The competition MSR

by Stephen Matthews
(Ballarat, Victoria, Australia)

I am fairly certain that competition marches, strathspeys and reels have been played together in solo piping competition for longer than they have been in pipe band competitions, but approximately when did each take place? It is my understanding that pipe band competitions have only existed outside the British Army since the very late 1890s at best and Cowal for civilians in 1906 (although I'm happy to stand corrected).

Were MSRs played from the start along with quicksteps and perhaps airs, or did MSRs as a competition staple in bands come later (I have heard the 1930s as a suggestion)?