32 elite snare drummers in for 2024 World Solo Championships

Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Leading-Drummer Kerr McQuillan will defend his title, Inveraray & District Leading-Drummer Steven McWhirter will go for his twelfth trophy, and all of the other 30 of the globe’s greatest pipe band snare drummers – several of whom have been knocking on the door – will compete for the 2024 World Solo Drumming Championship at Glasgow Caledonian University on Saturday, October 19th.

Each competitor qualified for the semi-final through a series of seven competitions held by the RSPBA in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, the USA, and New Zealand.

The semi-finals will be run in two MSR heats of 16 to determine the twelve who go through to the final. The competitors in alphabetical order:

• Blair Beaton, 78th Fraser Highlanders (Canada)
• Scott Birrell, Canterbury Caledonian Society (New Zealand)
• Blair Brown (Canada)
• Alex Buchanan, Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland)
• Calum Burns, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland)
• Davy Clark, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland)
• Derek Cooper, Ulster Scottish (USA)
• Scott Coyle, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland)
• Glen Creighton, St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Stephen Creighton, St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Eli Fugate, St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Ashley Fyffe, Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland)
• William Glenholmes, Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland)
• David Henderson, Police Scotland & Federation (Scotland)
• Aaron Jess, Ravara (Northern Ireland)
• Jake Jørgensen, ScottishPower (Scotland)
• Ryan King, Police Scotland Fife (Scotland)
• Conor Lawlor, St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Cameron Lawson, Inveraray & District (Scotland)
• Eric MacNeill, City of Dunedin (USA)
• Reid Maxwell, Simon Fraser University (Canada)
• Ewan McDonald, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland)
• Cameron McKail, Peel Regional Police (Canada)
• Gareth McLees, Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland)
• Kerr McQuillan
• Steven McWhirter
• Daniel Mulcahy, St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Fionn Murphy, St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Matthew Shaw, Ravara (Northern Ireland)
• Steven Shedden, Hawthorn (Australia)
• Chloe Taylor, ScottishPower (Scotland)
• Rachel Thom, Inveraray & District (Scotland)

Jim Baxter, Paul Brown, and Gordon Parkes will judge heat one; Greg Dinsdale, Lee Innes, and M. Wilson will judge heat two.

The final calls for MSR and Hornpipe & Jig events, aggregate points determining the result. Judges for the MSR are David Brown, Arthur Cook, Alex Dudgeon and Keith Orr; Gordon Brown, A. Craig, Adrian Hoy, and Brian Martin will judge the Hornpipe & Jig.

Of note, Simon Fraser University Leading-Drummer Reid Maxwell returns to the event after several years of not completing.

St. Laurence O’Toole leads with six of the band’s snare drummers in the semi-final, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia has five, and four from Field Marshal Montgomery are in the contest.

Including the World Solos, points accrued over eight championship events worldwide also determine the RSPBA’s new Adult World Solo Snare Drumming Champion of Champions title. After winning the European, Scottish, British and Intercontinental championships, McQuillan has a commanding lead for the title with 24 points, 12 ahead of St. Laurence O’Toole Leading-Drummer Stephen Creighton, who is in second with 12 points.

The event will also see the 14 tenor drummers compete in the 18-and-older section, in which Cameron Sinclair from Grade 1 Police Scotland Fife will defend the title.

Jim Kilpatrick holds the record for most World Solo Snare Drumming Championships titles with 16.