Sunday 9th May. Gourock Highland Games.

Sunday saw both Willliamwood Pipe Bands make their first appearance of the new season. The competition was ideal preparation for both bands on the run up to the Scottish Championships in two weeks.

The Grade four band was the first to play on the day, with some new members competing for their first ever time. The band was drawn to play first in the grade at 1 o’ clock. The performance was pleasing for everybody involved and there was some optimism that the band may be able to lift a prize.

Next it was the turn of Williamwood’s grade three band. The band had been drawn seventh out of nine bands. This was the bands first ever experience of playing a medley in competition, and one which everybody was thoroughly looking forward to. Preparation went well and by the time it was ready for the band to enter the circle there was a strong sound and the band was confident. Again, the performance was pleasing and we hoped we had a chance of getting onto the prize list. The hard work was not yet over for the grade three band as they were due to play up in grade two. After a short break and a tune up it we were ready to enter the grade two arena. Again the performance was very pleasing and this was a good experience for the band.

The results confirmed what was to be a very successful day for the Williamwood Pipe Bands. Firstly the grade four band was awarded fourth place. This was the bands first ever prize, and for a band which is only two years old, this was a remarkable achievement. Congratulations go out to everybody involved! To add to this delight, the grade three band was awarded fourth place in grade three, and was the highest placed 3b band on the day. To our surprise the grade three band was also placed in grade two, beating extremely tough opposition.

Overall the competition was a good experience for both bands, and an ideal preparation for the forthcoming competitions!

Photos of gourock available in media section
Full results available from RSPBA online