St. Thomas Alumni, Ulster Scottish, St. Columcille in the sweeps at 2023 Chicago Highland Games

Itasca, Illinois – June 17, 2023 – St. Thomas Alumni of Houston were the winners of both the Grade 1 Medley and MSR events at the Chicago Scottish Festival & Highland Games, which attracted a large crowd on a sunny 80°F day. It was the first year that the games, which had the largest band entry in North America in 2022, held a Grade 1 competition. Similarly, Ulster Scottish of Philadelphia won both Grade 2 events, and New Jersey’s St. Columcille United Gaelic took each of the Grade 3 contests.

A total of 45 bands competed, with groups in grades 1, 2 and 3 playing in two events each for a total of 63 performances. There were eight judges assessing each performance. The solo events were held on Friday, realizing 523 entries at 13 playing stations.

The competition has grown steadily in popularity over the years due to both its organization by the Midwest Pipe Band Association and its central location and proximity to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Grade 1 (two competed)
Overall
1st St. Thomas Alumni
2nd City of Dunedin
Drumming overall: City of Dunedin
Mid-Section overall: City of Dunedin

Medley
1st St. Thomas Alumni (1,2,1,1,1,1,2,1)
2nd City of Dunedin (2,1,2,2,2,2,1,2)

MSR
1st St. Thomas Alumni (1,2,1,1,2,2,1,1)
2nd City of Dunedin (2,1,2,2,1,1,2,2)

Judges: Jim Stack, Tom Weithers, Andrew Carlisle, Alex MacIntyre (piping); Gordon Parkes, Duncan Millar (drumming); Bob Worrall, Ken Eller (ensemble)

Grade 2 (seven competed)
Overall
1st Ulster Scottish
2nd MacMillan
3rd Greater Midwest
4th Wasatch & District
5th Midlothian Scottish
6th Great Lakes
Drumming overall: Ulster Scottish
Mid-Section overall: MacMillan

Medley
1st Ulster Scottish (2,2,1,1,1,1,1,1)
2nd MacMillan (1,1,2,2,2,2,2,2)
3rd Greater Midwest (6,4,4,4,4,4,4,3)
4th Midlothian Scottish (3,3,3,3,7,5,6,6)
5th Wasatch & District (4,5,5,5,5,6,3,4)
6th Great Lakes (5,6,6,7,3,3,5,5)

MSR
1st Ulster Scottish (2,1,2,2,1,2,1,1)
2nd MacMillan (1,3,1,1,2,1,2,2)
3rd Greater Midwest (6,5,3,3,3,5,3,3)
4th Wasatch & District (4,2,76,5,4,4,4)
5th Midlothian Scottish (3,4,4,4,7,6,6,6)
6th Great Lakes (5,6,6,7,4,3,5,5)

Judges: Jim Stack, Tom Weithers, Andrew Carlisle, Alex MacIntyre (piping); Gordon Parkes, Duncan Millar (drumming); Bob Worrall, Ken Eller (ensemble)

Grade 3 (nine competed)
Overall
1st St. Columcille United Gaelic
2nd City of Angels
3rd Nashville
4th Kevin R. Blandford Memorial
5th Macalester College
6th Cameron & District
Drumming overall: Cameron & District
Mid-Section overall: City of Angels

Medley
1st St. Columcille 1,1,1,13,1,1,4
2nd City of Angels 2,3,4,3,2,3,2,1
3rd Nashville 4,2,2,2,7,6,4,2
4th Kevin R. Blandford 3,4,3,4,5,5,3,5
5th Macalester College 5,5,5,5,4,2,5,6
6th Cameron & District 6,8,7,6,1,4,6,3

MSR
1st St. Columcille 1,1,2,1,6,2,2,1
2nd City of Angels 2,2,3,4,1,6,1,4
3rd Kevin R. Blandford 3,6,4,3,3,4,6,3
4th Nashville 4,3,1,2,8,9,4,2
5th Macalester College 7,4,6,7,4,3,3,7
6th Turlach Ur 5,5,5,5,7,7,7,5

Judges: Jim Stack, Tom Weithers, Andrew Carlisle, Alex MacIntyre (piping); Gordon Parkes, Duncan Millar (drumming); Bob Worrall, Ken Eller (ensemble)

Grade 4 (11 competed)
1st Commonwealth (1,2,2,5)
2nd 87th Cleveland (3,3,1,4)
3rd North Coast (2,1,7,3)
4th Wake & District (4,4,4,2)
5th City Of Dunedin (6,5,3,1)
6th Chicago Stock Yard Kilty (5,6,6,8)
Mid-Section: Wake & District
Judges: Andrew Carlisle, Alex MacIntyre (piping); Duncan Millar (drumming); Ken Eller (ensemble)

Grade 5 (16 competed)
1st North Texas Caledonian (1,1,5,1)
2nd Cincinnati Caledonian (8,5,1,3)
3rd Capital City (2,4,7,5)
4th 87th Cleveland (4,7,2,6)
5th Spirit of Michigan (6,11,6,2)
6th Kansas City St. Andrews (9,9,3,4)
Drumming: Cincinnati Caledonian
Mid-Section: Chicago Highlanders
Judges: Jim Stack, Tom Weithers (piping); Gordon Parkes (drumming); Bob Worrall (ensemble)

Our thanks to the MWPBA for providing competition details and photos so promptly.

If you have results, please send them our way!