Please help us by reviewing for accuracy. Competitors who attended 4 of 5 events for the season are eligible for the scholarship drawings and aggregate awards, and are highlighted in bold. If you attended 3 or 4 events but your name isn’t listed in bold, please contact us.

We’re still working on the April photos, but March Pictures have been posted in our photo gallery. Look forward to the current aggregate results before the end of the weekend, too.

Washington Scottish (and their helper) performed at the 4th Mini-Gathering of 2008.  Alex Galloway and Cam Reid from Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band adjudicated.  We’re a bit behind on getting pictures posted, but we’re working on last month and this month’s and hope to post them soon.

Chanter (Slow Air):

1. Paul Vegors (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)  
2. Todd Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)

Grade 5 Piping (Slow Air)

1. Sean Sele
2. Sash Dachenhausen
3. Malcolm Roux (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)
4. Karl Stahlfeld
5. Stewart Nevling (Olympia Higlanders)
6. Gareth Jones (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)

Adult Piping - Piobaireachd Ground

1. Diane Axworthy
2. Bruce Poliak
3. Cleda Thompson (Kenmore and District Pipe Band)
4. Rochelle Eldridge

Adult Piping - 6/8 March

1. Rochelle Eldridge 
2. Bruce Poliak 
3. Diane Axworthy
4. Cleda Thompson (Kenmore and District Pipe Band)

Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (10 competitors)

1. Aaron Stone (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. Eric Roux (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)
3. George Perantatos
4. Peter Jayne (Peninsula Pipes and Drums)
5. David Pollock
6. Kelton Jenkins

Grade 4 Piping - Piobaireachd Ground

1. George Perantatos
2. Peter Jayne (Peninsula Pipes and Drums)
3. David Keachie
4. Eric Roux (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)

Grade 3 Piping - Strathespey & Reel

1. Alex MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band)
2. Alexander Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
3. Matt Maier (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
4. Chris Cahoon (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)
5. James Makinson (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)

Grade 3 Piping - 2/4 March

1. Alexander Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. Alex MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band)   
3. James Makinson (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)
4. Matt Maier (Northwest Junior Pipe Band) 
5. Chris Cahoon (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)

Grade 5 Drumming - Any March

1. Robbie Graham (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)

Grade 4 Drumming - Any March

1. Amber Stone (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. Bryce Kreger (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
3. Steven Wheeler (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
4. Morgan Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band) 

Tenor Drumming - Any Tune

1. Kendra MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band)   

Thanks to volunteer and WPA Board Member Jonathan Farrell for inviting top Northwest pipers and drummers to adjudicate for us again this weekend. 

Judging drumming Saturday is Cameron Reid.  Cameron started drumming at age 10 with the Comox Valley Pipe Band Society. He joined the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band in 2001 and won the Juvenile World Championships in 2003. Cameron placed 3rd at the 2004 World Solo Drumming Championships in the Juvenile Class, won the grade 2 World Pipe Band Championships in 2006 with RMM, and last year won the grade 2 North American Championships in 2007 with Triumph Street Pipe Band. Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band was promoted to Grade 1 this year and is one of the first bands in North America to secure new “band naming” sponsorship in recent years.  Since announcing the new band, they rapidly received sponsorship from three major businesses.  For more on this story, see this article on pipes|drums  from December 2007.  There are only 39 Grade 1 pipe bands in the world, and two of them are based in the Northwest.

WPA drummers benefit from detailed feedback and suggestions about their performances from many of the top drummers in the Northwest and around the world.  Thanks Cam for joining us this weekend!

Cameron is joined by band mate Alex Galloway. Alex grew up in Vancouver, BC and started piping in 1986 with instruction from Jimmy Wilson and Jack Lee. After moving up through the amateur grades with competitive success he was invited to compete at the Nicol Brown amateur invitational in Albany, New York. Alex moved into the open class in 2001 and continues to compete in the local circuit. Alex has played with the White Spot Pipe Band, Maple Ridge Legion, Robert Malcolm Memorial (gr 2) and now with Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band. He has won both the World and North American championships in the grade 2 band level. Alex continues to teach piping and serves on the BCPA board of directors.

Five people will be selected from the nomination list to receive Jefferson Award medallions honoring their contributions to community service.

Spencer Nelson, Snoqualmie — Has been a Seattle firefighter for five years, after serving three years with the Phoenix Fire Department. When he arrived in 2003, he discovered that Seattle did not have department bagpipers to play at celebrations and funerals. Using his own bagpiping skills, he was the inspiration for the Seattle Firefighters’ Pipes and Drums, which now has 21 members from firehouses throughout Seattle.

See more of the nominees in the Seattle PI story. 

We’ll post links or info for any Washington Pipe Pand or piping and drumming news about our members, contact us to let us know about it!

In addition, enough cannot be said about our many volunteers who ensure all the pieces are in place.  Angie Maier; our membership database board member has been taking on preparing the registration forms and competitor sheets in advance for everyone that needs them.  Without this information, our events would fall apart.  Johnathan Farrell has been bringing in the top talent from our area and beyond to judge our competitions every month.  Thanks to Diane Axworthy for helping ensure financial stability and all payments are made on time.  Thanks to Doug Stone and Joe Alger today for Stewarding (and Doug, thanks for introducing drummers as well!) and thanks to Alex MacLeod and Steve Wheeler for stewarding at prior events this year.  Thank you so much Rochelle Wheeler and Jody Horn for doing Registration today.  Rochelle has led our registration this year has figured out the role quickly!  Thanks also to Sadrina Dorn for helping with registration at our first two events.  Thanks to Weatherly Schiele for all the amazing photos (photos from this event coming soon) and helping plan the season at our meetings before the season started.  Kudos to Michelle Makinson for volunteering to fill our open Secretary position on the Board of Directors.  The huge outpouring of support…people willing to roll up their sleeves and make our events continue to thrive…is what will keep our organization a fixture in our community. 

Chanter (Slow Air):

1. Paul Vegors (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)  

Grade 5 Piping (Slow Air)

1. Sean Sele
2. Russell Prewitt
3. George Meier (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)
4. Karl Stahlfeld
5. Stewart Nevling (Olympia Higlanders)
6. Malcolm Roux (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)

Adult Piping - Any March

1. Diane Axworthy
2. Allan MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band)
3. Rochelle Eldridge
4. Cleda Thompson (Kenmore and District Pipe Band)

Adult Piping - Slow Air

1. Diane Axworthy
2. Allan MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band)
3. Cleda Thompson (Kenmore and District Pipe Band)
4. Rochelle Eldridge  

Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (12 competitors)

1. Megan Rogers (Sir James McDonald Pipe Band)
2. Sophie McDuffey (Sir James McDonald Pipe Band)
3. Sam Horn (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
4. David Pollock
5. Eric Roux (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)

Grade 4 Piping - Strathespey & Reel

1. Aaron Stone (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. Jan Begg (Elliott Bay Pipe Band)

Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March

1. Alexander Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. James Makinson (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)
3. Alex MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band)
4. Chris Cahoon (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)

Grade 3 Piping - Jig

1. Alexander Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. James Makinson (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)
3. Chris Cahoon (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)
4. Alex MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band) 

Grade 1 Piping - March, Strathespey & Reel

1. Jonathan Farrell (Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band)
2. Christopher Donald (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)

Grade 1 Piping - Jig/Hornpipe

1. Jonathan Farrell (Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band)
2. Christopher Donald (Keith Highlanders Pipe Band)

Beginning Drumming (Drum Pad)

1. Colin Jones  (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)

Grade 4 Drumming - Any March

1. Amber Stone (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
2. Bryce Kreger (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
3. Morgan Schiele (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
4. Steven Wheeler (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)
5. Brady McMahon (Washington Scottish)

Tenor Drumming - Any Tune

1. Kendra MacLeod (Washington Scottish Pipe Band) 
2. Colleen Salmi (Northwest Junior Pipe Band)

Will Nichols plays bagpipes with Simon Fraser Univeristy Pipe Band.  He moved to Washington from Alaska where he began learning pipes (traveling to BC regularly for piping camps).  He played with the World Champion Robert Malcom Memorial Grade 2 band, and last year when he won the BC Pipers’ Association Professional Knockout competition…he was the first ever “first year” professional to win the event in it’s 38 year history.

Stephen Farrell plays with Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band; newly promoted to become the second Grade 1 pipe band in the Northwest.  Stephen is an alumni of Northwest Junior Pipe Band and was the “Lead Stroke” (lead snare drummer) for the Northwest MacGregor Pipe Band.  Stephen was also a member of the World Champion RMM Grade 2 band, and a successful solo drumming competitor.

When Adult piping competition ends around 11:00 am, enjoy Elliott Bay Pipe Band performing their competition medley for us before taking to the BC Pipers Association Annual Gathering later this month.

At the end of the day, following Grade 1 piping; see Kenmore and District Pipe Band perform; approximately 1:00 pm.

Washington State is sending two pipe bands to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships this year; the Keith Highlanders and Northwest Junior Pipe Band.

Click the image below to get the full story.