Scottish Highland Games

[andi]

Brief history
of the Scottish Highland Games


Oral traditions holds that some vesion of the Highland Games has been in existence since before the dawn of Christianity. In those days, the gatherings were essentially war games, designed to select the best warriors in each clan. Crude forms of the athletic events you will see at this year's games were developed in order to test the contestants' strength, stamina, agility, and accuracy. They used the elements and materials of their day-to-day life; thus the caber toss, the stone put, the hammer throw, and the weight toss were their training tools and methods. Many of the events have become more sophistircated over the years, but they still retain the essence and flavor of their roots.

The 11th century saw the first organized Highland Games in Scotland that were designed as a sporting event. It was during the reign of King Malcolm III that a fairly flat meadowland, the Braes O'Mar along the River Dee near the castle of Kindochit, was used for a royal contest to find the swifest runners in the kingdom - those fast enough and with sufficient stamina to carry Malcolm's messages across the land.

Highland Games were held annually thoughout Scotland until the Battle of Culloden in 1746. After Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat by the English, the Act of Proscription banned the playing of the bagpipes, the wearing of the kilt, the gathering together of peole and the carrying of ams under penalty of deportation or death. This effectively squelched a good part of the Highland culture.

In the latter part of hte 18th century (after the eventual repeal of the Proscription), Highland Societies began forming and, in 1781, the first Society Gathering was held in Falkirk. The success of this Gathering led to the Gatherings and Games as we know them today. In 1819 the St. Eilian's Society conducted a full-scale Games. By the end of the 1820s, Games were being held throughout Scotland. In the United States, the first Highland Games were organized by the Highland Society of New York in the mid-1800s. At least four Caledonian Societies were sponsoring Highland Games in this country prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Scottish Highland Games are held thoughout the world, where Scots by birth or ancestry have made their homes. Scots, more than any other nationality, seem to inherit a remarkable affinity and love for the land of their ancestors. They take particular pride and pleasure in perpetuating the customs and culture of Scotland.

www.kernscot.org/games/pages/BriefHistory.htm

[andi]

Putting the Shot

Probably the oldest of the heavyweight sports and the easiest for young lads to take-up - all they needed was a smooth stone from the river bed.

Each different Gathering had its own such stone which might vary in weight between 13lbs (5.9kgs) as at Tomintoul, and 28lbs (12.7kgs) as at Glen Isla and Braemar.
This made comparison of distance records between the various Highland games, very difficult indeed.

Nowadays the old stones tend to have been replaced at most gatherings by a standardised iron sphere weighing either 16lbs (7.26kgs) or 22lbs (10kgs).

The weight or shot is thrown with one hand only from in front of the shoulders. A run not exceeding 7ft 6ins (2.3m) is allowed up to the trig which is a length of wood 4ft 6ins (1.37m) long and six inches (15cms) high.



Starkey's Shot
Sergeant Major Robert Starkey was one of the best known heavyweight athletes during the 1920s and 30s and in 1924 was coach to the British team for the Paris Olympics. That team included such famous figures as Harald Abrahams and Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire fame and the American team included swimmer Johnny Weissmuller - Tarzan.

Bob Starkey became very friendly with Clarence Houser - the American shot-putter who won the gold medal for that event. Houser presented Starkey with the solid brass shot with which he had won the event and Starkey presented it to Crieff Highland Gathering. The shot can be seen at the Visitors' tent each year.

www.crieff-highland-games.co.uk/shot.html

[andi]

Tossing the Caber

Tossing the caber is easily the most recognisable trademark of Scottish Highland games and is one of the most spectacular of the heavy events.

The origins of caber tossing are unknown although it has been suggested that it was developed by foresters for throwing tree trunks into the river. It would be difficult to devise a more physically demanding method of moving felled timber and the more likely explanation is that it was a sport amongst foresters that became part of the traditional Highland Gathering events.
The dimensions of a caber - or cabar in Gaelic - can vary enormously but the norm weighs about 150lbs (68kgs), is 18 feet (5.5m) long and about 9 inches (23cms) thick at one end, tapering to about 5 inches (l3cms) at the other.

The caber used at Crieff for the Scottish Heavyweight Championship each year weighs over 150lbs (70kgs) and is 17ft 4ins (5.3m) long. The Braemar caber is only 132lIbs (59.9kgs) in weight but is 19ft 9ins (6m) in length. The largest caber recorded in the Guinness Book of records is 25ft (7.62m) and 280lbs (127kg).



Games organisers strive for consistency in the weight of their caber and because timber dries out and becomes lighter, they will often soak the caber in a convenient loch for some days before their annual games or, bore holes in it and fill them with molten lead!

Contrary to popular belief, the caber is not thrown for distance but for style. The games officials will set the caber on its end with the thickest portion in the air. The athlete rests the caber against his shoulder and, clasping his arms around it, performs the difficult task of lifting it up off the ground whilst keeping it perfectly balanced. When he's achieved that, he will give it a quick flick up and move his hands under the narrow end. He's now ready to throw it.

The competition is judged with the aid of an imaginary clock-face on the ground spread out flat in front of the thrower with him facing the 12 o'clock position. That invisible clock-face keeps pace with him as he runs and when he has reached the desired speed he will stop abruptly at what becomes the 6 o' clock position and heave the caber up so that its heavy end lands in the middle of the clock and the whole caber turns right over, ending up with the narrow end pointing exactly towards the 12 o'clock position.

Quite frequently none of the competitors will achieve the exact 12 o'clock position and the prizes will be given for the throw that is nearest to the ideal. In some games, if the caber was not thrown, an old-fashioned two-handed, crosscut saw would be brought on and the heavies would saw an inch off the caber until one of them threw it.

www.crieff-highland-games.co.uk/caber.html

[andi]

Throwing the Weight

Throwing the weight is divided into two different events: throwing it for distance and throwing it for height.

For Distance

Said to be one of the most graceful of heavyweight events. There are two standard weights - the commonest being 28lbs (12.7kgs). The weight consists of a 28lb ball, chain and handle, the overall length of which must not exceed 18 inches (0. 45m).

In simple terms the thrower grasps the weight in one hand, spins round and throws it as far as possible. More accurately, the thrower has a distance of nine feet (2.7m) between a peg and a trig. Grasping the weight and facing the trig, he stands beside that peg and swings the weight to the side and then round behind him. He's now ready to start his throw which consists of three waltzing turns, gathering momentum on each. On the third pirouette and at exactly the right moment, he heaves the weight as far as he can. A protective cage extends around the sides and rear of the thrower to safeguard the public!

In some amateur games, throwers will use both hands to hold the weight but that is the method used for the Olympic hammer and not the Scots 28lb weight.



For Height

For this event the commonest weight is a standard commercial 56Ib (24.5kgs) box weight with a ring attached. As in the high jump, a bar is raised between two posts and each contestant has up to three attempts at each height to which the bar is raised.

Many heavyweights seem to pride themselves in the apparently nonchalant way that they approach this event: frequently the entrant will saunter up to the weight - which is lying underneath the bar - and without even a glance upwards will suddenly heave the weight up with one hand where it soars through the air and thuds back down into the ground only inches from the thrower.

The air of nonchalance is very deceptive however since the strength and skill needed are enormous. Past heavyweight competitor Charlie Allan compares the feat to that of throwing a seven-year old boy over a double-decker bus - with one hand!



www.crieff-highland-games.co.uk/weight.html

[andi]

Throwing the Hammer

The origins of throwing the hammer have never been in doubt. Wherever hammers were used - blacksmiths, quarries or farms - a diversionary pastime would be throwing the utilitarian wooden-shafted sledgehammer. The sport's long history can be judged by the following extract quoted by author David Webster from an 1826 games poster:

To the best at throwing the
sledgehammer - a large silver brooch.
To the next best - a set of patent
leather sword belts

Throwers used to gain great momentum - and distance - by turning the body rapidly to build up speed before releasing the hammer. Instances were very common of throwers losing their grip on the shaft or of releasing it a little too late with the hammer flying over or, even worse into the crowds. This soon brought about a ban on that method!

The old hammer has been replaced by an iron sphere on a rotan or male bamboo shaft, measuring 4ft 2ins (1.27m) and weighting either 16lbs (7.3kgs) or 22lbs ( 10kgs).

The thrower stands with his back to the trig (the throwing mark), swings the hammer round his head to gather momentum and then releases it over his shoulder.

The event certainly needs exeellent timing and whilst the conventional image of a hammer thrower is of a Herculean figure, some past record breakers have been short and slight which proves that knack is very much a secret of success.



www.crieff-highland-games.co.uk/hammer.html

[andi]

Highland Dancing

No event at Highland games encompasses such verve, enthusiasm and colour as Highland Dancing and what better sight and sound can there be that encapsulates the very essence of Scotland than the bagpipes accompanying a kilted dancer, swaying and pirouetting to traditional airs!

Highland Dancing is regarded as being one of the most sophisticated forms of national dancing in the world and whilst it is almost impossible for dance historians to separate fact from fiction when researching the more popular Scottish dances, the following explanations have gained great currency, probably because they are imaginative and picturesque stories.

Traditionally, dancing competitions included just four standard dances -
The Sword Dance, The Seann Triubhas, The Reel of Tulloch and The Highland Fling, but in 1986 a couple of imports were added to the repertoire -
The Sailor's Hornpipe and The Irish Jig.

www.crieff-highland-games.co.uk/dancing.html

[andi]

The Great Highland Bagpipe


"The great masters of the bagpipes can make the pipes convey nearly every human emotion, as though the pipes themselves were speaking. Indeed it was at one time widely believed that the masters actually made the pipes talk, and within Iiving memory in the more remote parts of the Western Isles, this view was accepted. This centuries old belief can be traced to the fact that in the 16th & 17th centuries, the pipers took over the duties of the harpists. It was the piper's duty to compose music to commemorate every important occasion and we have music handed down to us which ranges from the mournful to the exultant. Some love the wild marches which conjure up the march of the clansmen as they stride to battle, others prefer a gay air, probably written in honour of a famous wedding. You may hate the mournful wail of a lament for a fallen chieftain but whatever your reaction to the different types of music it is most unlikely that the strains of the great Highland bagpipe will leave you indifferent."
David Webster in his book Scottish Highland Games.

Visitors to Highland Gatherings will invariably see and hear two types of competition piping - solo piping and that of the large Pipe Bands. At the Crieff Games you will experience up to 30 such bands from various corners of the globe.

In the competitions, bands play a medley of marches, strathspeys and reels for between three and nine minutes, dependent upon the grade in which they are competing. In solo piping the most valuable prizes are usually for Piobaireachd (pronounced peebroch and in writing, Anglicised to pibroch) which although meaning simply pipe music, has come to be applied to the classical music of the bagpipes - the great music or in GaeliPage 16c ceol mor, (pronounced keyall more).

Lighter music, for dancing or marching is known as ceol aotrom or ceol beag but it is for the Piobaireachd that competitors and connoisseurs alike will travel the globe.

Like much classical music, it consists of themes with variations and since each Piobaireachd can last up to 15 or 20 minutes, it demands considerable feats of memory as well as playing skill.

The composers of the golden age, including the famous McCrimmons, taught their pupils by word of mouth and chanting - canntaireachd, which was the form in which these compositions were first written down. Unlike the composers of other types of classical music they left no instructions about how the tunes should be played including whether they should be fast or slow.

A Piobaireachd starts with the ground or basic theme and is developed in more and more complex variations until the climax when the simple ground is repeated as a finale. In normal Piobaireachd competitions, the player has to submit three tunes and the judges select one of these tunes to be played. Thus the Piobaireachd competition is a test, not only of piping skills but of memory and concentration.

What judges are looking for is not only good technical execution in fingering and in the playing of the grace notes, but a well-tuned and balanced instrument. They are also judging on whether the player seems to convey what they believe to be the emotional expression required by the chosen tune.

Whilst the Great Highland Bagpipe was often regarded as an instrument of war with its battle tunes, gatherings and salutes, much of the repertoire consists of Laments. With an instrument on which one cannot vary the pitch, cannot play more loudly or softly, it is not easy to express pathos but some of our best players, playing some of our most famous laments, accomplish this with great skill.

In the old days, pipers would sometimes say, not that a man had won a competition but that he had pleased the judges. This acknowledges the fact that good interpretation is of the essence of rine Piobaireachd playing.



www.crieff-highland-games.co.uk/piping.html

[andi]

Track Events

The usual track events include

Running



Cycling



Jumping



and Tug-o-War

[andi]

All places and dates for the Scottish Highland Games 2005 in Scotland are available at

www.albagames.co.uk/Highland_games2000.htm

[dreamy]

Again you put in an important part of Scottish culture, andi, and as always it's very informative and well put in words and pics. Thank you!

[LLady]

I adore this thread Dreamy!

[andi]

Thank you both!
Here are some more pics of this years Highland Games in

Drumtochty (25th June 2005)

Five Pipe-Bands marched on to the Field to open the 2005 Games. Almost 4000 visitors enjoyed a day of fierce competition, fun and all the traditional Highland Entertainment. The weather was kind, there was no 'real' rain but also not much sunshine, it was almost perfect. There was, this year, a much wider range of Children's activities and a good selection of Stalls selling all kind of ware, refreshments and food.