The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band is sporting some new faces as it vies for a seventh world title at the world pipe band championships this weekend.
The championships are in Glasgow Aug. 17 and 18.
The new faces in the Grade 1 band - which competes at the top world level - include five players who were elevated from the band's Robert Malcolm Memorial Grade 3 band following the junior band's world championship win in 2012: Brian and Graham Haddon, Daryl Techy, James MacNeil, Gavin Macrae and Kim Mercado.
Jamie Kubasiewicz, a piper from Winnipeg who's now studying at SFU, also joins the elite band ranks, alongside Eric MacNeill - formerly the lead drummer with New York's Moran Oran Grade 1 pipe band.
The new crew joins a band with a high profile on the world scene.
SFU has secured 20 top-three finishes in 30 appearances at the world championships.
Last year, the band placed third behind eight-time winners Field Marshal Montgomery from Northern Ireland, and Scottish Power.
SFU placed second in 2011 behind Field Marshal Montgomery - the same band that placed second to SFU in the Burnaby band's 2008 and 2009 wins.
The 2013 worlds brings together 225 bands from 17 countries to compete at various levels, ranging from novice juvenile bands up to the world elite Grade 1 level.
SFU is one of six Canadian bands to contest for the Grade 1 title among 23 bands from around the world. For more on the competition, see www.theworlds.co.uk.
Contributed, Burnaby Now / Eyes on the prize: Manitoba piper Jamie Kubasiewicz is among several new members of the SFU Grade 1 Pipe Band heading to Scotland for the world pipe band championships this weekend.;
