Jono Quay wins A-Grade everything at Victorian Pipers’ Association 2026 season solo piping kick-off

Sunbury, Melbourne – April 18, 2026 – Jonathan Quay of Melbourne won all four A-Grade events at the Victorian Pipers’ Association’s first in-person solo piping competition of 2026. The event was held at Rupertswood Mansion on the grounds of Salesian College in Sunbury, a suburb of Melbourne.

Campbell Wilson was the overall B-Grade winner, and Finely Parsons, Sachindri Rathnayake, and Weston Carey gained the aggregate trophies in the C-, D- and Novice grades, respectively. A total of 41 pipers competed across all grades, a record for a Victorian Pipers’ Association season-opening competition.

The contest was sponsored by the Sunshine Foundation, a charitable foundation created in honour of Hugh Victor McKay, an industrialist in Melbourne during the late 1800s to early 1900s. H.V. McKay founded the Sunshine Harvesters company and had significant involvement with pipe bands, funding the Sunshine Pipe Band, which eventually became the current Victoria Scottish Pipe Band. This year marks the centenary of H.V. McKay’s passing.

The Sunshine Foundation’s sponsorship enabled the Victorian Pipers’ Association to award a prize purse of AUD$2100, distributed across all grades.

Rupertswood Mansion, the venue, was owned by McKay. The mansion has a prominent place in Australian history as the birthplace of the famous Ashes cricket series. The first Ashes test match was played at the cricket ground adjacent to Rupertswood, and the legendary “burning of the bails” and “presentation of the Urn” were held at the mansion.

A-Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Jonathan Quay
2nd Joshua Chandler
3rd Stephen Ross

2/4 March
1st Jonathan Quay
2nd Dan Whelan
3rd Joshua Chandler

Strathspey & Reel
1st Jonathan Quay
2nd Dan Whelan
3rd Joshua Chandler

Hornpipe & Jig
1st Jonathan Quay
2nd Dan Whelan
3rd Joshua Chandler

B-Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Campbell Wilson
2nd Dan Whelan
3rd Craig McKenzie

2/4 March
1st Campbell Wilson
2nd Stephanie Scott
3rd Michael Zhang

Strathspey & Reel
1st Campbell Wilson
2nd Stephanie Scott
3rd Michael Zhang

Hornpipe & Jig
1st Campbell Wilson
2nd Stephanie Scott
3rd Cam Ely

C-Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Finley Parsons
2nd Mike Taylor
3rd Ian Thorn

2/4 March
1st Finley Parsons
2nd Charlie Schaefer
3rd Charli Millar

Strathspey & Reel
1st Finley Parsons
2nd Charli Millar
3rd Charlie Schaefer

Hornpipe & Jig
1st Finley Parsons
2nd Charli Millar
3rd Lyn Vanos

D-Grade
Piobaireachd
1st Isabella Lau
2nd Sachindri Rathnayake
3rd Dylan Tran

2/4 March
1st Sachindri Rathnayake
2nd Isabella Lau
3rd Roger Sinclair

Strathspey & Reel
1st Sachindri Rathnayake
2nd Dylan Tran
3rd Roger Sinclair

Novice
Piobaireachd
1st Weston Carey
2nd Matt McKay
3rd Fergus McKittrick

2/4 March
1st Weston Carey
2nd Fergus McKittrick
3rd Maisie Nield

Slow Air
1st Fergus McKittrick
2nd Weston Carey
3rd Maisie Nield

The judges for the various events were James Easdon, Cam Ely, Matt Gervasoni, Craig McKenzie, Brett Tidswell, Dan Whelan and Robert Wilkinson.