| Subject: Scotland, 2005 |
Author:
Pat Ryan
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Date Posted: 00:00:24 09/13/03 Sat
American Celtic Pipe Band at the WORLD’S in 2005!
Playing at the World Championships is an experience every single bagpiper and bagpipe drummer should have. After seeing what was involved this year, I REALISTICALLY believe that the American Celtic Pipe Band can achieve this goal by 2005. This year, in the Grade 4B contest, there were 49 bands. There will likely be a similar number of bands in 2005. Do I think we’ll win? Probably not. BUT… We could have a chance and it would be an experience you’ll remember for the rest of your lives.
OK, Say we do this. How much is it going to cost me?
Based on my trip this year, you can expect to pay about $1000 per person for flight, dormitory and bus transportation. In a perfect world, the band would pay for everything. This, however, is not a perfect world – so you’ll need to start saving up. In addition to the $1000 for essentials, I brought over $600 and came back with about $50 in my pocket – so figure on $1500 - $1700 for the whole shootin’ match.
Can’t the band pay for some of it?
Sure, we may be able to work something out. Using a model that Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band has used, we can attach incentives for each person attending the World’s. I would propose that every parade you attend will count as $30 towards a “Scotland Account” for each person, and every dance/performance count as $15. Freebies (i.e., parades and performances done for the American Legion) will not go towards your account, since they’re freebies, and basically pay for the hall we’re lucky enough to practice in. What they will count towards is NEGATIVE $15 if you miss one. Yeah, that kinda stinks, but – barring a legitimate excuse – if you miss one of the freebies we do every year for the legion, you’ll have money taken out of you Scotland account. We want to avoid the “well, it’s a freebie, so I don’t have to go” mentality. When we return from Scotland in August of 2005, every parade and performance would count the same for those who made the trip until the end of the year (ensuring that a full TWO parade seasons would help offset the costs).
Well that doesn’t seem like a lot of money. How does that benefit me?
$30 a parade is a drop in the bucket. But let’s say that between now and August 2005, we play in 10 paying parades and 6 paying dances/performances. If you make ALL of them, you’ll have $390 put towards your room, bus and plane costs. If we do more parades – say 15 – you’re looking at about half of you base cost for Scotland. Keep in mind, if we commit to doing this, we can book airline tickets much earlier, and your base cost will go down significantly. I booked my airline 3 months before the World’s and paid $760. If I had booked 6 months before the trip, the cost would have dropped down to about $450 – you could pay for your plane ticket by attending 15 parades in the next two years.
Not a bad idea. I’ll just go to parades. Who needs Wednesday practices?
You could do that. But if you do, you run the very REAL possibility of getting cut at the World’s. Nobody wants that.
What if I don’t plan on going to the World’s? Will I still get paid for each performance and parade?
No. The purpose of this plan is to offset the cost for those players who wish to make the trip. We cannot – as a not-for-profit organization – pay individual players for participating in volunteer events. If you attend a parade and don’t go to Scotland, the band will keep that money which would have gone to you. This is not a punishment for not going to Scotland – rather it is an incentive for those who do go.
Well, I’m not a competing member of the band and I still want to go – does that mean I have to pay my own way?
If you are a planning on going to Scotland, regardless of competition status, any parades or performances you attend will count toward your trip. This includes EVERYONE. Pipers, drummers, color guard…. Whoever wears a kilt and will be going to the World’s. And keep in mind, these are MARCH tunes we’re playing. Just like the Marches we play walking down the street – so everyone who comes to practice will have the benefit of learning new tunes that we will likely play in parades.
Wait, wait, wait. We’re forgetting one very important thing here. The band does these parades to pay for things – like instruction, and uniforms, and reeds. How will the band survive financially if we put this plan into motion?
I thought about that. Let’s say we do a parade in Lindehurst, and the band gets $900 for our efforts. Let’s also say that we have 25 people in the line of march (a number I haven’t seen in MANY years). That means that – assuming all 25 are going to the World’s, the band takes home $150. Many of us work very hard for this band, and we get reeds and uniforms. Why not try one time to reward those who participate in parades? If the band does 15 parades @ $900 per, with 25 performers, the band walks away with $2,250 over the next two years. Added to what we currently have in the band account.
That’s not a lot of money in the band kitty. How do we pay for instruction?
Instruction may have to suffer with this plan – but it may not. IF we get 25 members marching down the street, it is entirely likely that MORE parades will come our way, and MORE money will go to the band. It is also entirely likely that LESS instruction will actually be needed. The alternative is to have everyone pay their own way – which we can do. But this plan could also increase attendance at band functions.
What makes you think we can get this off the ground and actually make it happen? We’ve tried the competition thing for the past two years, and it hasn’t worked.
I knew you were going to ask that question. And it’s a reasonable objection. Here’s another question: Why can’t we? What’s the WORST that could happen? We go over to Scotland in 2005 and finish 49th out of 49. BUT – we’d still go to Scotland and play on Glasgow Green. We’d get to see the best pipe bands in the world perform. We’d have the opportunity to watch recitals by the top pipers in the world. And we’d get to PLAY at the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! And – finally - we might just be able to increase attendance at parades.
OK rabbit, you’ve convinced me. Sounds like a good plan. But how will we get ready? I mean – this is a BIG step for a band that hasn’t competed in over a year.
The Grade 4 contest at the World’s in a March Medley only. We’ll put together a march set this Fall and begin working on it with the goal of playing it in Scotland in 2005. Since next year is a leap year, we’re pretty lucky that we’ll be able to play the set quite often before 2005. Based on historical dates of contests, only here are the contests I hope we can play:
2004
· Monmouth, 2004 – March Medley
· Fair Hill, 2004 – March Medley
· Bonnie Brae, 2004 – March Medley
· Maxville, 2004 – March Medley
· Hunter, 2004 – March Medley
· Westbury, 2004 – March Medley
· Nassau, 2004 – March Medley
2005
· Monmouth, 2005 – March Medley
· Fair Hill, 2005 – March Medley
· Rockland, 2005 – March Medley
· Maxville, 2005 – March Medley
· North Berwick, Scotland, 2005 – March Medley
· Perth, Scotland, 2005 – March Medley
· World Championships, 2005 – March Medley
We’d play the set in competition THIRTEEN times before the World’s over the next two years.
What if I bust my back working on this and I’m just not up to speed? Will I get cut?
Unfortunately, yes. Competition is fun, but having a chance to win is more fun. If you’re not up to speed by the time we reach Scotland, you probably won’t play. That doesn’t mean you can’t keep trying. And it doesn’t mean you can’t participate in mass bands or wear your uniform the day of the games. It just means that – though we’d be going to Scotland to have a GREAT time, we’re also going to compete against the best Grade 4 bands in the world, and we need to make every effort to acquit ourselves well. Before the Perth contest this year, I went up to the Pipe Major and told him if he felt I should be cut, please cut me. I wasn’t having a great day, and wasn’t sure if I was going to be an asset to the group. He thought about it and decided to let me play. But others in the band did not play that day. And others in the band were cut for the World’s. Sure, they were disappointed, but in the end, they were happy that the band they were associated with put their best foot forward and put forth their best performance to date. I asked one of the people who was cut if they were ok with it. She said she was, because she knew if she would have gone out there on the field, she would NOT have been an asset to the performance. And that’s exactly what we’re looking for. In competition, you need to be an asset, not just a player. Sorry, but them’s the breaks.
Can we win?
One of the members of the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band is also the Pipe Major for High Desert Pipes and Drums in New Mexico. High Desert went to the World’s in Grade 4B back in 1999 and won. They WON the world’s. What did they play? Jack’s Welcome Home and Highland Wedding. That’s it. They played two tunes, went to Glasgow Green, and took home the hardware. Why can’t we do that too? Worst case scenario, we all have a lovely two week vacation in Scotland.
So that’s my proposal. The band will vote on this at the next band meeting on November 12th (two Wednesdays after the Piper’s Ball). I’m in. I know Damien Murray and Tim Delaney are in. My brother Tom is in – he’ll be down often enough in the next two years to get up to speed (though he likely won’t have the band to offset his costs). I hope you’re in too.
Cheers.
Pat.
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