Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations goes all online, aims to improve transparency, rules commonality, border crossings

The Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations was formed in 1998 to improve commonality among the continent’s then 10 piping and drumming competition-running organizations, but in recent years has seen activity dwindle.

Prompted by the recent resignation of ANAPBA’s first and only chair after 27 years, Jeff Mann of the Western United States Pipe Band Association, representatives from the now nine associations convened online on December 14th and agreed to hold all future meetings online.

Because each association had been responsible for travel, accommodation, and venue rental, annual ANAPBA membership dues will no longer be collected. Several organizations reportedly stopped attending meetings and stopped paying their ANAPBA membership dues due to financial constraints.

“All pipe band associations will be able to contribute and participate,” said designated ANAPBA spokesperson Jim Sim, president of the Midwest Pipe Band Association. “It was also decided not to have any structured office holders. All [association] presidents will be equal directors.”

“The first order of business going forward will be to try to make band playing requirements as uniform as possible so bands can play in other associations without having to make any changes.” – Jim Sim, ANAPBA spokesperson

Those present at the December 14th meeting agreed “to be transparent to membership and the piping [and drumming] community as a whole.”

Sim added, “The first order of business going forward will be to try to make band playing requirements as uniform as possible so bands can play in other associations without having to make any changes.”

He also said ANAPBA will continue to assist with crossing the US-Canada border, an issue that has been exacerbated in the last year, especially with adjudicators being paid for their work without legally required documents or proof of citizenship. It was agreed that all associations will respect and adhere to respective local rules governing rosters and comply at all times with their own association’s codes of conduct.

Sim later clarified the comment, saying, “It basically means we will abide by our own codes and rules, as well as each other’s, when playing in a different association.”

ANAPBA members:

• Alberta Society of Pipers & Drummers
• Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association
• British Columbia Pipers’ Association
• Eastern United States Pipe Band Association
• Midwest Pipe Band Association
• Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario
• Prairie Pipe Band Association
• Saskatchewan Pipe Band Association
• Western United States Pipe Band Association

All associations except for the Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association and the Saskatchewan Pipe Band Association attended the meeting.

The next ANAPBA online meeting has been scheduled for February.

Canada, the United States, and North America as a whole have not adopted Australia’s structure. As a continent with a landmass similar to North America and separate associations for its six piping- and drumming-rich states, Pipe Bands Australia was created to bring the groups together.

The six associations continue to operate their own events, and Pipe Bands Australia provides national rules, adjudication, and grading; manages the biannual Australian Pipe Band Championships; and acts as a liaison with international bodies such as the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.