Islands Festival

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The first Piobaireachd Society Summer School of Ceòl Mòr has now been confirmed. It will be held on the isle of Skye, the home of piobaireachd, from June 26 untuil July 1. The venue is Sabhal Mòr Ostaig the Gaelic medium college situated on the Sleat peninsula which is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. The school is only open to Society members and places are limited to…

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Editor’s Notebook: Florida Academy/ Ukraine Piper/ Helensburgh Band Recruiting/ Tomintoul Losses/ March for Norman/ SPA AGM

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The 2022 Florida Pipe & Drum Academy has concluded successfully with noticeable improvements in performance and knowledge. The school was the first since the ending of lockdown and, in 2019, the last before the pandemic hit. We only lost one year. Organiser Chris McKeown has expansion plans for next year. We finished with a visit to the North Florida games where many of the students competed with success in the…

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CLASP ‘Live Online’ 5th February Competition Results

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This competition took place, ‘Live Online’ using the Zoom platform. Amateur pipers from all over the world joined to compete ‘live’ on Saturday 5th February and captured their live performance using a video recording device, which was later sent to the judges. A special mention to the volunteer online stewards for the day; Gill Cairns, Anna Binder, Sally Mason, Caitlin Houlihan, Megan kenney and Lou Reid.  The next CLASP competition…

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Northern Ireland Pipe Bands Gearing Up for Post Covid Comeback

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The pipe band scene in Northern Ireland is making strides to get going again with bands resuming practices and plans being put in place by the RSPBA NI Branch for the season ahead. The RSPBA NI Branch Meeting took place on Saturday 29th January 2022 via Zoom and a draft contest programme was tabled. At the time only the Mid Ulster (Cookstown) and the Ulster (Ballymena) competitions were confirmed however…

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