Perseverance of Pipers

A few years back I competed in a highland games in Kentucky, and I’m still on the email list for the competitions. I received an email a few days ago from the Central Kentucky Highland Games in which it was announced that the solo and band competitions were canceled because a low number of entries didn’t justify the expense of the contest.

I received another email yesterday from the coordinator, saying the competitions were back on, but with a twist: they would be unsanctioned. The judges (or more accurately the judges’ travel expenses) are the most expensive part of a competition, so they’re using local grade 1 pipers and drummers as the judges, and they’re still offering all of the events originally planned.

It’s easy to forget that competitions aren’t about placings, medals, trophies, or points: they’re about bagpipes, and the people who play them. Pipers compete for a number of reasons, and getting points is only one of them.

There could be some reasons for not allowing unapproved amateurs to judge since they haven’t gone through the training workshop required to be on the panel, but there’s one thing I’m going to say about that: the musical qualifications are in place in people who have moved up as high as grade 1. I don’t know what goes on in those judging workshops, but everyone who goes in already knows how to play their instrument, and play it well.

If it’s the difference between offering an unsanctioned competition and no competition at all, I say let them play.