Oban officially cancelled; could hold autumn invitational

The Argyllshire Gathering has confirmed that it will cancel all events, apart from the MacGregor Memorial piobaireachd, which will be held in an online format.

But the Oban, Scotland-based competition left the door open for invitational piobaireachd and MSR contests that could be held in the autumn.

“We are disappointed, but have explored all alternatives,” said Argyllshire Gathering Piping Steward Torquil Telfer. “If possible we would like to hold an invitational Piobaireachd and MSR competition in October or September.”

The Argyllshire Gathering had been scheduled for August 25-26. The competition is seen as the solo piping sister event to the Northern Meeting at Inverness, Scotland. Both competitions hold the Highland Society of London Gold Medal piobaireachd competitions, as well as other prestigious events for the world’s top solo pipers.

The MacGregor Memorial is an event for pipers ages 21 and younger, and is limited to 30 contestants. The closing date for applications was June 30th.

An invitational piobaireachd and MSR event would potentially butt up against the Glenfiddich Championships in October, the de facto World Championship for solo pipers. Glenfiddich organizers have already announced that they will stage the event from Blair Castle in Blair Atholl, Scotland, with 10 invited pipers playing before only judges, the competitions streamed live in pay-per-view format.

The Northern Meeting announced in May that it was cancelling its events outright, saying that “online competition wouldn’t be appropriate for competitions of this level of importance.”

All of the changes to the traditional events are a result of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Related

Glenfiddich going pay-per-view online
June 22, 2020

Argyllshire Gathering takes MacGregor Memorial online
June 17, 2020

Northern Meeting not opting for online; Argyllshire Gathering still scheduled
May 23, 2020