On Saturday 21st May the Laphroaig Scottish Pipe Band Championships were held in Dumbarton and after a closely contested competition with 18 other bands 1st Troon BB were crowned Scottish Champions. The Scottish Championships are one of the 5 “Majors” in the Piping world and to win is an absolutely fantastic achievement particularly when the band is run entirely by volunteers and on a very small budget by comparison to the competition. The band, which also won the BB Band Championships in East Kilbride at the end of April, entered the contest with high hopes and played well but it was still an agonising wait while the results were announced.
The win is the result of years of practice by the boys but none of it could have been possible without the input of a number of key individuals. Our Officer in Charge, David Bone, has been in charge of the band now for over 35 years and his dedication to the BB Band movement led to his award of the MBE. His enthusiasm and ability to motivate, particularly the younger boys, has seen the band go from strength to strength. David’s son, Christopher (also a BB Officer), has been Pipe Major since he was 14 years old and the respect that the rest of the boys have for him and his passion for the band and piping ability and knowledge make him a great leader. David Clark has been involved with Pipe Bands for over 40 years, led Ayr to 6th in the World and is currently a top class Grade 1 judge. Despite his busy schedule David devotes a tremendous amount of time and effort to the band and his advice, instruction and ear for music is second to none. The final member of the team is Bert Boyd, Bert’s grandson Mark is a tenor drummer with the band. The biggest problem the band had faced in more recent times was with drum instruction - not any more. Under Bert’s expert tuition the results have been dramatic culminating in the drum corps winning a number of competitions most notably the European Championships in 2003 and the Scottish championships in 2004.

This year for the first time we were able to put enter a junior band at the BB Championships and we now have nearly 50 boys receiving tuition. Whilst David rightly takes the credit for this he cannot do this alone and he has managed to recruit a number of willing and able volunteers to help with the tuition – Frances, Willie, Alec, Neill and Mike all give of their time and with their help we are building on our success and are looking forward to the future. In particular we look forward to the 2006 BB band Championships which will once again return to Troon and we encourage you all to come for what is always a great day’s entertainment followed by a march through the town which is a great way to end the day.