RNZPBA President Iain Blakeley
2024 has not been “business as usual” for the Association.
The Management Group met early November to start the process for reporting to members on the year just gone, and to agree plans for the next few years. Full details will be in the 2024 Report and 2025 Plan that will be circulated for discussion at our Annual General Meeting in Invercargill in March.
The year kicked off with a new look Summer School that saw 140 students treated to world class musical tuition and personal development opportunities.
Contest season then resumed with Centre contests around the country culminating in the National Championships in Auckland which saw 50 bands take part, including what we believe was the largest Juvenile pipe band competition in the world.
Our Education Group was able to continue offering the outstanding Mentor Programme and, although very few bands actually take up the opportunity to have free help, we see the few that do continuing to report excellent progress.
Our National Youth Band was again invited to perform at the National Anzac Memorial Service in Wellington this year. The weather didn’t play ball and the service was moved indoors. However, the band made its presence felt and did us all proud, as of course do all our pipe bands who turn up every year to support their local communities at this very important time.
In June we held New Zealand’s first World Solo Drumming Championships Qualifier event in Christchurch. This was a great honour and we very much appreciate the trust shown in us by the Royal Scottish Pipe Bands’ Association in awarding us the first “down under” qualifier. By all accounts it was a success, with drummers attending from around the country and from Australia. The two qualifiers, Steven Shedden from Australia and Scott Birrell from Christchurch went on to compete at the World event in October.
I have previously written about the National Youth Band’s trip to Canada. It was a huge exercise and highly successful in my view. Our Youth Band and Summer School programmes are strategically important for us. They offer exceptional musical experiences, develop future leaders, and build a cohesive and resilient pipe band community. That’s why I believe we need to keep investing in them and improving them.
This year saw the completion and initial showing of 12000 Miles – A Kiwi Piping Journey. It follows four Kiwi bands that make the 12000 mile journey to Scotland in 2023 to compete at the World Pipe Band Championships. Apart from being an important archival record the documentary shines a light on many of the benefits pipe bands offer people of all ages and backgrounds. We are very grateful to Radio New Zealand for enthusiastically taking our documentary on board and supporting three live viewings of it around the country and showing it on their website. An objective of the documentary was to bring the pipe band story to a wider audience and with Radio New Zealand’s support that is exactly what is happening.
This year we ceased our printed magazine and dragged ourselves into the digital age, something that has been on the cards for several years now. It’s early days but I’m confident the new format offers so much more and will reach many more people. Also the costs of the printed magazine were becoming unsustainable.
Thanks to the help of Richard Smith and his law firm, Duncan Cotterill, we were able to help bands that are faced with having to transition to a new incorporated societies regime. The template created by Richard and his team is user friendly and allows bands to update their rules with the minimum of cost and effort.
As you can see, the usual business of the Association carries on, but the year has seen some pretty significant one-off and new projects, all designed to help bands and grow the pipe band community. I believe the greatest impact from some of these programmes will be felt in 15 to 20 years, but there are also be many short term benefits.
What stands out to me when reflecting on the activity this year is the huge amount of volunteer time, effort, anguish and stress that has gone into delivering these projects. All of you rely on volunteers in your own bands and other community associations, so you will know about the challenges involved. This year I’ve seen a pretty significant personal toll on our managers and leaders who have given their hearts and souls to seeing these ambitious projects succeed. They are a great team and it is humbling to see them in action.
The financials are being worked on. Thanks to another year of very generous support from Pub Charity we are confident that the final outcome will be reasonable given the amount of activity. To give you some idea of the level of that activity, this year the Association managed close to $1,000,000 financial transactions. That is double our historical averages and is evidence of significantly more activity taking place. It also means increased risk which has to be managed.
From 1 January 2025 there will be leadership changes in the Association. I’m delighted Liam Kernaghan has been appointed President. I’ve known Liam for some time now and have had the opportunity to work with him on the Board in the last year. He is highly intelligent, passionate about pipe bands and their music, has an open and enquiring mind, and boundless energy.
I’m also delighted to see Stu McHale on the Board again for another two year appointment. The fact that our music and what we do is currently experiencing the greatest level of exposure in mainstream media than I have seen in my time on the Board is to a large degree thanks to efforts of Liam and Stu. All pipe bands are and will continue to benefit from that exposure which is much needed, because membership growth continues to be our biggest challenge.
We also welcome Peter Duncan to the Board. Peter has had a distinguished career as a lawyer and has held numerous leadership positions in pipe bands over the years, at all levels. Peter will be well known to many. He helped start the Lewis Turrell Memorial Pipe Band in Hamilton is a playing member of Hamilton Caledonian. His experience, intellect, passion for pipe bands and desire to give back will serve the Association well.
We also have changes in the Management Team for 2025. Bryce Gilchrist has stepped down as Group Leader – Centres. In that role he has helped revitalise the critical role Centres have in the Association by consulting and bringing Centre Leadership together, to leverage their shared experiences and knowledge. Stepping into his role in 2025 will be Brent Ballantyne, from Auckland. Brent is President of the Auckland and District Pipe Band and is an experienced financial services professional.
Chris Stevens has also moved on from the Group Leader – Digital role. It’s difficult to know where to start with Chris. He was awarded Life Membership of the Association in 2021 for nearly 50 years of contribution to pipe bands. He has been a group leader in the Management Team since 2001, with responsibility for the Pipe Band Magazine, website, facebook page and all things to do with technology. He manages our membership database, results programme, Summer School and Contest enrolment processes and countless other responsibilities. He has given his all and continues to do so. While he is retiring from the leadership role, thankfully Chris continues to work for the Association and provide his wealth of institutional knowledge.
Stepping into Chris’ very big shoes is George McEwan from Christchurch. George has been a member of the Management Team before, in Promotions, and is relishing the opportunity to use his technology skills and experience to build on the work Chris has done embedding digital resources throughout our organisation.
During 2025 we will also say goodbye to Penny Wilson as Executive Officer of the Association since 2018. Penny finishes on 31 March 2025. After thankfully she has made her self available to help out as required. Penny has been a real asset in the Executive Officer role. Her knowledge of the Association’s history and her years of experience as a Board Member and Association Representative have been incredibly useful in the role. Penny was awarded Life Membership of the Association in 2018 and to this day continues to devote a great deal of time giving back to bands.
In my view the Association is in good heart and with the new team has the right mix of youth, experience and skills to continue an exciting growth trajectory. I offer them my full support and wish them the very best as they take the Association forward.
Regards
– Iain
RNZPBA Contest Group Leader – Mark Wilson
2024 Contest Rule Remit Process:
There were 10 remits in the ballot this year, each being covered in the two webinars held during September, with proposers present to answer any questions raised by other webinar participants. Voting closes 30 November, and include proposals concerning:
Remit 1 – Street March Wheels.
Remit 2 – MSR / Set Terminology.
Remit 3 – Removing the “Display”.
Remit 4 – Tie Breaks for aggregate results.
Remit 5 – Bass & Tenor judging clarification.
Remit 6 – Bass & Tenor judging incorporation into Contest Rules.
Remit 7 – Drum Majors’ Championship.
Remit 8 – Mace Flourishing.
Remit 9 – Set and Medley requirements for Grade 1 competition.
Remit 10 – Replacing the MSR for Grade 4B competition.
2025 National Pipe Band Championships:
57 bands have entered the 2025 National Contest in Invercargill, including six Grade 1, five Grade 2, nine Grade 3, nine Grade 4A, 17 Grade 4B and 11 Juvenile bands. These include four bands from Australia – it’s great to have them across for the championship.
Planning for the event is now well advanced with venue booking, street march planning and sponsorship in place, and with just over three months to go, things are starting to ramp up for the committee. They’re up to the challenge, and intend making the 2025 contest another one to remember.
If you are after tent hire or bus transport contacts for the event, please get in touch with the Organising Committee at the following email addresses:
- Tent Hire – info@invercargillpipeband.org.nz
- Bus Transport – info@invercargillpipeband.org.nz
- Accommodation – thejudyward@gmail.com cell # 0275 610 336
‘Playing-Up’ Application Process for the 2025 Nationals:
Applications for Playing Up closed 7 November. Once all applications for playing up have been reviewed we will be issuing the approved list 28t days prior to the National Contest.
Important Dates for your Calendar
- NZ Pipe Band Championships 2025 – Invercargill: 7 and 8 March 2025 in Queens Park
- NZ Pipe Band Championships 2026 – Taranaki: 20 and 21 March 2026 in TET Stadium
Contest Group – Mark Wilson, Jill Vincent, Brian Switalla, Rod Miller
RNZPBA Education Group Leader – Geoff Hallberg
Summer School 2025
Summer School 2025 is to be held at Scots College in Wellington 8 to 12 January. Accommodation onsite is now full. Registrations, currently sitting at 120, remain open for day students until mid-December.
If you have any questions regarding the 2025 Summer School, please contact summerschool@rnzpba.com
- We are on the lookout for a Summer School Director. If you are interested in getting involved, please get in contact.
Mentor Programme
The 2024/25 Mentor Programme is in full swing – congratulations to those bands who were successful in their application. The programme is open to all RNZPBA registered bands, and we can cater to bands at all levels.
Mentors can be assigned to, or requested by bands, and can offer expertise in piping, drumming (snare, bass section), ensemble, band management, planning a teaching program, etc.
Mentor Programme application close 31st Dec each year with successful bands being advised and the program runs from 1 April until the 31 March the following year.
For more information regarding the Mentor Program or if you would like to be considered as a mentor contact mentor@rnzpba.com
Youth Band
The National Youth Pipe Band of New Zealand has had a few weeks off since their successful international trip to Canada.
Several members have enrolled for the RNZPBA Summer School, and will be playing at the student performance on Sunday 12 January at Scots College.
– Geoff
