Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band in championships 7/3/13
Fourteen members of Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band are getting ready to travel to Edinburgh
to attend the first ever Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships on Sunday.
The championships are being run with the blessing of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band
Association, with the aim of promoting piping and highland drumming in schools.
It’s been three years since Sgoil Lionacleit had a pipe band playing at competition
level, so for most of the pipers and drummers it will be a brand new experience.
Though short of drummers, the novice drummers have been getting lessons from local
musician Mairi Innes and there have been regular visits from mainland drum tutor
Alan Craig.
Mairi MacInnes, Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Major said: “'We are looking forward to the
experience of playing in a competition for the first time.
“We have a really enthusiastic band, under the dedicated tuition of Donald Ban MacDonald.
The players are very excited to be travelling from the Western Isles to compete in
the first Scottish Schools Championship.’
Alan Whittle, treasurer of the Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band Committee, said: “To transport
the players and their equipment to the mainland and book suitable accommodation is
a costly undertaking.
“However parents and staff at Sgoil Lionacleit have been hugely supportive and we
have been fundraising in the community to help to pay for the trip. The response
from local people has been tremendous.”
The pupils themselves have done much of the fundraising with bag-packing, bake sales
and bonus balls. Parents have also organised a quiz night and there are other fund-raising
activities to come.
The band have also had pledges of support from councillors and help from local businesses,
with the Dark Island Hotel regularly providing an additional venue free-of-charge
for drumming tuition and full band practice. Daliburgh Thrift Shop, North Uist Community
Council, CalMac, Qinetic and the Championship organisers have also helped with the
costs of the trip.
Fund-raising will continue into the summer when it is planned to take an even bigger
pipe band to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships at Glasgow Green in August.
Any offers of help or donations to the Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band can be made by
contacting the school or Alan Whittle at alan@hebrides.net