57 bands in for New Zealand Championships March 7-8

The 2025 New Zealand Championships will feature 57 bands overall, including six in Grade 1, 17 in Grade 4B, and 12 in Juvenile, making it possibly the second-largest band contest in the world outside of Scotland.

This year’s “Nationals” are in Invercargill, New Zealand, on March 7 and 8. Several groups, including Grade 1 Hawthorn from Melbourne, will make the long journey from Australia to compete. Fifty-two bands competed in the 2024 New Zealand Championships.

“The next generation of players in Aotearoa New Zealand are coming through in their droves, and to have such a large under-18 entry is testament to the work done by so many bands and teaching programmes right throughout the country,” Royal New Zealand Pipe Bands Association President Liam Kernaghan said in a statement. “It’s encouraging to see new bands entering each year in this grade, and it is always a highlight of the weekend.”

All five New Zealand Grade 1 bands will compete, including reigning New Zealand Champions Canterbury Caledonian Society, whose pipe-major, Jamie Hawke, recently announced the event will be his last with the band.

Here’s the order of play for all events.

New Zealand has a population of 5.25 million, making it the country with the second-highest percentage of Grade 1 bands per capita. It trails only Scotland, which has a slightly larger population and seven Grade 1 bands.

The RNZPBA is importing RSPBA-certified judges again, with Terry Lee from Canada and Scotland’s Paul Turner flying in. Other judges are Stuart Easton, Kernaghan, Ross Levy, Scott Mitchell, Chris Stevens and Brian Switalla.

The event will be live-streamed once again. Kernaghan promised further details and a “few surprises.”

The Chicago Highland Games and the Glengarry Highland Games in Ontario have attracted 60 or more bands in the last decade but have seen a decline post-pandemic.