PIPE BAND CONTEST

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 306, 22 September 1936, Page 2

PIPE BAND CONTEST

To be Held in Palmerston • North MEETING OF CENTRE A meeting, of the executive of the Wel-lington-Hawke’s Bay Pipe Band Centre was held on Saturday evening to make further preliminary arrangements for a Centre contest. The opinion of the delegates at a previous meeting wan that the contest should be held in Palmerston .North, Masterton, or Feilding, and on Saturday evening it was decided to hold the event in Palmerston North on Anniversary Day. _ - . The chairman, Mr. I. Cameron (Watrarapa High School Pipe Band), said that while he appreciated Masterton. being mentioned he considered the time not opportune to hold a content at Masterton He favoured Palmerston North as being a suitable centre. It possessed a very keen band, and the prospects were excellent for the success of a contest in that city. Pipe-Major V. J. Nicholson (Manawatu Pipe Band) said his instruction was to support the holding of a contest in his home town. His band had applied for a permit to hold the 1938 Dominion contest, which had been granted, and the proposed centre contest would give them experience. Pipe-Major C. Stewart (Wellington Caledonian Pipe Band) supported Palmerston North as being a centre most suitable for the first provincial contest. Mr. J. W. Brown (Nelson Pipe Band) asked why the contest could not take place in Wellington, as his band would have to be away three days to attend a contest in Palmerston North. Mr. Cameron said he considered that a provincial town would have the best chance of making the contest a successful one from every viewpoint. Wellington would be the place to hold the big contest during the centennial. Pipe-Major Nicholson said he considered that February or March, as previously suggested, was not the most suitable time for the contest. In all probability the Dominion contest at Christchurch would not b'e held at Easter, but at an earlier date, probably in February. Ihe centre contest should be a preliminary to the bigger event, so that errors at the centre contest could be overcome before the Dominion contest. Anniversary Dav would be a most suitable date for Pafmerston North, there being no big fixtures on that, day other than motor-cycle events at Foxton. Pipe-Major Stewart supported the motion. It was a public holiday in the Wellington province and should: suit the bands. Drum-Major Price pointed out that at that period of the year the high schools were on holiday and it would be hard for their bands to attend. The chairman said he thought that when the pipe-majors met, they would, overcome the difficulty. The secretary, Mr. M. Gray Nasmith, said that the centre had held the opinion that no one band should run the contest — it should be run by the centre with the co-operation of the band in whose town the contest was being held. The centre should control all arrangements and allot the profit. The chairman supported this view, which was agreed to. The secretary then moved that no prize moneys be given for the contest; that 10 per cent, of the profits be allotted to the band assisting in the arrangements; that 10 per cent, be allotted to the centre ; and that the remaining 80 per cent, be allotted to the bands competing at the contest. This was carried.

Drum-major Price raised the question of handicapping the bands. The chairman said he considered that all the pipe-majors should be called in to assist in the detailed conditions of the contest. They wanted the opinions of all concerned and the question of handieappiug and other considerations would then be gone into. The annual meeting of the centre would be held next month, said Mr. Nasmith, and he suggested that each band appoint the pipe-major as one of its three delegates to attend the meeting. It was resolved that following the annual meeting a meeting of the pipemajors be held in co-operation with the executive to decide the conditions covering the proposed contest. The Pipe Bands Association is to be asked to fix the date of a Dominion contest at least six months prior to the holding of the contest, to enable bandsmen to make arrangements to attend.