Pipe bands show their stuff at Winter Olympics

Pipers and drummers know that their elite players compete for gold medals, and now huge audiences at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver also know the calibre of our musicians, as 2009 World Champions Simon Fraser University and their cross-town rivals, Dowco-Triumph Street show their stuff as part of the games.

Dowco-Triumph Street is the official pipe band for Olympic curling events, and began their series of daily performances on February 16th at the opening ceremonies of the curling competitions, right after the band performed to open the Canada vs. Norway game earlier in the day.

A Dowco-Triumph Street mini-band will perform three times every day, before each game during the tournament, in which teams from Scotland and Canada are contenders. The band will also play for the women and men’s team medal ceremonies.

In September 2009 Dowco-Triumph Street won the bid to be the pipe band for the Olympics. The band will play a total of 57 times at the Olympics, with five players marching each team onto the ice inside the Vancouver Olympic Center prior to each match. Their performances include the Gold Medal game and medal ceremony immediately following for both women and men on February 26th and 27th.

Also yesterday, Simon Fraser University was the headline act at the Richmond Oval, one of the official entertainment venues on the Olympic grounds. The “O-Zone” main stage presents numerous international and pop music acts throughout the games. The performance was part of a ceremony celebrating successful Dutch athletes at the Holland Heineken House.

In 2008 the Grade 4 Mains of Fintry Pipe Band of Dundee, Scotland, performed at the open ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.