A&D ventured south to Palmerston North from the 8th-10th of December for the 38th Jenny Mair Highland Square Day Contest. Square Day acts as a prelim to nationals, being the only other contest featuring the majority of New Zealand’s Grade 1 Pipe Bands. In attendance this year were Auckland & District Pipe Band, Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band, Canterbury Caledonian Society Pipe Band, and New Zealand Police Pipe Band.
Friday saw a gradual, 3 session development of sound as we allowed the pipes to acclimatise to new conditions. Gemma Pullan, Jordan Cooper, Kurt James and John Paton represented the band well in the evenings A grade Hornpipe Jig solo side drumming event at the Celtic Inn.
As Saturday came around we felt confident in our instruments from an encouraging Friday sound check, and took a relaxed approach to the competition build up. After a generous breakfast and supporting our friends in the solos, we kitted up for the main events.
We’re proud to announce we came away with a 1st place in the medley, with a 1st equal in drumming overall (2nd on MSR preference), and 2nd overall in ensemble. This represents the first overall event win for the band since the MSR at the New Zealand Championships in 2012! We have heavily invested in a youth development program since that time, and on the board they stood tall and delivered.
The leadership could not be happier to play next to the future of this great band!
Full results can be found here.