New World Solo Drumming qualifier coming to British Columbia

The British Columbia Pipers Association is partnering with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association to bring an event that will enable as many as four snare drummers to qualify to compete in the semi-final round of the World Solo Drumming Championship.

The Pacific Rim Solo Drumming Championship will be held on Saturday, April 7th, in Delta, British Columbia, with the top-four prize-winners allowed to play in the World Solos. The competition is part of the BCPA’s Annual Gathering, the organization’s biggest self-run event of the year.

This year, the RSPBA has done away with the grueling initial stages of the World Solos, with only a Semi-Final and Final making up the competition.

The Pacific Rim Solo Drumming Champion also receives the J. Reid Maxwell Medal, and the event will be in addition to an Open Solo Snare Drumming competition that offers an $800 prize for the winner.

Comprising an MSR and Hornpipe & Jig event, the Pacific Rim Solo Drumming Championship is the newest in the series of qualifiers in the UK and United States designed to make for a more equitable and representative World Solo Drumming Championship.

There are six qualifier events:

• Intercontinental Solo Drumming Championship — February 18, Dunedin, Florida
• Scottish Solo Drumming Championship – April 1st, West Lothian, Scotland
• Pacific Solo Drumming Championship – April 7th, Delta, British Columbia
• European Solo Drumming Championship – April 22nd, Scotland (venue TBD)
• British Solo Drumming Championship – August 14th, Glasgow
• United Kingdom Solo Drumming Championship – date and venue TBD

Eligible snare drummers have until March 17th to enter the Pacific Rim Solo Drumming Championships via the BCPA website or their mobile phone.

The 2023 World Solo Drumming Championship will see reigning champion Steven McWhirter compete for his eleventh consecutive World Solo Drumming Championship title and twelfth overall.

The record for most World Solo wins is 16 by Jim Kilpatrick.