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Maple Ridge pipers win at world championships

Four young musicians from Maple Ridge played with SFU pipe bands in Scotland over the weekend.
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Sarah Ickert is a drummer in the RMM Grade 4 pipe band.

The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band has shown it is still one of the top pipe bands in the world, by placing third at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on the weekend.

The junior bands also shone, with its Grade 3 Robert Malcolm Memorial band taking first place in the Gr. 3A category and its young Grade 4 band also placing third.

The Grade 4 band features three Maple Ridge members - piper Russell Pengelly as well as sibling Cameron and Sarah Ickert. The Ickert siblings hail from a Scottish family. Cameron is the youngest member of the Grade 4 band and hopes to be a famous piper one day, following in the footsteps of his grandfather's cousin. His sister Sarah is a drummer in the band.

Maple Ridge piper Kevin McLean is a member of the elite band, which had hoped to win its seventh championship.

"This is the best we've played all year," says Pipe Sergeant Jack Lee after placing third. He called the band's sound as tight and polished as it has ever been.

"We're disappointed, we thought we played well, particularly in the medley and were hoping for better. But we're still happy to maintain our top three status."

Lee is thrilled for the junior bands for their outstanding performances. It was the Grade 4 band's first ever appearance at the Worlds.

Band members jumped and shouted as they paraded their trophy around the field on Glasgow Green.

"This is the best, it's just the best," shouted Gr. 3 piper Brian Haddon, while several members cried, and later broke out singing We Are The Champions.

The Grade 4s also celebrated pulling off a surprise third, happy to have just made the qualifying round.

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