Jack Lee Amateur Invitational Piping Competition launching in March 2026

The Seaforth Armoury in Vancouver will be the venue for the inaugural Jack Lee Amateur Invitational Piping Competition on March 28, 2026, a new annual contest put on by the British Columbia Pipers’ Association to celebrate amateur piping, piobaireachd, and North America’s all-time greatest all-around piper.

Each competitor will play a 6/8 March of their choice and a Piobaireachd chosen by Lee from “Jack’s List” – his extensive competitive repertoire of tunes played over his long and still active solo career.

Invitations will be sent to the “top-ranked amateur piobaireachd players” from the 2024-’25 BCPA solo piping season, and ultimately, 14 pipers will compete.

According to BCPA President David Hilder, the invitees will be selected based on the previous season’s overall piobaireachd standings within the BCPA, but said that not all invitees are members of the BCPA association or geographical jurisdiction, since pipers routinely travel from afar to compete at BCPA-sanctioned events.

“The Jack Lee Amateur Invitational Piping Competition honours the remarkable legacy of Jack Lee,” Hilder said, “and it also highlights the dedication and artistry of our amateur pipers.”

Players and officials will have to wear a bow tie, and other attendees will be encouraged to incorporate “tartan and bows” in their attire.

“Piobaireachd is a wonderful part of the journey for many pipers,” Lee said. “I encourage pipers at all levels to give it a try. I am delighted to give 100% support to this contest and hope we can continue to encourage piobaireachd playing in our area.”

Jack Lee is the most competitively successful North American piper in history, and, until recently, served as the pipe-sergeant of the Grade 1 Simon Fraser University Pipe Band for nearly 50 years. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from SFU in 2013 and a King Charles III Coronation Medal last year for his services to piping and his community. He was made an Honorary Life Member of the BCPA in 2019.

The Jack Lee Amateur Invitational Piping Competition is the latest event of its kind. The Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational was the first, beginning in 1989, and has been held annually in the northeastern United States. The George Sherriff Memorial Amateur Invitational, identical in format and scope to the Nicol-Brown, was started in 1996. Neither the Sherriff nor the Nicol-Brown are sanctioned by an association.