Competition Rules

1. All Competitors must be ready to compete when called, otherwise they may be disqualified.
2. If any Competitor is called on to play in more than one Competition at the same time, the Stewards may at their discretion permit him or her to compete in all competitions in which he or she is entered or may require him or her to elect in which competition he or she will compete.
3. After a Competitor has been called on to play, tuning of Pipes must be kept to a minimum as the Judges or Stewards may determine.  Lights are in use at all Piobaireachd competitions allowing a total of 3 minutes before light 1 is illuminated, followed by 1 minute when light 2 is illuminated: this signals that the competitor must start.
4. Any Competitors misconducting themselves or acting contrary to the Rules of the Gathering or the orders of the Judges or the Stewards shall be excluded from the Competitions and Prizes, and may be removed from the Games ground or competition halls.
5. The Judges of the Piping Competitions shall be entitled to stop any Competitor whilst playing if in their opinion, he or she has no longer any chance of winning a prize.
6. In all cases, the decisions of the Stewards will be final, and they may postpone or abandon the Competitions or any of them if necessitated by the weather or any other circumstances, or alter the timing of particular events, or the order in which Competitors compete, all of which they shall be the sole judges.  Extra Events may be added to the programme at the discretion of the Stewards.
7. All Competitors must appear and compete in Highland Dress or uniform, wearing jackets and bonnets.
8. Only Competitors taking part in the particular events in progress will be allowed inside the ropes at the Games ground.
9. The order of competing in all Piping Events will be decided by ballot, drawn by the Stewards after 31^st July.  Competitors in each competition will be advised by the website of the order of play.  Order of play and locations can be seen at the Gathering Hall on the Tuesday evening prior to the competitions and will be displayed in all competition halls and tuning halls on Wednesday.  Programmes may be purchased from the Gathering Hall on Tuesday evening.
10. There must be more Competitors than prizes, or part of the prizes may be withdrawn.  No first prize may be awarded unless there are at least two Competitors.
11. Prizes will be handed to the prize-winners after the conclusion of the respective Competitions.  The Stewards shall not be responsible for any prize not claimed.
12. For the purposes of Local Events and eligibility for the Local prizes in other events (if any), a "Local" Competitor is one who (a) is a Native of, or (b) has been resident for the last two years in the County of Argyll, or (c) is currently serving in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, or (d) who can satisfy the Stewards that they have any other comparably close links with Argyll.  Intending Competitors must enter their qualifications to play in Local Competitions on their Entry Form.
13. Competitors in either of the three Local competitions are disbarred from entering in any other Piping competition held on that day.
14. No competitor may win local events (Events 4, 5 and 6) more than three times. Local Prizes will be awarded, or withheld at the discretion of the Judges, based on the Entrant's merit.
15. Competitors in Events 1, 2, 3 and 11 intending to play a setting of any tune not contained in the staff or editorial notes of the Piobaireachd Society's Books or the Kilberry Book should give notice of the setting which they intend to play at the time of submitting their Entry.
16. Competitors under 16, and who must be 12 or over on the day of competition, only may compete in the Junior MSR.  (A piper under 12 may exceptionally be considered for entry by the Stewards.)
17. Entry must be completed through the www.obangames.com website, according to the timetable published there. Late entries will not be accepted. 

NOTES:

a)       Intending Competitors must give their name and full address, rank and name of unit where relevant, and if entering for a Local Prize, their qualification under Rule 9 (above). 

b)       A single entry fee of £10.00 is payable by each Competitor entering for the Piping Competitions, and should be sent with the Entry Form. 

c)       No entry fee is required from Competitors entering for Local Competitions only, for the Junior Competition or MacGregor Memorial.

On the Thursday morning of the Gathering all competitors  - with the exception of those competing in the Local competitions and the first four in each senior March competition - are requested to form a Pipe Band to accompany members to the Games field.  Pipers are to assemble in station square at 10.15am.  A van will leave Oban station carrying pipers' gear to the Games field.