The Argyllshire Gathering Trust’s Lochnell Intermediate Piping Championship will take place on Saturday, October 21.
The venue is the chapel at Lochnell Castle, near Benderloch, by kind permission of the Earl of Dundonald and hosted by his son Lord Archie Cochrane.
The competition is by invitation only and features Scotland’s finest pipers aged under 22: Ruairidh Brown (2022 Champion), Andrew Ferguson (2022 Piob. winner), Luke Kennedy (CPA Bronze Medal 2023), Gregor MacDonald (3rd MacGregor), Cameron May (3rd NM Silver Medal), Brodie Watson-Massey (5th AG Silver Medal), Bobby Allan (multiple B grade prizes), and all the way from Australia, Liam Nicholson (MacGregor finalist).
Invites are based on a piper’s track record, including placings at previous year’s Lochnell Championships and, in the case of overseas qualifiers, ability to travel.
Pipers compete in Piobaireachd and March, Strathspey and Reel, with four tunes of each asked for. The 2023 judges are P/M Jimmy Banks MBE, P/Sgt Alasdair Henderson of Inveraray Pipe Band and John Wilson. Fear an Tighe is Robert Wallace, President of the Piobaireachd Society.
There are four prizes in each event: £120, £80, £60, £40, with trophies for each section of the championship; the Jimmy McIntosh MBE Memorial Trophy for Piobaireachd was presented last year by Mrs Joyce McIntosh.
The trophy for the MSR is presented by McCallum Bagpipes in memory of Mr Willie McCallum Snr, Campbeltown, a man who dedicated his life to promoting piping in his native town and in wider Argyll.
In addition to these trophies the Champion Piper, most points in both disciplines, receives a trophy and a Bronze Star presented by the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society.
Competition organiser Torquil Telfer said: “We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to Lochnell for the third annual Intermediate Youth Championship.
“This competition fills a gap in the calendar for the young aspiring professional piper and encourages them on to even greater effort and success. The venue is perfect for both pipers and audience alike.”
The promoters would like to thank sponsors Alik Campbell, the Duncan Louis Stewart Foundation, Andrew Holman, the Piobaireachd Society and the Royal Scottish Pipers Society.
If anyone would like to find out more about the Argyllshire Gathering Trust email argyllshiregatheringtrust@gmail.com.