The biennial Pipe Bands Australia national awards recognising merit and achievement are being announced this week.

Nominations for the awards in three categories – Promotion and Advancement, Education and Training, Performance – were considered by panels drawn from within national council who selected the two recipients for each award. The panel noted that several nominees were considered in multiple categories.

The first section to be announced is Promotion and Advancement with 2020 recipients being:

· June Corcoran: June’s enthusiasm was a hallmark over 65 years as piper, drummer, drum major and tutor that started with Fremantle Caledonian. Founder and first pipe major of WA Irish and secured

·sponsorship from City of Armadale. In 1996 formed City of Cockburn. Instructor at numerous Perth schools over 40 years. Her passion and interest was always the broad pipe band community.

· Peter Stuart, a champion Scottish piper arrived in Australia in 1912, became a leading pipe major and judge over 40 years, officiating in every state, president of Maryborough Highland Society advocating

·a stand-alone pipe band association in the 1920s, Victorian vice-president and advocate in the 1940s and 1950s of an Australian pipe band federation.

The national awards were instituted in 2018 with an initial 12 recipients with future awards limited to two recipients in future two-year periods.

All recipients of awards become eligible for elevation to the Pipe Bands Australia Hall of Fame.

The 2020 Education and Training Awards will be announced on Wednesday and the Performance awards on Thursday. The 2020 Hall of Fame inductees will be announced on Friday.

Formal recognition of new Hall of Fame inductees and award recipients has been rescheduled to April 2021 following postponement of the Australian Pipe Band Championships due to restrictions on public assemblies during the coronavirus pandemic.