Gold and Silver Medal competitors, judges allocated for Oban and Inverness

The committee that decides their fate – at least for this year – has informed the 100 or so competitive solo pipers who applied to participate in the Highland Society of London Gold Medal and Silver Medal competitions at the Argyllshire Gathering and the Northern Meeting.

Decisions are predicated on recent success in solo competitions, with events in the UK generally getting more weight. Once a piper wins one of the Silver Medals, they automatically get into the Highland Society of London Gold Medals. Players who toil for a number of years without getting any prizes in the events are usually pushed out. Even some who do get prizes can be dropped to give younger pipers a shot.

To accommodate a larger number of entries in the Clasp piobaireachd competition for Gold Medallists, both the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering reduced the cap on Gold Medal entries to 25. The Inverness Silver Medal is limited to 25, and Inverness is 25. Each event keeps a list of reserves in case someone withdraws, which can often put paid to their chances of getting in the next year.

The Argyllshire Gathering received 39 applicants for the Gold Medal and 43 for the Silver Medal. Northern Meeting numbers weren’t immediately available.

Oban and Inverness will see even fewer female competitors this year, with only Sarah Muir in both Gold Medals and Anna Kummerlow from Germany and Scotland’s Eireann Ianetta Mackay in the Silver Medals.

Highland Society of London Gold Medals

Argyllshire Gathering, Oban

• Calum Brown, Aberdeen, Scotland
• Glenn Brown, Glasgow
• Sandy Cameron, Roy Bridge, Scotland
• Andrew Carlisle, Pittsburgh
• Andrew Donlon, Washington, DC
• Cameron Drummond, Edinburgh
• Ben Duncan, Edinburgh
• Brendon Eade, New Zealand
• Jamie Elder, Auchtermuchty, Scotland
• Nick Hudson, Houston
• Steven Leask, Glasgow
• Alastair Lee, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
• Angus J. MacColl, Oban, Scotland
• Ben McClamrock, Washington, DC
• Cameron McDougall, Nigg, Scotland
• Sean McKeown, Bowmanville, Ontario
• Derek Midgley, Tinton Falls, New Jersey
• Sarah Muir, Glasgow
• John Mulhearn, Glasgow
• Matt Pantaleoni, St. Louis, Missouri
• William Rowe, New Zealand
• Connor Sinclair, Crieff, Scotland
• Innes Smith, Bridge of Allan, Scotland
• Darach Urquhart, Glasgow
• Calum Watson, Edinburgh

Northern Meeting, Inverness, Scotland

• Calum Brown
• Gordon Bruce
• Sandy Cameron
• Andrew Carlisle
• Andrew Donlon
• Cameron Drummond
• Stuart Easton, New Zealand
• Ben Duncan
• Brendon Eade
• Jamie Elder
• Jamie Forrester, Haddington, Scotland
• Steven Leask
• Alastair Lee
• Angus J. MacColl
• Ben McClamrock
• Cameron McDougall
• Sean McKeown
• Derek Midgley
• Sarah Muir
• John Mulhearn
• Matt Pantaleoni
• William Rowe
• Craig Sutherland, Perth, Scotland
• Darach Urquhart
• Calum Watson

Silver Medals

Argyllshire Gathering

• Fraser Allison, Scotland
• Alistair Bevan, Canada
• Ruairidh Brown, Scotland
• Greig Canning, Scotland
• John Dew, Scotland
• Jacob Dicker, Canada
• Bobby Durning, USA
• Andrew Ferguson, Scotland
• Mike Fitzhenry, Scotland
• Steven Gray, Scotland
• Luke Kennedy, Scotland
• Zephan Knichel, Canada
• Anna Kummerlow, Germany
• Dan Lyden, USA
• Eireann Ianetta Mackay, Scotland
• Angus MacPhee, Scotland
• Cameron May, Scotland
• John McDonald, Scotland
• Ashley McMichael, Northern Ireland
• James McPetrie, Scotland
• Ben Mulhearn, Scotland
• Bradley Parker, Scotland
• Jonathon Simpson, Scotland
• Brodie Watson-Massie, Scotland
• Callum Wynd, Scotland

Northern Meeting

• Fraser Allison
• Alistair Bevan
• Ruairidh Brown
• Greig Canning
• John Dew
• Jacob Dicker
• Bobby Durning
• Andrew Ferguson
• Mike Fitzhenry
• Steven Gray
• Luke Kennedy
• Zephan Knichel
• Anna Kummerlow
• Dan Lyden
• Eireann Iannetta Mackay
• Angus MacPhee
• Cameron May
• John McDonald
• Ashley McMichael
• James McPetrie
• Ben Mulhearn
• Bradley Parker
• Jonathon Simpson
• Brodie Watson-Massie
• Callum Wynd

Reserves

The Argyllshire Gathering will be held August 21-22. The first day’s piobaireachd and Former Winners’ MSR contests will be held at indoor venues around Oban, and the rest of the light music will be staged outdoors, rain or shine, at the Argyllshire Gathering Park.

The Northern Meeting is also held over two days, August 29-30, with all events held at indoors at Eden Court Theatre.

Here are the judges assigned from those accredited with the UK’s Solo Piping Judges Association:

Northern Meeting Judges

Thursday, August 29th

Highland Society of London Gold Medal
Ian Duncan, Alan Forbes, Murray Henderson

Silver Medal
Mike Cusack, Ronnie McShannon, Willie Morrison

Silver Star Former Winners MSR
Angus MacDonald, Niall Matheson, John Wilson

A-Grade MSR
Bruce Hitchings, Jim McGillivray, Jack Taylor

Friday, August 30th

Clasp
Patricia Henderson, Iain MacFadyen, Jim McGillivray

Hornpipe & Jig
Murray Henderson, Angus MacDonald, Willie Morrison

B-Grade MSR
Mike Cusack, Ian Duncan, Niall Matheson

B-Grade Hornpipe & Jig
Ronnie McShannon, John Wilson

Argyllshire Gathering Judges

Wednesday, August 21st

Senior Piobaireachd
Murray Henderson, Dr. Angus MacDonald, John Wilson

Highland Society of London Gold Medal
Bruce Hitchings, Ronnie McShannon, Willie Morrison

Silver Medal
Euan Anderson, Jimmy Banks, Bill Wotherspoon

Former Winners MSR
Barry Donaldson, Iain MacFadyen, Bob Worrall

MacGregor Memorial Piobaireachd
Robert Barnes, Mike Cusack, Ian Duncan, Robert Wallace

Thursday, August 22nd
A-Grade March
Ian Duncan, Murray Henderson, John Wilson

A-Grade Strathspey & Reel
Jimmy Banks, Dr Angus MacDonald, Robert Wallace

B-Grade March
Euan Anderson, Barry Donaldson, Ronnie McShannon

B-Grade Strathspey & Reel
Derek Fraser, Bruce Hitchings, Bob Worrall

Jig
Willie Morrison, Bill Wotherspoon

Intermediate/Locals/Juniors
Robert Barnes, Mike Cusack, Iain MacFadyen

Note: An earlier version of this article listed three competitors as playing in the Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal, whereas they are actually playing only in the Northern Meeting event. The story has been corrected. We regret the error.