Tweedvale Pipe Band continued its prize-winning run at the 11th Melrose Pipe Band Championships held last weekend in the grounds of St Mary’s School by taking third place in the Grade 4 contest and receiving the prize for Best Borders band in the championships. Having already tied up the RSPBA Lothian & Border Branch Champion of Champions band title for the year with their performance at North Berwick a fortnight earlier, Tweedvale Pipe Band had decided that Melrose contest would be a good place to give some of the bands promising young pipers and drummers their first taste of competition. With the addition of three young pipers and two young drummers taking the band up to 12 pipers and 6 side drummers strong, the band put in an excellent performance of their competition 4/4 marches in the Grade 4 contest. The performance was amply rewarded at the prize-giving ceremony when it was announced that the band had taken third place overall, with the piping having been awarded third place and the drumming first place. First place in the Grade 4 contest was taken by the Kirkcaldy & District Pipe Band with the Royal Army of Oman Pipe Band taking second place. Tweedvale‘s attendance at the Melrose Pipe Band Championships was made possible by generous coach sponsorship from the Bridge Inn, Peebles to whom the band extends its thanks. Tweedvale Pipe Band also participated in the Grade 3 contest at Melrose in order to give the youngsters further competing experience. The band once again played its set of competition 4/4 marches and was placed 8th out of 11 bands in Grade 3. Tweedvale’s success on the drumming side of things in Grade 4 means that the bands drum corps has taken the 2006 RSPBA Lothian & Borders Branch Champion of Champions drum corps title for the second successive year.

Speaking about the Melrose results, Tweedvale’s Pipe Major Bruce Gillie said, “This result was very pleasing and is a marker for the future of the band. I’d like to congratulate all the youngsters who played at Melrose for playing really well under competition conditions. For most of them it was their first time out in competition and they coped really well. I’d like to congratulate the drummers who again took first place in the drumming. I’d also like to thank Tom Menzies of the Bridge Inn Peebles for sponsoring our coach to Melrose. The band has set itself up for a good run at the Cowal Championships with this result, and I’m looking forward to the band putting in a really good performance in Dunoon.”

Tweedvale Pipe Band now faces the last of the five “Major” Championships of the year, the Cowal Pipe Band Championships which takes places this weekend in Dunoon. Due to the band being scheduled to play at 9.18am in the first qualifying heat in the Grade 4A contest, the band members and supporters face an extremely early start to the day with the bus departing at 4.15am in order to be at Gourock in time for the 7.20am ferry. With the final not scheduled to commence until 3.45pm, Tweedvale faces a long and tiring day. The band is hopeful of qualifying for the final at a major for the fourth successive event and going on to take a prize. Tweedvale Pipe Bands attendance at the Cowal Pipe Band Championships has been made possible by generous coach sponsorship from Brown Brothers Peebles to whom the band extends their thanks. Getting placed at Cowal would boost Tweedvale Pipe Band’s chances of getting upgraded at the end of the season. Following Cowal, Tweedvale Pipe Band has a free weekend before participating in their final contest of the year at Peebles on September 10.