09/09/2026
Prize winners from the 2026 Northern Meeting - congratulations to Anna Kummerlöw, Grace Kelman, Morla Bruce, Mirren Silver & Sarah Muir. 🏆 🥰
2026 marks 50 years of women being allowed to compete in the Argyllshire Gathering (Oban) & the Northern Meeting (Inverness) due to the introduction of the UK’s 1975 S*x Discrimination Act. Some of the women competing at this time were Jennifer Hutcheon, Rona MacDonald (Lightfoot), Anne Sinclair (Johnston), Patricia Innes (Henderson) and Anne Stewart (Spalding), playing at competitions where women were allowed to compete, such as the Scottish Pipers’ Association & the Uist and Barra. 👑
Anne Stewart and Patricia Henderson competed in 1976 in the Gold at the Argyllshire Gathering and were joined by Rona Lightfoot in the Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting. In 1977, the Silver Medal was introduced to restrict entries into the Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting. In 1977, Patricia placed third in the Silver, qualifying for the Gold in 1978, where she received fourth prize and fifth in 1979, becoming the first female piper to win a prize at this level.
Visit Jeannie Campbell’s articles “How women gained equal status in the professional piping world” to learn more of the history of women in piping & the trailblazers that came before the 2026 female prize winners. 💜
2026 Female Prizes at the Northern Meeting🏆
Sarah Muir - 2nd Place - Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal
Anna Kummerlöw - 5th Place - B Grade Hornpipe & Jig | 2nd Place - B MSR
Morla Bruce - 2nd Place - U18 Piobaireachd
Grace Kelman - 4th Place - U18 MSR
Mirren Silver - 2nd Place - U16 Piobaireachd
Source Credit: Jeannie Campbell - Online Article from - “How women gained equal status in the professional piping world – part 2”
