BELFAST'S Ormeau Park will host the inaugural UK Pipe Band Championships on Saturday June 14 next year, replacing the Cowal Games, which has been removed from the majors calendar after nearly a century. Details of the 2014 schedule were released this week and Belfast - which also rolls out the welcome mat for the UK again in 2015 - will stage the second of next season's five major competitions, with upwards of 150 bands likely to attend. The RSPBA's Northern Ireland branch is understandably thrilled that big-time competition piping is returning to Belfast, which successfully hosted three consecutive European Championships in the grounds of Stormont (2010 to 2012). But inevitably there has to be a loser, and in this case the June date clashes with the Mid-Ulster Championships at Cookstown, which is due to mark its 60th anniversary in 2014. A spokesman for the Mid-Ulster section said: "Our event has always been held on the second Saturday in June and is one of the biggest local contests. But while we welcome the decision of the RSPBA to bring a major championships to Northern Ireland, it's seriously disappointing for everyone associated with the section that we will be forced to look at an alternative date." Mid-Ulster's problems are compounded by the fact that the Co Antrim section event is the week before the UK Championships while Lurgan Park is the Saturday after, so date options are severely limited - probably to early May or the week directly after July 12.. Dates confirmed for the 2014 majors are: ? May 31 - British Championships, Meadow Park, Bathgate. ? June 14 - UK Championships, Ormeau Park, Belfast. ? June 28 -- European Championships, Grant Park, Forres. ? July 26 - Scottish Championships, Levengrove Park, Dumbarton. ? August 16/17 - World Championships, Glasgow Green.