The Hoover Track Foundation is proud to announce the inaugural SouthEast XC Showdown to be held October 10, 2009, at Veterans Park on Valleydale Road in Hoover, AL. Our experienced meet management team is renowned for hosting such prestigious XC meets at Veterans Park as the Great American XC Festival 2005 - 2008, Nike Team Nationals SE Regional in 2007, and is poised to host the USATF Junior Olympics National XC Championships in 2010.

The event will feature a challenging, picturesque, spectator friendly, permanent cross country course, incorporating pageantry, including marching drum lines, flag corps, the military, etc., to enhance the cross country experience. Each race will have unique medals for the top 25 runners and special awards for the top 3 teams.

The Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band will be a part of the opening ceremonies as we Parade the Colors onto the field. We will also perform for the runners during the races to keep up their motivation.

For more information, please visit www.hoovertrack.com.

Though many fans of piping are not aware of it, playing in a Pipe Band is not only an art, it is a sport! Around the world, Pipe Bands travel to Scottish Games to compete against one another. Awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place generally include a trophy, prize money, and the pride a band gets from working together to attain a common goal. Contests mean a great deal of work for the band, as well as some long band practices, but such events are always tremendous fun. Plus, contests are ideal bonding experiences for the band, strengthening trust and camaraderie amongst the corps.

The Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band is proud to announce the recent creation of its first Grade 5 Competition Band. In Grade 5 contests, bands are expected to perform a "4/4 March Set" consisting of three common time marches. Our medley tunes have been selected and we are ready to go! However, some events hold "Open" contests in which bands can compete against each other regardless of grade level. For this purpose, we have also constructed an "Open Medley" to compete in such contests. The competition band eagerly plans to attend contests scheduled for early next summer in Gatlinburg, TN and Glasgow, KY, as well as Mississippi, North Alabama, and Georgia. ISMPB always welcomes new recruits to its competition band, so if you are a piper or drummer interested in joining us, please contact Pipe Major Ryan Morrison at info@ismpb.com.

Our first-ever Pipes & Pizza Pipe Band Workshop the weekend of September 26th was a raging success! Our drum clinician Drum Sergeant Mike Paige of Pensacola, Florida was invited to join us for the day to conduct snare drumming intensive. While the drummers worked, the pipers tuned and rehearsed the new competition 4/4 March Set. After two hours of work throughout the morning, we broke for lunch. Members and their families all gathered together to enjoy some social time and some delicious Papa John's Pizza. After lunch, it was back to work where the pipers and the drummers joined forces in the circle and worked through the 4/4 March Set. We recorded our medley on video in order to create a video log of our progress. We hope to share it with everyone soon!

Our efforts showed much promise, and we still have eight months to prepare! There will of course be more of these Pipe Band Boot Camps as the date of our first contest approaches. Of course, any and all are more than welcome to join us!

In the meantime please enjoy these pictures from the event! See more pictures on our Facebook Fan Page!

The Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band is delighted to welcome new band members Daniel Galyean, our new Drum Sergeant, Chris Jones, Christien Sullivan, and our new Drum Major Jack Grant! Daniel and Chris are snare drummers that come from the University of Alabama drum line. Christien is our band's very talented tenor drummer and the core of our band's mid-section. Jack has come to us from New York and will be featured front and center leading ISMPB in parades and on the field. Welcome all!

Little can compare to the excitement of watching a Pipe Band perform ... of course, other than actually performing in a Pipe Band! The Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band is not only a performance band, but we are also an educational institution. One of the goals of our band is to pass along the teaching traditions of Alabama's first piper, Ian Sturrock. Students and members receive expert tuition from renowned instructors Pipe Major Ryan Morrison and Drum Sergeant Mike Paige. Upon reaching a certain level of competency, students will undergo an evaluation and may be invited to join the band. If you would like to learn more about performing in a Pipe Band, please contact Pipe Major Ryan Morrison at info@ismpb.com.

Now you can follow ISMPB on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube! Thanks to all who have befriended us so far! Please share our Facebook Fan Page and our Twitter Page with all of your friends!

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