Exactly what games do they play at the Highland Games?

Exactly what games do they play at the Highland Games?

Each Highland Games competition is a little different, but at almost all of them, you’ll see a few sports that you’ve probably never even heard of before. These events take skill, focus and above all strength.

Caber Toss If you ever happen to see an ad for a Highland Games event it’ll likely include a picture of men competing in the caber toss. This is the most famous sport in the Highland Games. The goal of the caber toss is…you guessed it…to toss the caber. But what is a caber? A caber is a long, solid pole made of wood that looks a lot like a telephone pole. Each man taking part in the caber toss is required to lift and balance the heavy caber in his hands. Once he has done this, he must toss the caber in a very particular way. He has to turn the pole end-over-end in a straight line. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Cabers can be up to 20 feet long and can weigh as much as 130 pounds. That’s a lot of wood to flip over!

Stone Put Ever heard of the American sport of shot put? Well, then you pretty much know what stone put is. Stone put is a game where each person must throw a stone ball as far as possible. The player who throws the stone the furthest wins. There are two ways to play Stone put: Open Stone and Braemer Stone. In Open Stone, the stone ball is lighter, and the player can run up to a line on the ground to help him, or her get enough force to throw the ball. Braemer Stone is more challenging. In this style of stone put, the player must stand still and throw a 26-pound ball as far as he can.

Scottish Hammer Throw While you might be thinking throwing a hammer sounds like a fairly easy sport, Scottish Hammer Throw is actually quite tricky. The hammer that the competitors must throw is not your average hammer. It’s a 22-pound head on a 4-foot long wooden handle. Plus, each player must stand still when he throws the Scottish hammer. He can only swing it to help him get enough momentum to send the hammer a distance. The player who throws the hammer the furthest wins this event.

Weight Throw The object of the weight throw competition is to send a heavy metal ball attached to a chain flying through the air further than the other players in the match. There are two levels of difficulty in weight throw. The easier level requires competitors to throw a 28 pound-weight while the more challenging level asks them to throw a 56-pound weight.

Weight Over Bar In the weight over bar event, players attempt to throw a 56-pound stone ball over a bar hanging between two wooden posts. Once all of the competitors have gotten the stone over the bar, it is raised higher. If a player is unable to send the ball over the bar, he is eliminated. The last player left wins the match.

Sheaf Toss The sheaf toss game reminds those attending the Highland Games that the people who began this sport were definitely farmers. In this event, each player must toss a 20-pound bag of straw known as a sheaf as far as possible using only a pitchfork. The person who throws the sheaf the longest distance wins.

Dance Competitions While men and women are competing to show who is the strongest in the heavy events you’ve just read about, there is another group of people who have come to the Highland Games to show off their dance skills. At the Games, there are two types of dance competitions. The first requires dancers to perform Scottish country dances. These are partner dances that look much like American ballroom dancing. The other dance competition, the Highland Dances, is one of the main reasons that people come to the Highland Games. Highland Dancers perform fast moving dances that often require them to only move their legs and feet. In order to be a successful Highland Dancer, one must study and practice for many years. Highland Dances involve a great deal of skill. One of the most exciting Highland Dances has dancers jumping and swinging swords while performing difficult dance moves.

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