Peel Regional Police take top grade at chilly but sunny lakeside Cobourg

Cobourg, Ontario – June 18, 2022 – The second in the series of summer Highland games in Ontario was held at the lakeside town of Cobourg under sunny but unseasonably chilly and windy conditions, creating a testing environment for bands and soloists. No Grade 1 bands entered, so Grade 2 was the premier contest, in which Peel Regional Police were the winners. It was the second straight win for the band, after winning Grade 2 at the Georgetown Highland Games on June 11th. The struggling Grade 3 category again saw only two in the contest.

Jacob Dicker of Ottawa was the overall winner in the Professional grade solo piping, where numbers are also down from pre-pandemic levels. Amateur Solo Piper of the Day went to Henry Paluch, and the Professional and Amateur Solo Snare Drummer awards were won, respectively, by Harvey Dawson and Rita DeNobriga.

The Cobourg Highland Games have the distinction of being the only in-person pipe band competition to be held in Ontario from 2020 to 2021, and Cobourg is reportedly  where Elton John and his Canadian husband David Furnish own a home.

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for videos of the Grade 2 contest at Cobourg.

Grade 2 (medley, four competed)
1st Peel Regional Police (1,2,1,2)
2nd Ottawa Police Service (3,3,3,1)
3rd Toronto Police (2,1,4,4)
4th St. Andrew’s College Association (4,4,2,3)
Drumming: Peel Police
Judges: Iain Symington, Brian Williamson (piping); Michael Hunter (drumming); Michael Grey (ensemble)

Grade 3 (medley, three competed)
1st Ottawa Highlanders (1,1,1,1)
2nd Guelph (2,2,2,2)
Drumming: Ottawa Highlanders
Judges: Iain Symington, Brian Williamson (piping); Michael Hunter (drumming); Michael Grey (ensemble)

Grade 4 (march medley, seven competed)
1st Durham Regional Police (2,2,1,1)
2nd Rob Roy (1,1,6,2)
3rd Peel Regional Police (Gr4) (3,3,3,3)
4th London & District (5,5,2,5)
5th Guelph (4,6,5,4)
6th Georgetown (7,7,4,6)
7th Glengarry (6,4,7,7)
Drumming: Durham Police
Judges: Terry Cleland, Peter Sinclair (piping); Daniel Bist (drumming); John Elliott (ensemble)

Grade 5 (march medley, six competed)
1st Ryan Russell Memorial (1,1,3,1)
2nd Ottawa Caledonian (4,2,1,2)
3rd Durham Regional Police (Gr5) (2,3,6,3)
4th Smiths Falls Gordon (3,4,4,4)
5th Peel Regional Police (Gr5) (6,6,2,5)
6th Rob Roy (Gr5) (5,5,5,6)
Judges: Terry Cleland, Peter Sinclair (piping); Daniel Bist (drumming); John Elliott (ensemble)

Professional Solo Piping (nine competed)
Piobaireachd
1st Jacob Dicker
2nd Tyler Bridge
3rd Andrea Boyd
4th Tyler Johnson
5th Callum Harper
6th Caleb Thibodeau
Judge: Bill Livingstone

March
1st Andrea Boyd
2nd Jacob Dicker
3rd Callum Harper
4th Tyler Bridge
5th Caleb Thibodeau
6th Tyler Johnson
Judge: Michael Grey

Strathspey & Reel
1st Jacob Dicker
2nd Andrea Boyd
3rd Tyler Johnson
4th Callum Harper
5th Caleb Thibodeau
6th Tyler Bridge
Judge: John Elliott

Hornpipe & Jig
1st Andrea Boyd
2nd Jacob Dicker
3rd Callum Harper
4th Tyler Johnson
5th Caleb Thibodeau
6th Tyler Bridge
Judge: Bill Livingstone