Predict the World’s top six to win over $4100 in prizes!

Hey, you pipe band prognosticators!

There are only a few weeks to go before the 2019 World Pipe Band Championships.

So, you know what that means . . .

It’s time for pipes|drums’ annual Pick the Six contest!

Yes, Pick the Six, the fun World’s contest that 12 years ago let readers in on the action, while giving everyone a chance to come away with a veritable barge-load of great prizes from our advertisers.

It’s the contest to end all contests.

It’s the contest with a total prize package worth more in real money than the first prize award for Grade 1 at the World’s itself!

All you have to do is predict the prize list for the Grade 1 competition at the World’s – or be the closest to getting it right – and you will win another terrific quarry of products and services contributed by advertisers with pipes|drums.

Entering is easy! Details can be found after you check out the full list of prizes from our sponsors and pipes|drums itself.

Our generous advertisers know good opportunities when they see them, and have stepped up with a list of products and services unparalleled in the piping and drumming world. (All retail amounts are in Canadian dollars.)

Just take a look at every one of the terrific prizes that you could get – and be sure to click on every link to find out all the excellent other goodies to be had from these savvy businesses!

BagpipeLessons.com

• The Piper’s Metronome™ app for iOS — The world’s first metronome made by pipers for pipers. Packed with powerful features for pipers at every level.
• BagpipeLessons.com Exclusive Deluxe Bundle, which includes:
  – Tone Protector: Digital Chanter Cap With Two-way Humidity Control (value $70)
  – Bagpipe Gauge (value $100)
  – Piper’s Ultimate Reed Poker (value $35)
• Piper’s Advantage™ Bagpipe Phone Mount (value $40)
• One Year Membership to the BagpipeLessons.com Studio (Value $240) includes exclusive access to hundreds of hours of exclusive lessons, tunes, recordings, and the Learn the Pipes online video course for beginners.

Total package retail value: $445.

Bruce Gandy Music

A one-hour Skype lesson with master piper Bruce Gandy. Retail value: $60.

Chesney Chanters & Reeds

Two dozen pipe chanter reeds (total retail price $519) and one of Chesney’s new plastic chanters ($184).

Colin MacLellan Reeds

Four pipe chanter reeds of your choice (retail price $68) and one copy of Capt. John A. MacLellan’s Complete Compositions of Ceol Mor book and CDs (retail value $34).

G1 Reeds

A G1 plug and play platinum chanter, as played by the 2017 World Champions. Suggested retail price: $200.

Highland Gear

A Generation 4 bag cover of the winner’s choice. Retail price: $100.

John Walsh Bagpipes

A Walsh long plastic practice chanter with special embellishments to make it even greater! SRP: $99.

Lee & Sons Bagpipes

Any Lee & Sons pipe bag you like, cowhide, goatskin, sheepskin or sheepskin Premium. Retail price: $479.

Lyons Bagpipes

A set of Crozier V2 Drone Reeds from Crozier Reeds ($140) and a Moose Valve ($42) from Moose Bagpipe Products.

McCallum Bagpipes

A McCallum long size plastic chanter with engraved sole, bowl, mouthpiece and ferrule in whatever engraving pattern the winner would prefer ($232), AND a plastic Ceòl chanter ($185).

McGillivray Piping

A copy of Pipes Ready! (maintenance) and Pipes Up! (tuning) DVDs, $18.50 each.

Modern Piping

A 12-month subscription to Modern Piping ($2370; New secret colour Hilton Hemp ($24); A new secret product prior to release ($30); one Tone Temple ($118) – total retail value $410.

National Piping Centre

A special Piping Live! merchandise bundle, including a t-shirt and hoodie, CDs, and a book or two from this year’s product launches. Retail value: $200.

pipes|drums Magazine

A lifetime subscription to the world’s most popular piping and drumming publication. Retail price: $250 (depends on your age and health).

Reelpipes.com

A $100 credit on purchases from Reelpipes.com, purveyors of great piping and drumming stuff.

R.G. Hardie & Co.

An Infinity Poly Pipe Chanter ($216) and a Twist-Trap Practice chanter ($128).

Sound Supreme Custom Reeds

Ten custom made Sound Supreme pipe chanter reeds. Retail value $120.

That’s more than $4,100 worth of prizes for one canny winner!

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.). This is important: If you enter more than once from an email address, ALL of your entries will be discarded, since there’s no way for us to know which one to count.
• Entries must list the bands in their order of finish – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.
• This year, entries should include your pick for the winner of the overall Best Drum Corps prize.
• Submissions should include the sender’s postal mailing address (we will not share or retain this data — it’s simply to let sponsors know where to send prizes).
• The winning entry must pick the 2019 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. Surprisingly, that rarely happens.
• If no entry is completely correct, the submission that picks the first prize-winner and gains the most points from the following system: three points for choosing a band in the right spot, and one 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, the entry that chooses the overall Best Drum Corps winner or the one closest to the winner will be the Pick the Six winner. If there’s still a tie, a random draw or draws will be made.
• Entries close at 7:01 pm EDT, Thursday, August 15th / 00:01 GMT, Friday, August 16th.
• RSPBA adjudicators and officials are not eligible to win, although we encourage them to submit their picks just for the fun and intrigue of it. (Your secret’s safe with us.)
• The winner will be notified by e-mail and a story will be posted on the site following the World’s. This could take a bit to determine, so please be patient. The winner’s name will be withheld, if desired.
• All prizes will be sent to the winner directly from the sponsors.

Here are the 15 competing bands in alphabetical order.

• 78th Fraser Highlanders (Canada)
• Canterbury Caledonian Society (New Zealand)
• Field Marshal Montgomery
• Glasgow Police (Scotland)
• Glasgow Skye Association (Scotland)
• Inveraray & District (Scotland)
• Johnstone (Scotland)
• Lomond & Clyde (Scotland)
• Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland)
• Police Scotland Fife (Scotland)
• Police Service of Northern Ireland
• ScottishPower (Scotland)
• Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (Scotland)
• Simon Fraser University (Canada)
• St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)

Readers are encouraged to browse pipes|drums for results from this year’s major RSPBA championships and events in British Columbia, Ontario, and other parts of the world. The super-savvy among you will analyze the judges’ past decision-making for any possible trends. The super-duper savvy will check weather forecasts and compare against what bands play well in the rain, which melt in the heat.

Or just flip a coin a bunch of times – all of the judges call it like they hear it and all of the bands are great!

Thanks again to our wonderful advertisers, and good luck to readers and good luck to all bands competing on August 16th and 17th!