Piping is for the birds

I’m always amazed at some of the questions that people ask when I’m at a highland games or something. One that pops up from time to time is “I didn’t know they let women play the pipes.”

First, who is this “they” that regulates who can and cannot play pipes?

Second, just take a glance at any massed bands and you’ll find that women are certainly not prohibited from playing the pipes. When I played with Macdonald Pipe Band in Pittsburgh, my four best friends in the band were all women. In pipe bands these days women are certainly welcome, and make an important contribution to the band circle.

There are a number of women who are successful solo competitors as well: in 2010 there are six female judges on the EUSPBA’s judges panel, and four more in the PPBSO. Those who are able to pass adjudication exams and be on the panel must know something, regardless of which restroom they use.

Women have passed a milestone at the top levels of solo competitions as well. There was a big controversy about women playing in the gold medal events, and in 1974 two women were finally allowed to compete in the gold medal piobaireachd events at the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting.

Yesterday, Faye Henderson (whose mother was one of those first two women to play at these events), won the gold medal at the Argyllshire Gathering, becoming the first woman to ever be at the top of that prize list. She also won the medal the first time she played in the contest, and at 18 years old is one of the youngest to win.

This marks a great milestone for women in piping, and I’m sure there will be many others. I’m sure there are some crotchety old men sitting around and grumbling that women can’t play pipes as well as men, but this seems like a pretty solid proof to the contrary.

There’s one unfortunate thing about Faye’s win, which is that she won’t be able to win both gold medals in the same year. Due to a smaller number of players allowed in the contests, she’ll be playing in the silver medal competition at the Northern Meeting. I’m sure there aren’t many who have won a gold medal and silver medal in the same year, so she’ll have a chance to add her name to that list as well.