Bruce Gandy receiving his sixth MacCrimmon Cairn in 2014.
Halifax piper Bruce Gandy has clinched the BC Pipers’ Association MacCrimmon Memorial Cairn and Medal as the winner of the Open Piobaireachd and the Mary MacLeod Collins Memorial Trophy for the Open piping aggregate at the 2021 Annual Gathering, held online April 2 & 3, 2021.
This was Gandy’s eighth win of “The Cairn” at the Annual Gathering. His first win was in 1982. The online competition drew competitors from around the world to the Annual Gathering event that was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Piper Zephan Knichel scored a hat trick with his third consecutive
Zephan Knichel
Darleen Milloy Memorial Trophy & Medal in the Competing Pipers Association (CPA) “B” grade Piobaireachd.
And piper Callum Bevan dominated the Grade 1 field with three first place finishes; the Malcolm Nicholson Memorial Trophy for Combined Grade 1 Annual Gathering and Mini-Gathering aggregate, and the MacIver Memorial Trophy for most points overall.
Bevan won the Kathleen & Donald Memorial Trophy for Grade 1 Jig, the Duncan Watson Memorial Shield for Grade 1 March, Strathspey and Reel and the Caber Feidh Trophy and Iain MacKinnon Memorial Trophy for Grade 1 Piobaireachd.
The Grade 1 snare drumming aggregate and winner of the Delta Police Pipe Band Shield is Blake Prescott.
Other winners in the online competition included Andrew Carlisle who won the Duncan McInnes Memorial Trophy for Open MSR, Kyle Howie who won the Donald MacDonald Shield for Open Jig, and Brodie Watson-Massey who won the CPA “C” grade Piobaireachd.
The Most Promising Piper and winner of the Roderick MacLeod Memorial Trophy is Grace Barnes. The Most Promising Drummer and winner of the Grace Clansey Trophy is Megan Millar.
RMM Piper Kevin Maloney competing from home during 88th BCPA Annual Gathering
The 88th Annual Gathering was held online, with competitors in the lower grades submitting videos in advance, while Grade 1, Open & CPA grades players competed live, via Zoom, and then uploaded their performances. Adjudicators for the events included Chris Armstrong, Rob Wallace and Paul Brown.
“There were lots of technical challenges with this online competition, and I thank the team at BCPA for their hard work in pulling everything together,” says Chief Steward Lynn Bullis. “The digital stewards, the IT team working to resolve issues and all the other volunteers behind the scenes did a great job, and I thank them.”
“Overall, the event was a success. The online component attracted competitors from around the world, which was great. Now, we would love to see them all here in person next year, for our 89th Annual Gathering.”
Full results of the 88th BCPA Annual Gathering can be found on the BCPA website. Click HERE.
