North Berwick Pipe Band Contest 2009

Better Performances for Tweedvale Pipe Band!!

Tweedvale Pipe Band resumed their competition season last Saturday at the Royal Burgh of North Berwick Highland Games. In stark contrast to the weather of last year, the North Berwick contest was played out in dry sunny conditions that brought out large crowds to view the pipe band contests. Playing sixth in the Grade 3 contest, the band put in a solid confident performance of their medley set before going on to perform in the Grade 2 contest where the band played their March Strathspey and reel set. Tweedvale Pipe Band ended the day placed 6th overall in the open Grade 3 contest, the event being won by Linlithgow & District Pipe Band with the other places being taken by Benoni MacTalla (South Africa), City of Edinburgh and Hawick Pipe Bands. The band was placed 10th in the Grade 2 contest.

North Berwick is unique in that there is a “contest within a contest”, confined to bands from the Lothian and Borders area. In the Grade 3 confined contest, the band won fourth place and lifted the W. Quinn Trophy. The Grade 3 result consolidates Tweedvale's top spot in the Lothian & Borders Branch Champion of Champions table, though the other local bands gained ground.

Speaking about the outcome of the North Berwick, Tweedvale Pipe Major Bruce Gillie said "I was very pleased with today’s performance in the Grade3 contest, if not the final result. The performance was markedly better than those at the European Championships and the Innerleithen contest back in June. There is still room for improvement of course but I’m sure we’re back on track in playing terms. Everyone in the band is looking forward to the rest of the season, starting this weekend at the Worlds"

Tweedvale’s competition season continues this weekend when the band travels to Glasgow to take part in the biggest event in the pipe band calendar – the World Pipe Band Championships. Held on Glasgow Green, the World Championships is the fourth of five major championships held each year and attracts over 200 bands from all over the world to compete in eight grades of competition in front of crowds approaching the 50,000 mark. Tweedvale Pipe Band’s assault on the World title begins at 3.26pm when the band is scheduled to play 18th out of 27 bands in the Grade 3B contest. Grade 3 band have been asked to play a medley selection for the World Championships, and Tweedvale will be performing their set comprising the tunes “Callum Ian”, “Out of the Air”, “Radar Racketeer”, Big Mikey’s Farewell” “Maids of the Black Glen”, “Keel Row”, “Tail Toddle” and “Dancing Feet”.