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.
