Maxville competition formats change

Through the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario (PPBSO), the setup for several competitions at the North American Championships at Maxville, Ontario’s Glengarry Highland Games, will change beginning in 2004.

The Grade 4 pipe band competition will be conducted in two sections, with between five and six bands from each heat going through to a final. The heats will be held on Saturday morning, probably around 10:30, and the final will likely occur in the mid-afternoon of the same day.

The schedule for amateur solo piping events has also changed. Starting in 2004, all amateur solo piping events – except for the Grade 1 light music contests – will be held on the Friday.

Previously, only piobaireachd events had been moved to take place on Friday. But with some 860 soloists competing at Maxville in 2003, the move has become necessary in order to accommodate the ever-increasing numbers, according to PPBSO president Bob Allen.

All solo drumming and professional solo piping contests will be held on the Saturday.

This year’s North American Championships are scheduled for Friday, July 30, and Saturday, July 31.

The Glengarry Gathering, in terms of numbers of competitors and spectators, is the world’s largest piping and drumming event.

p|d

What do you think? We always want to hear from our readers, so please use our comment system to provide your thoughts!

Do you have news? Be sure to send your information to pipes|drums. We can’t report what we don’t know about! Please remember to support the businesses that advertise and make the not-for-profit p|d possible.