Scotland County Games awakens to Wake

Laurinburg, North Carolina – October 2, 2021 – Possibly the largest turnout of pipe bands competing in the Northern Hemisphere since the pandemic started were the Scotland County Highland Games, with warm sunshine, clear skies and Southern hospitality welcoming more than 6,000 attendees and 15 competing bands. Thirteen judges were drafted in to assess 70 solo pipers and drummers of all grades with two concurrent band circles running in the afternoon.

Founded in 2009, the Games were started in response to the discontinuation of the nearby Flora Macdonald Highland Games that had run for 30 years. The games came about in part due to the interest in having a Highland gathering continue in the historical Highland settlement area dating from 1739 with the arrival of the now famed “Argyll Colony.” The event is staffed and hosted by local volunteers from Laurinburg and surrounding counties. Chairman of the event and lifelong stalwart of piping and Scottish heritage in the area is Bill Caudill, who served as Director of the Scottish Heritage Center at St. Andrews University and is instructor of the St. Andrews University Pipe Band.

All North Carolina COVID-19 protocols were adhered to, including temperature checks on entry to the games.

Bands
Grade 3
1st Wake & District (1,1,1,1)
2nd Atlanta (2,2,2,2)
Judges: Peter Kent, Lorne Cousin (piping); Ed Krintz (ensemble); Eric MacNeill (drumming)

Grade 4
1st Chattanooga (1,1,1,1 )
2nd Atlanta (Gr4) (3,4,2,2)
3rd Rosie O’Grady’s Highlanders IV-B (2,2,3,4)
4th Charleston Police IV (4,3,4,5)
5th Clan Lindsay (5,5,5,6)
6th City of Greenville (6,6,6,3)
Judges: Edwin Krintz, Lorne Cousin (piping); June Hanley (ensemble); Eric MacNeill (drumming)

Grade 5
1st Harvey E. Ritch Memorial (1,2,2,2)
2nd Cross Creek (3,4,1,5)
3rd Jamestown V (2,1,6,4)
4th Chattanooga V (6,3,5,1)
5th Queen City Juvenile (4,5,3,6)
6th City of Mount Dora (5,6,4,3)
7th Charleston Police V (7,7,7,7)
Judges: Jerry Finegan, Jim Stack (piping); Barry Conway (ensemble); Jon Quigg (drumming)

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