Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games

[cessna152towser]

Glasgow Scotland's big games are of course the World Pipe Band Championships in August, where the heavy athletics and highland dancing play second fiddle to over a hundred pipe bands. However there are several smaller games around the suburbs of Glasgow during the season. Here at the north-western edge of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, the Bearsden and Milngavie Games today celebrated their fortieth anniversary.

Entry to the games is free and the programme costs only £1 donation to charity.
With over a dozen pipe bands and some well known competitors in the heavies it is an excellent free show, presumably funded by sponsors and by the funfair and almost a hundred stalls selling a wide variety of goods. While games in rural Scotland struggle to survive, the large population of the Glasgow area who want somewhere to go for a day out ensure the continuing viability of games such as this.

Neil Elliot easily clears the bar, but then the weight hit the bar on the way down.

Kinetikat watches the throwers.

then she gets her turn to throw...

...and easily clears the bar.
Below are some more shots of Kinetikat in action.



More to follow shortly

[cessna152towser]

North Lanarkshire Schools Pipe Band and Kintyre Schools Pipe Band

Kintyre Schools Pipe Band

Spot the xmarks lady - Kinetikat

My turn to have the camera trained on me.

Heavies


Highland Dancers

See You Jimmy!


I am not so keen on this new trend of some pipe bands not wearing kilts. Here is the Mid Argyll Pipe Band. Everybody to their own tastes however.
More to follow shortly.

[Deil the Yin]

Fwa! Just somethin' bout a girl that looks like she can whoop me in any feat of athletic prowess... makes me wanna Meee-YOW! :-P You GO Girl! Lookin' Bad ***!

Great piccies (as usual), Alex! Ta for that.

Aye,
Wesley

Spot the xmarks lady - Kinetikat

My turn to have the camera trained on me.

[OC Richard]

I am not so keen on this new trend of some pipe bands not wearing kilts. Here is the Mid Argyll Pipe Band. Everybody to their own tastes however.

I'm not too keen on that either!

It's an oddity of the rules of the various Pipe Band Associations that a band dressed like that would be DQ'd at any contest in the USA, because our PBA's require Highland Dress.

However the rules of the RSPBA (Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association) only require that a band appear in matching dress. That is why Breton Bagad pipe bands and Spanish Gaita pipe bands can compete in Scotland in trousers... they would need to get a special exemption to compete in the USA.

On the other hand, pipe bands wearing mismatched kilts are OK at USA contests but such bands would be DQ'd in Scotland... all kilts must match under the RSPBA rules. It's uncommon but not unheard of here in the USA for a new band to compete for the first year or so with all the members just wearing their personal kilts, until funds are raised to buy matching kilts. They couldn't compete in Scotland that way.

I hope that that plain black shirts and trousers thing doesn't become more widespread over there!

And as always THANKS for the wonderful photos, which enable this Yank to vicariously experience so many of your Games over there!

(PS the World Pipe Band Championships held at Glasgow Green attracts around 220 pipe bands each year... over 200 more that perform at the Edinburgh Tattoo! It amazes me how few people realise how much bigger "The Worlds" is than the Tattoo.)

[CMcG]

I am not so keen on this new trend of some pipe bands not wearing kilts. Here is the Mid Argyll Pipe Band. Everybody to their own tastes however.

I sincerely hope that is not a trend that catches on. Some of the other pipers you showed us had pretty sweet hose though, with either a cuff topper or different coloured cuff.

[cessna152towser]

Some pipe bands

Judging the Drum Majors Competition and looking suitably stern.

Judging the Pipe Band Competition



More to follow shortly

[Chas]

Wonderful pictures, as per usual, Alex.

A broken caber - how is that even possible? Must surely be a unique experience?

I am very intrigued, what is this judge carrying?

Judging the Drum Majors Competition and looking suitably stern.

Regards

Chas

[Jack Daw]

I like the hose the Kintyre band are wearing. Nice pics.

[cessna152towser]

More pipe bands

Neil Elliot clears the bar

The bar brought down and spiked into the mud.

Kyle Randalls

Sebastian Wenta

Some of the heavies contestants with referee Alan Pettigrew

Gabrielle and the Carousel
One final instalment to come - don't miss seeing the Olympic Torch arrive and the Caber get broken!!

[cessna152towser]

The Olympic Torch Relay had passed close to the games ground earlier in the morning and the games organisers had invited one of the athletes to attend the games with his torch after he had completed his section of the relay.

Sebastian Wenta tosses the Caber......

.....and throws an almost perfect twelve o'clock - except the Caber split neatly in half as it landed. I have never seen that happen before!


Heavies looking rather nonplussed after the big caber broke.


Back for a final look at the bands - Dumbarton & District Pipe Band

The End.