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news archive 2007

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rba gear up for dumfries music festival

With the festive period out of the way and the 2007 competition season fast approaching, the Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band are hard at work and setting their sights on the upcoming Dumfries Music Festival, to be held on Saturday 3rd March at Locharbriggs Primary School.

The band with their trophies at the 2005 Dumfries Music Festival

The Dumfries Music Festival provides an ideal opportunity for bands to play their competition medley before the start of the 2007 RSPBA season.  The band have enjoyed much success at the Festival in recent years.  Most notably, in both 2005 and 2006, the band swept the boards in the Adult Trios section and will look to make a similar impact this year also.

As well as the Trio contests, where the Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band will be entering four Adult and two Juvenile Trios, there will also be pipers competing in the various solo competitions.  Kevin Bell & Richard Lupton will be participating in the Adult section, with Kirstie Hetherington & Ashleigh Bell representing the band in the Juvenile sections.  We wish all competitors the very best of luck.

ad&g branch indoor returns to annan

The Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway Branch of the RSPBA will hold it's Indoor Contest in Annan Academy on Saturday 31st March 2007.  The contest makes a welcome return to Annan for the first time in five years.

The contest was last held at Annan Academy in 2002, where it had been held annually for several years.  For financial reasons, the AD&G Branch decided to move the contest to Mainholm Academy in Ayr in 2003, where it stayed until 2005.

Thanks to the support of the Royal British Legion Scotland, pipe band enthusiasts in Annan will again be able to enjoy a highly competitive event, which will feature bands from Grade 2, 3, 4 and Novice Juvenile grades, as well as solo piping and drumming, with chanter and stick and pad contests for beginners.

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band will be competing in the contest and will also be well represented in the solo piping events.  The draw for the contest will be made one week before the event.

four trophies for rba at festival

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band started their season with a successful outing at the Dumfries Music Festival on Saturday 3rd March at Locharbriggs Primary School.

In the Adult Trio Section, the band entered three trios and the combination of Pipe Major David McCracken, Pipe Sergeant Chris Shearer and Richard Lupton took first place, with David McCracken, Kevin Bell & Lee Maxwell a close second.  Kirkcudbright & District were third, denying the band their third straight clean sweep in the Adult Trios.  The band's third trio consisted of Chris Shearer, Tim Schoolar & Donald Robson.

In the Juvenile Trio Section, the trio of Chris Shearer, Ashleigh Bell & Kirstie Hetherington were placed third behind two trios from Corberry Park.  Ashleigh Bell also won Best Dressed Juvenile.

hometown success at annan

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band continued their successful lead-up to the 2007 RSPBA season by taking away four trophies from the Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway Branch Indoor Contest on Saturday 31st March.  The contest was held in Annan Academy for the first time since 2002.  In the meantime, the contest was held in Mainholm Academy in Ayr.

In Grade 3, the band placed third behind Lanark & District and Johnstone, following a scrappy performance.  A much improved performance followed in Grade 2 as the band placed first, with Lanark in second and Johnstone in third.  The band also took two first places in the Confined Branch contests in Grades 2 & 3.

Earlier in the day, the band also enjoyed success in the solo contests.  Richard Lupton won the Overall Adult Solo Piping by winning the March category with Kevin Bell, who won the Strathspey & Reel contest, a close second.  Karen Keenan of Kirkcudbright & District completed the prize list.  In the Juvenile Solo Piping Section 1, Kirstie Hetherington, Ashleigh Bell & Kyle McKie were unfortunate not to feature in the prize list following three very good performances.

2007 season kicks off at dunbar

...Bright sunshine, buckets of sweat, sunburn, biting winds, frozen fingers, buses, ferries, wind-ups, arguments, sing-songs, bursting bags, popping drum skins, snapped reeds, torrential rain, no capes, queuing for 20 minutes for a pint in a plastic glass, £5 burgers, early mornings, late nights, nagging wives, stopovers, hangovers, go home...eight months later, do it all over again!

For the first time in two years, the Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band are back in Grade 3A and the first outdoor contest of the season is just around the corner.  As always, the destination is Winterfield Park in Dunbar on Saturday 12th May.   The band are entered in Grade 3 & Grade 2, but below is the draw for Grade 3.

The contest starts at 1.30pm

scottish championships preview

The first major of the year, the Scottish Championships, takes place in Dumbarton on Saturday 19th May.  The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band will play at 14.32hrs in Grade 3A.

The band enjoyed success at last years Scottish Championships, placing 3rd in Grade 3B, this year however, RBA are back in Grade 3A for the first time since 2004 and will be hoping to put in an impressive performance in what looks to be a very competitive grade.

Here is the draw for Grade 3A

british championships preview

The second major of the year, the British Championships, takes place in Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Saturday 23rd June.  The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band will play at 15:32hrs in Grade 3A.

Following an unexpected fourth place at the Scottish Championships in Dumbarton, the band will hope to continue their success this season but will face a very competitive group of bands.  The draw for Grade 3A is shown below.

disappointment at dunbar

The 2007 Season got off to a lacklustre start for the Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band in Dunbar on Saturday 12th May.  The band under-performed for the most part in the Grade 3A contest and finished eighth overall.

Lanark & District won the Grade 3 contest, with City of Edinburgh behind in second place. Pitlochry & Blair Atholl placed third and Inverkeithing & District were fourth.  The Central Scotland Police won the Drumming Prize.

rba place 4th at scottish championships

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band made a triumphant return to major competition in Grade 3A by placing fourth at the Scottish Championships at Dumbarton on Saturday 19th May.  The Royal Burgh of Annan Drum Corps were celebrating after placing second.  The result erased the memory of the unsatisfactory performance the previous week at Dunbar.

In a splendid day for promoted bands, Johnstone were crowned the Scottish Champions in Grade 3A, with Pitlochry & Blair Atholl in second, Williamwood in third, New Ross & District in fifth with University of Strathclyde, who took the Drumming prize, rounding out the prizelist in sixth.

You can view the band's performance at the Scottish Championships by Clicking Here

Next up for the band is a trip to Girvan for the Carrick Lowland Gathering on Sunday 3rd June in the hope of winning the Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway Branch Championships.

second place for rba at girvan

The Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway Branch Championships were again held in Girvan on Sunday 3rd June in wet conditions, as has been the pattern so far this season.  The bad weather however did not stop the Royal Burgh of Annan coming away with trophies, despite two underwhelming performances.

In Grade 3, Ayr Pipe Band Society took the Branch Championships with the Royal Burgh of Annan in second, Cumnock & District were third and Kirkcudbright & District fourth.

You can view the band's performance in Grade 3 by Clicking Here

In Grade 2, Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary walked away with the top prize, with Ayr in second and the Royal Burgh of Annan in third.  Dunoon Argyll completed the prize list in fourth.

You can view the band's performance in Grade 2 by Clicking Here

Kirkcudbright & District won the Branch Championship in Grade 4, beating Troon Blackrock into second place, the 1st Troon Boys Brigade placed third with Vale of Clyde in fourth.

rba place fourth at innerleithen

For the second year running, the Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band traveled to the Borders town of Innerleithen.  Looking to repeat the success of the 2006 contest, the band also looked to improve on their performances which had been falling below the standard of the previous season.

Sadly it was not to be, George Watson's College won the Grade 3 contest, with Williamwood in second, Pitlochry & Blair Atholl in third and the Royal Burgh of Annan in fourth following another disappointing run.  A run which would follow them into Grade 2, where the band placed fifth.

A stark reminder that standards would have to be raised with the British Championships in Northern Ireland around the corner.

unlucky 13th at the brits

The British Pipe Band Championships, held this year in Ballymena, Northern Ireland on Saturday 23rd June was an opportunity to improve on the fourth placing the band enjoyed at the Scottish Championships in Dumbarton.

Despite a good build-up, errors on the park left the band in mid-table, ending with a thirteenth placing in Grade 3A.  Annsborough won the British Championships, with Pitlochry & Blair Atholl in second, University of Strathclyde in third, Williamwood placed fourth, Johnstone fifth and Aughintober completed the prize list with sixth place.  The Drumming Prize went to the University of Strathclyde.

You can view the band's performance at the British Championships by Clicking Here

rba win grade 3 at annan rom

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band won the Grade 3 competition, scooping almost £900 in prize money in the process, at Annan Riding of the Marches on Saturday 7th July.  The band finally entered one of their better performances of the season, which will hopefully continue into the last three major championships.

An emotional massed bands saw the band being presented with the brand new P/M Callum Beck Memorial Trophy for winning Grade 3.  Callum had been a long serving member and one-time Pipe Major of the Annan Ex-Service Club Pipe Band.  The Greater Manchester County Fire Service placed second in Grade 3, taking the drumming prize in the process.  The Royal Scots Borderers placed third and Cumnock & District took fourth place.

In Grade 2, the band placed third behind the Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary and the Royal Scots Borders, who placed first and second respectively.  Greater Manchester County Fire Service placed fourth, with D&G Police taking the Drumming Prize.

You can view the band's performance in Grade 3 at ROM by Clicking Here

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band would also like to congratulate National Council member and former MacLean Pipe Major Neil Hodgson who celebrated his 50th Riding of the Marches.

july/august round-up

The Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band approached the second half of the 2007 season with great momentum following the win at Annan ROM.   Heading into the European Championships at Inverness, the band were hopeful of placing in the top six for the second time this season.

The trip to Inverness was an enjoyable one for the band, with a two night stay at nearby Aviemore adding to the experience.  The contest itself was a successful one as the band placed sixth after a good performance and thus keeping up their trophy winning ways.

Travelling to Dundonald a week later looking to prepare for the upcoming World Championships, the Royal Burgh of Annan would experience mixed fortunes, placing fourth in Grade 3 and fifth in Grade 2.

The World Championships in Glasgow proved to be one of the more frustrating contests of the year, played under wet conditions at Glasgow Green, the band played in a qualifying heat for the first time but failed to qualify for the final of Grade 3A.  The World Champions in Grade 3A were Arklow.

In preparation for the final major of the season at Cowal, the band would enjoy great success in Melrose, placing second in Grade 3 and fourth in Grade 2.  The grade 2 result also marked Kirstie Hetherington's first competitive performance with the band.

The Cowal Highland Gathering in Dunoon was one of the more disappointing days of the year.  Despite one of the bands performances of the season, the band were not in the prize list, bringing to an end a season which featured several highs but also some disappointing lows.  However, with a new repertoire and several new faces, the outlook for the 2008 season looks promising for the Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band

royal burgh of annan pipe band