Confidence key to success at Worlds
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The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band will be going into today’s World Pipe Band Championships at Glasgow Green with a simple plan – play with confidence.
“If we do what we do well, then we’ve accomplished our goal,” Pipe Major Terry Lee told band members on the eve of the competition. “We’re the best we’ve ever been right now.
“It comes down to this: they need to take the prize away from us, and to do so, they had better be good.”
After a final practice on Friday and a final tweaking of both pipes and drums, the band took a break to unwind at a group dinner.
It’ll be an early start to get to Glasgow Green to set up. The weather forecast calls for little chance of precipitation but Pipe Sergeant Jack Lee says experience has taught them to prepare for any sudden change.
“We’ve had our dealings with the weather, and we know how rain can affect the instruments – it can make a really good band suddenly sound flat.
“We’ve come prepared. All we want to focus on is playing well.”
The Grade 1 event begins at approximately 4:30 Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Saturday, with the first performance, the March, Stratsprey and Reel. That’s followed by the Medley, which begins at 7:15 a.m. PST. The announcing of winners and the awards presentation is scheduled for about 10 a.m. PST.
(note: it’s not known exactly when SFU is scheduled to play within these categories, and the times are approximate.)
The SFU band is one of a record 239 bands from 16 countries taking part in the Worlds. A crowd of over 40,000 spectators is expected.
You can watch it all on a live stream from BBC Scotland, by way of bbc.co.uk/worlds. Glasgow time is eight hours ahead of Vancouver time.