The British Columbia Pipers Association is a non-profit organization which sanctions all major bagpipe competitions in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Washington, and Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. It frequently partners with Scottish heritage groups and athletic organizations to organize Highland Games

Highland games

Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...

 in these three states. Nine of these games, plus the Annual Gathering (an indoor piping and drumming competition with no other events) are sanctioned by the BCPA and produce aggregate points in solo piping and drumming, as well as pipe band

Pipe band

A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....

competition, for an overall Grand Aggregate prize, announced at the end of each competition season.

History

From the settlement of Vancouver to the association's founding in 1932 there had been a few attempts to establish a piping society, all of which had failed shortly after they were founded. However, there were a handful of pipe bands and annual games were put on by the Vancouver St. Andrews & Caledonian Society. Enthusiasts who felt that a more concrete organization was needed founded the BCPA in July 1932, and the first "Annual Gathering" took place in November of that year.

During World War II, several pipers were made unable to play for the duration, but several still improved markedly due to regular tuition by the Canadian and Imperial armies and upon demobilization these pipers made a lasting contribution to piping in British Columbia.

Grading Systems in the BCPA

The first annual gathering of the BCPA saw competitions organized into Novice, Ladies, Under 16, 16 and Over and Open (or Professional) divisions. This seemed logical at a time when women were thought to be weaker pipers than men. By the 1950s however, this notion was completely disproved by many excellent female pipers and in 1958 the non-professional competition was reorganized into Novice, Juvenile, Junior and Senior Amateur divisions. Finally, in 1995, the classes were changed to the more modern Grade 1, 2, 3 and 4, Grade 1 being the highest level, and even more recently Grade 5, beginner (practice chanter/practice pad), and adult (or bandsman) classifications have been added due to the large amount of participation at the lower levels of piping and drumming.