McWhirter wins fourth consecutive World Solo title

Glasgow – October 18, 2014 – After three initial qualifying heats totaling 53 contestants, two semi-final heats comprising 29, and then a final round of 12, Steven McWhirter of Inveraray & District emerged the 2014 World Solo Drumming Champion at the RSPBA-run event at Glasgow Caledonian University. It was the fourth consecutive win of the award for McWhirter and his fifth title overall. A quarter of the finalists belonged to the St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band of Dublin. It was the first time in nearly 30 years that Simon Fraser University Pipe Band Leading-Drummer Reid Maxwell did not attend the event.

The MSR score is supposed to double the importance as that of the Hornpipe & Jig, and the lowest overall score wins each event and overall. But the RSPBA has used a system in which the MSR score is doubled and then tallied, rather than halved. If the MSR points halved system were used, McWhirter would still be the clear winner, but Blair Brown  would finish second, Michael McKenna third

Overall
1st Steven McWhirter (14)
2nd Michael McKenna, St. Laurence O’Toole (26)
3rd Blair Brown, Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (39)
4th Stephen Creighton, St. Laurence O’Toole (45)
5th Chris McNicol, Inveraray & District (52)
6th Jake Jørgensen, ScottishPower (60)
7th Craig Brown, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (63)
8th Eric Ward, Greater Glasgow Police Scotland (67)
9th Grant Cassidy, St. Laurence O’Toole (68)
10th Jason Hoy, Cullybackey (72)
11th Jonathan Hoy, Cullybackey (96)
12th Grant Maxwell, Simon Fraser University (100)

MSR
1st Steven McWhirter (1,1,3 x 2 = 10)
2nd Michael McKenna (2,3,1 x 2 = 12)
3rd Stephen Creighton (3,4,5 x 2 = 24 )
4th Blair Brown (4,5,6 x 2 = 30)
5th Grant Cassidy (5,2,12 x 2 = 34)
6th Jake Jørgensen (8,9,2 x 2 = 38)
7th Chris McNicol (6,6,8 x 2 = 40)
8th Jason Hoy (7,7,7 x 2 = 42)
9th Craig Brown (10,8,4 x 2 = 44)
10th Eric Ward (9,11,9 x 2 = 58)
11th Jonathan Hoy (12,10,11 x 2 = 66)
12th Grant Maxwell (11,12,10 x 2 = 66)
Judges: Ciaran Mordaunt, David Brown, Jim Baxter

Hornpipe & Jig
1st Steven McWhirter (1,2,1 = 4)
2nd Blair Brown (3,1,5 = 9)
3rd Eric Ward, Greater Glasgow Police Scotland (2,5,2 = 9)
4th Chris McNicol (5,4,3 = 12)
5th Michael McKenna (4,3,7 = 14)
6th Craig Brown (8,7,4 = 19)
7th Stephen Creighton (7,6,8 = 21)
8th Jake Jørgensen (6,10,6 = 22)
9th Jonathan Hoy (12,8,10 = 30)
10th Grant Cassidy (10,11,9 = 30)
11th Jason Hoy (10,11,9 = 30)
12th Grant Maxwell (11,12,11 = 34)
Judges: Joe Noble, Gordon Parkes, Sandy Steele

The MSR score is worth twice that of the Hornpipe & Jig, and the lowest overall score wins each event and the overall championship.

But calculation is made with MSR score doubled, rather than halved, as it should be with a fewer-points-are-better system.

If the MSR points halved system were used, McWhirter would still be the clear winner, but the rest of the overall result would change, thus:

1st Steven McWhirter (9)
2nd Blair Brown (24)
3rd Michael McKenna (27)
4th Chris McNicol (32)
5th Stephen Creighton (35)
6th Eric Ward (38)
7th Jake Jørgensen (41 – MSR pref)
8th Craig Brown (41)
9th Grant Cassidy (47)
10th Jason Hoy (51)
11th Jonathan Hoy (63)
12th Grant Maxwell (67)

The 2013 overall result would have had Barry Wilson second and Blair Brown third several results changed if the MSR were reflected as twice the value by halving the points.

At the prize giving, there was confusion about the accuracy of the final result after the RSPBA issued summary sheets showing the wrong judges on each event. But it was quickly determined that the overall result was correct using the system of doubling the MSR points.