By Bruce Hitchings, Chairman Solo Piping Judges Association and Gordon McCready, President Competing Pipers Association
The SPJA association was established in 2014 to provide an expert body of solo piping adjudicators and work in partnership with the Competing Pipers Association (CPA), solo competition convenors, and Highland Games secretaries. It has a clear constitution and Code of Conduct which are designed to ensure the needs of solo piping competitions are met in a professional and impartial manner. Our code of conduct mirrors the principles of the Competing Pipers Association to ensure the judging of solo piping competitions is conducted with integrity and without bias.
The SPJA maintains a list of recognised adjudicators who have been selected through a fair and open process. It also provides regular professional development opportunities for judges ensuring that knowledge and standards are maintained. The engagement of SPJA members by competition organisers to officiate at solo competitions at all levels is supported by the Joint Committee for Solo Piping Competitions. It not only serves to provide competent professional judges but also offers a means of accountability.
Foremost amongst the principles of the SPJA is the avoidance of judging pupils or relatives which may lead to a perception of bias or partiality. The Association recognises that the invitation of judges for events is sometimes a complex matter but ensuring that there is no perception of bias is paramount.
The Competing Pipers Association, having recently updated their code of conduct to reflect this and in considering grading of its members, does not recognise any prizes awarded by teachers or relatives or, from 2025, any prizes awarded by non-accredited adjudicators (whether from a single non-member judge or where such an individual in engaged to sit alongside accredited adjudicators). This in turn may impact on the willingness of competing pipers to enter events where non-accredited judges are engaged or the avoidance of teachers / relatives judging pupils is not adhered to.
The SPJA Code of Conduct asks members to confirm with competition organisers that other persons engaged to judge are accredited members of the Solo Piping Judges Association before accepting invitations to adjudicate. Whilst most UK competitions recognise the benefits of engaging only SPJA members who are bound by the above principles, there remain isolated incidents in which competitions are inviting non-accredited persons to judge. This not only risks future support for events which continue with this practice but also damages the credibility of solo piping competitions more widely.
A full list of member judges, and further information about the association, can be found on our website www.solopipingjudges.co.uk The SPJA also maintains a list of ‘Supplementary Judges’ formed from current premier graded competing pipers. These pipers have indicated a willingness to officiate at lower graded events (avoiding any requirement for them to judge their peers) and we request competitions to consider using these resources to judge junior, juvenile and amateur events if there is any difficulty engaging adjudicators from the main SPJA list.
If you would like any further information or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the SPJA / CPA at secretary@solopipingjudges.co.uk / cpa_sec@yahoo.co.uk