Pick The Six! It’s back again with $2,500 in prizes for one canny reader!

Okay, so here are the rules, which you really should read very carefully (we don’t want your entry to be DQed!):

• Readers must submit their entry via e-mail – click here (or send e-mail to editor@pipesdrums.com with “Pick the Six” in the subject line).
• Only one entry per e-mail address (all multiple entries from the same e-mail address will be discarded. So please don’t try to stuff the box.).
• Entries must list the bands in their order of finish – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.
• Submissions must include the sender’s postal address.
• The winning entry must pick the 2014 World Pipe Band Champion – the winner of the aggregate first-prize in the World’s Grade 1 Final competition.
• Ideally, the winning entry will pick the exact prize-list in exact order of finish.
• If no entry is completely correct, the submission that picks the first prize-winner and gains the most points from the following system: 3 points for choosing a band in the right spot, and 1 point for including a band that made the final prize list but not in the correct place.
• If more than one entry gets the list exactly right, or if there is a tie for most points, a random draw or draws will be made.
• Entries close at 18:00 GMT, Thursday, August 14th.
• RSPBA adjudicators and officials are not eligible to win.
• The winner will be notified by e-mail and a story will be posted on the site following the World’s. The winner’s name will be withheld, if desired.
• All prizes will be sent to the winner directly from the sponsors.

For reference, this year’s Grade 1 World Championship will be decided on Saturday, August 15th, from a Final round of 12. The dozen finalist bands are decided from the top-six finishers in each of two qualifying heats. Each band in each heat will play both an own-choice Medley and own-choice MSR. In the final, bands must play the Medley and MSR that it did not play on Friday.

Here are the heats in their order of play, and readers are encouraged to browse pipes|drums for results from this year’s major UK championships and events in British Columbia, Ontario, and other parts of the world.

Heat 1 (by order of play in the qualifier)

• Police Scotland Fife (Scotland)
• 78th Fraser Highlanders (Canada)
• ScottishPower (Scotland)
• Vale of Atholl (Scotland)
• Greater Glasgow Police (Scotland)
• New Zealand Police (New Zealand)
• Bagad Cap Caval (Brittany)
• Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland)
• Canterbury Caledonian (New Zealand)
• St Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
• Denny & Dunipace Gleneagles (Scotland)

Group 2 (by order of play in the qualifier)

• Cullybackey (Northern Ireland)
• Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (Scotland)
• Dowco Triumph Street (Canada)
• Simon Fraser University (Canada)
• Toronto Police (Canada)
• Peel Regional Police (Canada)
• Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland)
• Inveraray & District (Scotland)
• LA Scots (USA)
• Ravara (Northern Ireland)
• Stuart Highlanders (USA)
• Ballycoan (Northern Ireland) (withdrew)

Readers will probably want to review pipes|drums’ results from the British, United Kingdom, European, Scottish and All-Ireland championships, as well as various results and videos from events in Ontario, British Columbia and New Zealand.

Thanks again to our wonderful advertisers, and good luck to readers and good luck to all bands competing on August 15th and 16th!