THE curtain comes down on the domestic piping season this afternoon with the North West Championships in Portrush, always one of the most popular events of the calendar and normally drawing the biggest crowds. There are 48 bands in the fray, including three in the top flight, though sadly not the new world champions FMM, who are giving it a miss for the second year running to prepare for an assault on the Cowal Championship seven days later.
The action begins at 11.30am when Battlehill enter the arena in a 17-strong grade 4B, and the action will continue until nearly 5pm. The contest also sees the culmination of the Champion of Champions series in Northern Ireland, and although most of the issues are done and dusted, there ares till some tight divisions . And a feature of the Portrush contest is always the marchpast, where thousands of people throng the main street as the bands show off their prizes.