Hamilton games off again
The Hamilton Highland Games, a Champion Supreme event of the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, has been cancelled due to financial problems. The June contest was restarted in 2005 after a hiatus of several years, shutting down in the late 1990s for the same financial reasons.
The contest had been popular with competitors. The 2006 event drew a sizable entry from soloists and bands, and had gained the title “Canadian Championships.”
The 2006 Games had been scheduled to take place on June 23. According to sources, event organizers hope to resume holding the contest in 2008.
After being cancelled in 2006, the Sarnia Highland Games is to resume as a Champion Supreme event on June 16 in Sarnia, Ontario, moving from its previous August time-slot. The Sarnia contest had suffered from a smaller entry due to many Ontario bands focusing on the World Pipe Band Championships.
p|d
What do you think? We always want to hear from our readers, so please use our comment system to provide your thoughts!
Do you have news? Be sure to send your information to pipes|drums. We can’t report what we don’t know about! Please remember to support the businesses that advertise and make the not-for-profit p|d possible.
Will Sarnia be the designated Canadian Championships” for this year???”
I think that some other games, in another part of the country should take up the designation the ‘Canadian Championships.’ Why does everything always have to be in Ontario?
I think the PPBSO has a trademark on it. Besides no other part of Canada has any more than two grade one bands at their biggest contest.
Frank has a point – the Ontario circuit has a lot of grade 1 &2 bands show up… I’m not saying it’s right that suddenly the Canadian Champ series is held in Ontario, but, given the number of bands…. I first remember the Canadian Champ award being announced at the old Fort Erie games… (I’m a young guy – maybe it was awarded before my time as well). But Fort Erie ran into finance trouble, too. Those were good games, in that park. But with the demise of F.E., Hamilton began their games (anew). So there you go – up and down, back and forth. What it says to me is: Look out, the games are in trouble. Scott