1st November
2004
Aaron in World Drumming Solos
Final.
Ravara's leading drumming Aaron McCarten had his
best ever result in the World Drumming Solos by achieving 9th place
in the twelve man adult final. In the final he was up against no fewer
than seven grade 1 leading drummers along with two players from Shotts,
one from SFU and one from Dysart & Donald. It is the first time
since 1996 that a drummer from Ravara has made the coveted worlds
final when former leading tip Bobby Rea attempted for worlds glory.
Aaron played for his MSR Highland Wedding, Dora MacLeod and John Morrison,
and for his hornpipe The Black Bag Syndrome and Jigs from the bands
selection. It was fantastic to see a Ravara drummer on stage among
some of the biggest names in pipe band drumming circles.
Jim Kilpatrick was the overall winner with first
place in Hornpipe & Jig and third in MSR, Eric Ward was 2nd and
Gordon Brown Was 3rd. Ravara's other entrant Neil Ussher finished
6th in the morning qualifying heat were only the top 4 would progress
to the semi-final.
26th
October 2004
New learners initiative...
Now a days with players seeming to be harder to come
by, the band have decided to produce our own for the future. It has
been many years since a learners class has been run and because of
those classes we have 70% of the players in the band that we have
today so we realise how important they are.
We have gone to the local primary schools to encourage
kids along to our Monday night class for piping and drumming, and
so far we are delighted with the response with around a dozen learners.
All we can say to them is have fun and practice and you'll not go
far wrong.
18th
October 2004
World drumming solos draw.
The draw for the World Solos Drumming has been made
and Ravara's two entrants face some stiff competition from all over
the world. In heat 1 of the morning qualifying leading tip Aaron McCarten
has drawn number 9 out of 14 and in heat 2 Neil Ussher has drawn number
4 out of 13. Both the guys hope for a place in the semi-final but
will need to play very well to achieve this. Watch out for results
after the competition on October 30th.
18th
October 2004
Ravara Downgraded.
It has been confirmed by the RSPBA National Council
that Ravara and three other bands have been downgraded form grade
1 to grade 2. The other bands include Bucksburn & District, Grampion
Police and Glasgow Skye Association all from Scotland. Initially everyone
in the band was disappointed, but looking at the situation retrospectively
it may actually help the band to regroup and become stronger than
ever.
This of course happened before at the end of the
1998 season and the band then went on to win 3 major championships
in 2000 in grade 2 which took us into grade 1 again.
With the winter practices now under way and a few
more faces around, things are looking up for Ravara in 2005 in our
chances of some silverware. Keep looking out for more news posts over
the incoming months.
21st August 2004
Last contest of 2004 for Ravara.
Donard Park in Newcastle Co Down hosted the 2004
Ulster Championships the last contest for the season in Northern Ireland.
A fantastic crowd in the park created an exciting atmosphere around
the Grade 1 arena were the for local bands competed in both MSR and
Medley Selection. The World Champions not surprisingly lifted the
top prize along with best piping, drumming and bass section. Ravara
overall finished fourth place but claimed their first drumming prize
of the season by winning the 2nd place trophy.
Now for the band the 2004 season has finished and
we can take some much disserved time off before the winter practice
resumes. It was a bit of a struggle sometimes this year with fewer
players than before, but all the guys worked really hard throughout
the season. We may not not have always gott the results we were hoping
for, but the enjoyment and crack was always there. We'd like to thank
all those who followed the band this season and next year we hope
to get back up the prize list.
Make sure you keep an eye on the Latest news page
for updates about the band throughout the winter.
15th August 2004
Worlds in Glasgow.
Field Marshall Montgomery under PM Richard Parkes
won the most prestigious prize in Pipe Bands by winning their fourth
Grade 1 World Championship title in Glasgow Green on Saturday. They
staved off stiff competition in the final winning the Medley selection
and coming a close second in the MSR. Simon Fraser University of Canada
came second overall and also collected best drumming prize.
The improved layout of the grade 1 area seemed to
be well received as it gave spectators a better chance to hear their
favourite bands up close before they proceeded to the main area were
the grandstands were packed out with supporters from around the world.
Ravara did not make the final this year even after
a tremendous performance by the band and especially the pipers and
were bitterly disappointed finishing 16th in the morning qualifying
heat. The band were only optimistic about their chances of qualifying
but felt they deserved a higher placing overall. With now less that
a week to go to the Ulster Championships in Newcastle the band need
to focus on a good performance in their last contest for the season
and maybe hope for a good result.
8th August 2004
Sunny Portrush sees worlds
warm-up...
The seaside town of Portush on Antrim's north coast
hosted the annual North West Championships on Saturday with the Worlds
only a week away it gave bands a final run out before the big day.
Field Marshal once again claimed top spot along with best Drums and
bass section. Ravara finished fourth overall in Grade 1 and despite
the result they are satisfied with improvements made from a week earlier
in the Europeans at Lisburn. All they guys are looking forward to
Friday as the bands sets off for Glasgow for what will hopefully be
another memorable Worlds weekend. Good luck to all competitors!
31st July 2004
Field Marshall take their
second championship of the year...
Field Marshall Montgomery celebrated the second championship
this season by taking the honours at the European Championships held
in Lisburn. Richard Parkes and co. received four first places from
the judging panel who consisted of Ian Roddick, George Shepherd, Denver
Cardwell and Harry Russell. St. Laurence O'Toole continued their fantastic
run of form by finishing second which is the bands highest ever place
in a major to date.
Ravara had a disappointing result finishing sixteenth
overall. The band thought they had a nice steady performance and were
quite pleased. However the competition was at a high standard and
the judges just didn't fancy us on the day. All the the players will
now focus on playing better in Portrush this Saturday and hoping for
a good result leading up to the worlds qualifier.
