Six Grade One Bands will attend the National Pipe Band Championships in Timaru, with the inclusion of the Queensland Highlanders and the Western Australian Police Pipe Band (WAPOL). These bands join Auckland and District, Manawatu Scottish, Canterbury Caledonian and the New Zealand Police in the Premier Contest

57 Bands in total have entered for Timaru, including 13 in Grade 4 B, 15 in Grade 4 A, 7 in Grade 3, 6 in Grade 2 and 10 in Juvenile. The 2011 contest will feature a new Massed Bands setup, with the Grade 1 Bands making up the Duty Bands, playing all the other bands onto the Massed Bands. This follows similar practices in the United Kingdom and Canada.

Grade 1 will begin at 12:30pm, with Manawatu Scottish. They will be followed by Auckland and District, Canterbury Caledonian, WAPOL, NZ Police, and the Queensland Highlanders. Both the MSR and Medley will follow that draw.

The entire draw is available at http://nzpipebands.org.nz/Timaru_2011.htm