The 2026 Australian Pipe Band Championship will comprise two panels as outlined here-in. You can read more about the faces of competiiton below.
Adjudicators
2026 Adjudicators
Panel 1
Discipline
Origin
Scott Nicolson
Piping
New South Wales
Matthew Rigby
Piping
Queensland
Emelyn Brown
Drumming
Western Australia
Brian Martin
Ensemble
Scotland
Tony Coen OAM
Drill & Dress
Tasmania
Jamie Robinson
Contest Supervisor
Queensland
Panel 2
Discipline
Origin
Ainsley Hart
Piping
New South Wales
Joe Joyce
Piping
Queensland
Greg Bassani OAM
Drumming
South Australia
Callum McSween
Ensemble
Queensland
Stevie Stanley
Drill & Dress
Queensland
Phil Weber
Contest Supervisor
Australian Capital Territory
Brian Martin is from Aberdeen, Scotland, and lives in a small village called Peterculter.
He started his drumming career at the age of 8 with the local 47th Culter Boys Brigade Pipe Band, keenly competing in the Juvenile grades and becoming lead drummer of the senior band.
He moved to Buchan Peterson Pipe Band in 1994. The band achieved Grade 2 World Champions status in 1996 & 2013, and won best drum corps at the Word Championships in 2014. The drum corps also won the Champion of Champions title twice.
Brian played for two seasons with Buchan Peterson in Grade 1 before retiring to become an adjudicator for the RSPBA at the end of 2017 season.
Tony is a Life Member of Pipe Bands Australia and the National Principal for Drill and Dress. He holds an Advanced Certificate in Drill and Dress, and in Rules and Administration, and an Instructor Certificate in Drill and Dress. He has extensive experience in designing and leading pipe band displays and parades, including for the Tasmania Police Academy graduations, many ANZAC Day marches and Christmas parades, and the Armistice Battles O’er 2018 commemorative ceremony on Hobart’s waterfront. He has participated in many tattoos locally in Tasmania, in Victoria and in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
In the competition field, Tony has won many Drum Major solo contests and has won the Champion Drum Major trophy in Tasmania several times. He led the Tasmanian Irish and Hobart Highland pipe bands in full quickstep competitions as winning bands for over two decades until the late 1980s.
Greg Bassani began his drumming career in the 1970s in Adelaide. He has served as lead drummer for grade 1 and 2 corps for many years, winning multiple national titles with Adelaide University Regiment (Gr 1 & 2), The Royal Caledonian Society of SA (Gr 1 & 2), and the City of Adelaide Pipe Band (Gr 1 & 2). More recently he has focused on teaching and performing with the Royal Caledonian Society of SA, and during his career, has played across Australia, and in New Zealand, Scotland, England, France, Belgium and the USA.
Appointed to the Association’s judging panel in 1978, Greg has served continuously since then. In 2007, he became the first adjudicator to receive the Pipe Bands Australia ensemble endorsement. He has adjudicated throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the USA, including as drumming adjudicator at the USA Pipe Band Championships in Norfolk, Virginia.
Elected National Drumming Principal in 1997, Greg held the role until 2017. He led key initiatives including authoring the Adjudicator’s Handbook for Piping and Drumming, revising and maintaining the drumming syllabus and certificate examinations, and establishing and running six National PBA Summer Schools.
Greg is a professional educator, technologist and CEO within South Australia’s vocational education system, and has also been a part-time drumming teacher at Scotch College Adelaide for over 35 years, where he teaches, performs with and co-manages the pipe band.
Greg has extensive experience as a drummer, adjudicator and educator and has made a lifelong commitment to pipe bands in Australia, and is now serving as branch Chair and Vice-Principal of Drumming & Ensemble in South Australia.
Callum is a highly regarded A grade snare, tenor and bass drummer whose career spans more than two decades across Australia and New Zealand. A member of the national Drumming and Ensemble Adjudicator Panel with Pipe Bands Australia, he is recognised for his rare breadth of expertise across all sections of the modern pipe band percussion corps.
In late 2024, Callum re joined the New Zealand Police Pipe Band to lead the drum corps at the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships in Invercargill, and again this year in New Plymouth.
In addition to his performance credentials, Callum is an experienced instructor who has supported players from beginner through to advanced professional levels. His approach blends technical clarity with musical awareness, and he is known for building confidence, consistency and musical sensitivity within full corps settings. Most recently, Callum was one of two Australian tutors and adjudicators facilitating the Pipe Band Fiesta with the Boys Brigade of Singapore.
Widely respected for his balanced, analytical and musically focused judging style, Callum continues to contribute to the development of national standards in ensemble performance. He is honoured to serve on the adjudication panel for the 2026 Australian Pipe Band Championships.
Ainsley is the National President of Pipe Bands Australia. He is a member of the Australian National Adjudicator Panel for Piping.
Ainsley’s involvement with Pipe Bands dates back to 1978 when he started practice chanter instruction at school. An active pipe band career spanning more than forty years has seen him play with several New Zealand, Scottish and Australian bands, culminating in appointments as Pipe Major of two Grade 1 bands.
Ainsley was involved for many years with the New South Wales branch of Pipe Band Australia. In this role he championed grassroots piping and drumming initiatives nationally, across a variety of issues and activities. Now, as National President, Ainsley is putting his years of piping to good use in managing the affairs of the Association.
Ainsley took up an appointment to the Knox Grammar School Pipes and Drums in 2010. It’s a position that he still holds and one in which he has met with considerable success, taking the band to a Grade 4 win at the 2016 Australian Pipe Band Championships. Still an active solo piping competitor, Ainsley competes regularly at most Australian benchmark competitions.
Scott is a member of Australian National Adjudicators Panels for Piping and Ensemble. He is the National Principal and Victorian Vice Principal of Piping, and a member of the Victorian Grading Committee.
Originally from New Zealand, Scott was taught by P.M. John Downie of the City of Auckland Pipe Band. After completing university, Scott moved to Edinburgh and played with the Drambuie Kirkliston Pipe Band for a season. In 1998, Scott returned down under, to Perth, to take up a full-time position with the Western Australian Police Pipe Band, being a member of the 1998 Grade 2 World Championship band. In 2001 he relocated to Sydney, becoming Pipe Major with the St Mary’s District Band Club Pipes and Drums and, later, The Pipeband Club. Under his leadership the band returned to Grade 1, winning the Australian Championships Grade 2 (2006), Grade 1 (2008 and 2010) and two third places in Grade 2 at the 2006 and 2007 World Pipe Band Championships.
In 2013, Scott started as the Pipe Band Coordinator at The Scots School Albury. He has toured the band internationally to Kuala Lumpur, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Ireland, and Scotland including participation in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2017 and 2023. Under Scott’s leadership, competing in Grade 4B, the band won the 2023 Scottish Championships, the 2023 World Pipe Band Championships and were crowned 2023 the Australian National Adjudicator Panel for Rules and Administration Champion of Champions.
Jamie learnt pipes at Scotch College in Western Australia in the early 1980s before moving to the Perth Highland Pipe Band, where he competed at the Jakarta Highland Gathering and in Singapore.
He was Pipe Major of City of Blacktown Pipe Band No.2 (Grade 3) including successful international tours to Scotland, Indonesia and New Zealand. In 2017, he competed with Governor Macquarie Memorial Pipe Band in Scotland. Vice Chairman of Pipe Bands Queensland since 2016, Jamie completed his Advanced Rules and Administration certificate in 2019 when he was also appointed Vice Principal.
Joe started playing with Redcliffe Scottish Pipe Band in 1979 and joined the St Andrews Brisbane Number 2 Band under the tuition of Rob Roy Macgregor in early 1983 progressing to the Grade 1 Band later that year.
Joining the Australian Regular Army in 1985 he was posted to the 8/9th Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment taking up the role of Infantryman/Piper with the Battalions Pipes & Drums from 1986 until 1992.
In 1992 he became Pipe Major of St Andrews Brisbane establishing 2 bands winning various local & interstate comps as well as the NZ Grade 2 National Championships in 1996. Handing over the Pipe Major’s role to Matthew Rigby in 2002, he stayed on as Pipe Seargent of the band until 2008.
In 2008, Joe was Pipe Major and part of a team that reformed the Wynnum RSL Pipe Band which had great success both in Australia and in New Zealand.
During his playing career, Joe has guest played with the City of Blacktown Pipe Band at the Grade 1 European & World Championships in 1992 & 1995 also playing with the Qld Police Grade 1 Band under Davy Barnes 1998-1999 as well as the Qld Highlanders Grade 1 Band from 2008-2011.
More recently he has been playing and competing with Brisbane’s Emmanuel College Highlanders Grade 2 Band.
Over the years, he been involved in the tuition of many individuals & bands along with being an active competitor in both the band & solo circuits. He has been graded as an Open Piper for over 30 years and a long serving member of the local and national judging panels.
Born in Scotland, Stevie Stanley emigrated to Australia in 1999 to join the Qld Police Pipes & Drums, and is currently the Vice Principal for Drill and Dress in Queensland. He has extensive experience across all aspects of pipe band performance, including drill, dress, and musicianship.
Stevie has led and developed successful pipe band programs in Australia, overseeing significant growth in membership and competitive results. Under his direction, bands he has worked with have achieved success at State and National level, as well as strong results at major international championships including the Scottish, European, and World Championships.
As a former competitive Drum Major in Scotland, Stevie was placed at all major championships during his competitive career. He continues to contribute to the development of the activity through adjudication, mentoring, and tutoring, with many of his students going on to achieve State and National success.
Phil Weber began his association with Pipe Bands in 2011 when one of his sons decided to become a snare drummer.
For several years he was supporting parent and roadie but in 2016 he was convinced to take up the bass drum mallets and join the band as a musician. Since then, he has played with the Burns Club Pipe Band as one of their bass drummers and has competed in numerous band and a number of solo competitions.
In 2019 he was invited to join the Australia Federal Police Pipe Band as part of the cast of the Basel Military Tattoo in Switzerland.
As a result of his experience with databases, he has been “back-room support” for the management of the PBA membership database for a number of years and is currently part of the group looking at alternatives to the current system. This involvement in membership activities led to a growing interest in the management side of PBA. As a result, he was appointed as Principle of Rules and Administration in 2019, a role he will soon relinquish because earlier this year he was appointed as national secretary of the association.
He holds a Preliminary Certificate in Bass Drumming and an Advanced Certificate in Rules and Administration and is on the Contest Supervisors List for the NSW Branch.
Matthew started paying the pipes at the age of nine at the Lake Macquarie Police Boys Club in New South Wales.
He has played and competed with a number of bands in NSW including Cardiff RSL, the Royal Australian Corps of Transport, Rooty Hill and St Mary’s before moving to Queensland to play with the Queensland Police Pipes and Drums in the late 1990’s. Matt was pipe sergeant of the Police band for a number of years including when the band competed at the World Pipe Band Championships in 2002, before he became Pipe Major of St Andrew’s Pipe Band from 2002-2008.
Matt has also been an active and successful solo player for many years and had the opportunity to represent Australia in Lorient in 1998.
Matt currently plays with the Emmanuel College Highlanders in Brisbane and tutors with the Wynnum RSL Pipe Band, where has the great pleasure in helping bring through a new generation of young pipers and drummers including his two sons.
In recent years, Matt has competed with the Canterbury Caledonian Pipe Band, and served as the Queensland Vice Principal of Piping for two years, however stepped aside from this role due to his professional career.
EJ received tuition at high school before being invited to join City of Wellinton Pipe Band’s junior band at age 14. He was quickly promoted to City of Wellington Grade 1 senior band in 1973, at age 15.
EJ became the leading drummer in 1984, holding the position until 1993. During this time, City of Wellington won 16 Grade 1 New Zealand National titles and travelled to Australia to win Grade 1 National titles in 1974 and 1978, as well as competing successfully in Scotland.
He moved to Perth in 1993 to take up the position as Drum Sergeant of Grade 2 Western Australia Police Pipe Band (WAPOL). He competed successfully over a 15 year career with WAPOL within Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and U.S.A. Major highlights include becoming Grade 2 World Champions 1998 and Grade 1 US Champions 2001.
EJ has been a drumming adjudicator for over 40 years and ensemble adjudicator for 14 years, with judging appointments around Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
An educator in drumming and drum corps development for over 40 years, he has presented at workshops, examined candidates for certification, and worked with individual bands in Australia, New Zealand and USA to Grade 2 level.