Mr. John Hilliard of
New Zealand will be our international Drumming Adjudicator for the drumming solos, mini band and aggregate contests. The Geelong Highland Gathering Association is delighted to have Mr. Hilliard attend in this capacity and look forward to working with him in 2012.
Piping
Mr. Richard Hawke MNZM will be our international Piping Adjudicator for the piping solos, mini band and aggregate contests. As with the Drumming adjudicator, Mr. John Hilliard, we are exceptionally pleased to have Mr. Hawke attend on the 17th & 18th of March 2012.
For 2012 The Geelong Highland Gathering will once again be hosting solo piping and drumming competitions. These will be on Saturday the 17th of March. This is a free to public event and will be held at the showgrounds. There will also be a mini band competition for smaller bands.
Minibands
Late entries will be accepted up until 28 February 2012 in an endeavour to encourage more Bands to enter and are to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Victorian Branch of the APBA (this is an ideal opportunity for Bands to give younger or newer members competition experience). No late entries will be accepted on the day;
Entry fee is $5 except for A Grade (Open) which is $10;
Late entries may be accepted by the Contest Supervisor on the day (at double the entry fee) between 10.00 and 10.30 AM at his / her sole discretion;
The order of play will be in the order entries are received;
Prize monies as per above;
The Solo Piping will commence with Novice and conclude with A Grade (Open) and it may well be that the Solo Piping and Solo Drumming events will be run concurrently.
Solo Drumming
Solo drumming (in accordance with Part D of the Australian Pipe Band Contest Regulation, program can be found here.
Entries close with the Secretary of the Geelong Highland Gathering, P.O. Box 798, Geelong Vic 3220 on Friday, 9th March 2012;
Late entries may be accepted by the Contest Supervisor on the day (at double the fee) between 10.00 and 10.30 AM at his / her sole discretion;
Order of play will be in the order entries are received and will start of with Learner and conclude with Open:
Prize monies as per above; and
The Solo Drumming will be the 2nd event of the day.
Kind thanks to Malcolm, Jamie and Kylie for kind permission in using this video to promote the Geelong Highland Gathering Solo Drum Competitions.
Piper Of The Day & Drummer Of The Day
In addition to prizes being offered for each of the Solo Piping and Solo Drumming programs, a further prize will be offered for each of Piper Of The Day and Drummer Of The Day. The winner will be decided by judges on the day and the competitor will be awarded Piper Of The Day or Drummer Of The Day, this will included a $200 gift certificate from Celtic Affairs and an engraved plaque recognizing their achievement.
Piper Of The Day and Drummer Of The Day is proudly sponsored by Celtic Affairs and the Geelong Highland Gathering Assocation would like to thank them for their involvement in the 2012 Geelong Highland Gathering.
Mini Band Contest Information - Saturday March 17th, 2012
Aggregate Contest for Grades 1, 2, 3 & 4, plus a Juvenile Contest in accordance with Part C of the Australian Pipe Band Contest Regulation. Contest elements to be a Selection of Marches / March, Strathspey & Reel (as appropriate) plus Musical Selection (Medley) in accordance with Rules B.3.01 and B.4.01.
Contest Elements: Aggregate Contest (MSR/Selection of Marches & Musical Selection) plus Dress Inspection (in accordance with APBA Rule B.1.01.02) and a Drum Major Solo Contest.
Prize Monies & Appearance Monies:
As approved by Victorian Branch of the A.P.B.A, the Geelong 2012 competition will be providing an overall prize pool plus appearance monies. The monies will be added up and a formula used to determine the distribution of the prize pool across ALL bands in attendance.
It must be noted that the winning bands will in addition to any monies, receive an engraved plaque to identify their place at the closing ceremony, for example "1st Place, Geelong Highland Gathering, 2012 Grade 2 Aggregate Contest". Plaques will be provided for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place per the table below.
The prize monies (excluding D/M Solo) to be included in the pool is shown in the table below:
Grade
1st
2nd
3rd
Entry Fee
1
$500
$425
$350
$50
2
$450
$375
$300
$50
3
$400
$325
$250
$50
4
$350
$275
$200
$50
Juv.
$300
$275
$150
$50
D/M Solo*
$50
$40
$30
$10
(* Minimum three entries required under APBA Vic Branch Regulation)
Travel or Appearance monies are paid based on interstate band attendance. Entries from NT, WA & QLD will add $750 for each entry to the pool, entries from adjoining states (SA, NSW, TAS, ACT) will add $500 for each entry to the pool. Maximum pool for interstate appearances will be limited to $6,000.
Prize & Appearance Formula
The formula is based on a point allocation using the distance travelled from practice venue to competition venue as shown in the table. The points allocated are per band member competing in the circle, not members registered to the band:
Distance
Points Allocated
within 100kms
1
101 to 500 kms
2
501 to 1000 kms
3
1001+ kms
4
Calculate Interstate Band Appearance monies pool
Caclulate total prize pool monies
Add appearance monies to prize pool monies to arrive at total prize pool monies
Calculate points per band based on competing band members on the day and distance travelled to competition venue from practice venue (note Practice Venue Address requirement on entry form)
Add all points per band to derive total points for the day
Calculate $/point value by dividing total prize pool by total points calculated above
Calculate $/band based on the total points calculated for each band
Note that calculations will be performed after competition has completed and after participating in closing massed band ceremony. Failure to participate in massed band may result in cancellation of all points calculated for band.
Entries: Download an entry form here or contact The Secretary, APBA Victorian Branch, PO Box 400, Ringwood, VIC. Entries close on 31st December 2011. Late entries attract double the entry fee.
Non Competing Bands: Official Passes will be provided for members of non competing Pipe Bands, registered with the APBA, prepared to participate in both the Opening and Finale Massed Bands. Bands interested should write to the Pipe Band Covenor, Geelong Highland Gathering, PO Box 798, Geelong, VIC 3220 prior to 31st January 2012.
