march to the field, Oban 2017
Oban 2017. The annual march through the town to Mossfield Park for the light music competitions at the Argyllshire Gathering is led by the previous day’s winner of the Gold Medal and Silver Medal.

The pipers who will compete for the Gold and Silver Medals at this year’s Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting have been confirmed. They are:

Argyllshire Gathering Silver Medal

Xavier Boderiou; Calum Brown; Finlay Cameron; Greig Canning; Kristopher Coyle; Jason Craig; John Dew; Jacob Dicker; Pipe Major Ben Duncan; Andrew Ferguson; Michael Fitzhenry; Alex Gandy; Edward Gaul; Steven Gray; Andrew Hall; Zephan Knichel; Anna Kümmerlöw; Steven Leask; Andrew Lewis; Ed Macilwaine; James MacKenzie; Ben McClamrock; Ashley McMichael; Willie Rowe; Calum Watson

Reserves:Kevin McLean; Jamie Elder; Callum Wynd.

Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal

Glenn Brown; Gordon Bruce; Sandy Cameron; Andrew Carlisle; Andrew Donlon; Cameron Drummond; Jamie Forrester; William Geddes; Jonathan Greenlees; Andrew Hayes; Alasdair Henderson; Nick Hudson; Alastair Lee; Cameron MacDougall; Duncan MacGillivray; Peter McCalister; Gordon McCready; Pipe Major Ross McCrindle; Sean McKeown; Derek Midgley; Sarah Muir; Connor Sinclair; Innes Smith; Darach Urquhart.

Reserves: James MacHattie; Andrea Boyd; Angus J. MacColl; Jori Chisholm; Allan Russell.

Northern Meeting Silver Medal

Ursa Beckford; Xavier Boderiou; Calum Brown; Finlay Cameron; Greig Canning; Kristopher Coyle; Jason Craig; John Dew; Jacob Dicker; Pipe Major Ben Duncan; Andrew Ferguson; Michael Fitzhenry; Alex Gandy; Edward Gaul; Steven Gray; Andrew Hall; Zephan Knichel; Anna Kümmerlow; Steven Leask; Andrew Lewis; Ed Macilwaine; James MacKenzie; Ben McClamrock; Ashley McMichael; Willie Rowe; Calum Watson.

Reserves: Kevin McLean; Jamie Elder; Calum Wynd.

Northern Meeting Gold Medal

Gordon Bruce; Sandy Cameron; Andrew Carlisle; Brian Donaldson; Andrew Donlon; Cameron Drummond; Stuart Easton; Jamie Forrester; William Geddes; Jonathan Greenlees; Faye Henderson; Nick Hudson; Alastair Lee; Cameron MacDougall; Gordon McCready; Pipe Major Ross McCrindle; Sean McKeown; Derek Midgley; Sarah Muir; James Murray; Connor Sinclair; Innes Smith; John-Angus Smith; Craig Sutherland; Darach Urquhart.

Reserves: James MacHattie; Andrea Boyd; Angus J. MacColl; Jori Chisholm; Allan Russell.

The committee that decides who should compete is called the Eligibility Committee and it is made up of representatives from the Northern Meeting, Argyllshire Gathering, Competing Pipers’ Association plus senior judges.

It met on February 24 in Perth during which the following issues were discussed and clarified:

• If a player wishes to withdraw from an event, they must do so before August 1 of the year. Any player who withdraws without valid reason after August 1 will be disqualified for entry in the following year.

• The deadline for application into both events is January 31. If a player misses the deadline their application may not be considered. Then there is a deadline for entry of May 31 for payment and tune submission.

• Tuning lights and timers will be used at events. It is a player’s responsibility to acknowledge and begin playing within this time. Continuing to tune after the time has expired will lead to disqualification.

• Players may be given the same tunes chosen at the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meetings.

The Argyllshire Gathering takes place on August 21 and the Northern Meeting on August 29.

The Competing Pipers’ Association holds its AGM on August 25 (venue to be confirmed).