We watched some of the Highland athletics. I didn't participate in any events. It appeared wearing a kilt was a requirement and I forgot mine at home.
And in a few of the photos you will see that the men do wear shorts under their kilts.All the events seem to be a mix of strength and technique.
Weight over the bar
Also known as weight for height. The athletes attempt to toss a 56-pound (4-stone) weight with an attached handle over a horizontal bar using only one hand. Each athlete is allowed three attempts at each height. Successful clearance of the height allows the athlete to advance into the next round at a greater height. The competition is determined by the highest successful toss with fewest misses being used to break tie scores.
Scottish Hammer Throw
This event is similar to the hammer throw as seen in modern-day track and field competitions, though with some differences. In the Scottish event, a round metal ball (weighing 16 or 22 lb for men or 12 or 16 lb for women) is attached to the end of a shaft about 4 feet in length and made out of wood, bamboo, rattan, or plastic. With the feet in a fixed position, the hammer is whirled about one’s head and thrown for distance over the shoulder. Hammer throwers sometimes employ specially designed footwear with flat blades to dig into the turf to maintain their balance and resist the centrifugal forces of the implement as it is whirled about the head. This substantially increases the distance attainable in the throw.
The first photo has the man swinging the hammer. You can see the hammer in the air in the last three photos of this group. It took me a lot of photo tries to capture the hammer in the air.
Caber Toss
A long log is stood upright and hoisted by the competitor who balances it vertically holding the smaller end in his hands. Then the competitor runs forward attempting to toss it in such a way that it turns end over end with the upper (larger) end striking the ground first. The smaller end that was originally held by the athlete then hits the ground in the 12 o’clock position measured relative to the direction of the run. If successful, the athlete is said to have turned the caber. Cabers vary greatly in length, weight, taper, and balance, all of which affect the degree of difficulty in making a successful toss. Competitors are judged on how closely their throws approximate the ideal 12 o’clock toss on an imaginary clock.
Here are two videos of women doing (or attempting) a caber toss. Several women were able to successfully toss the pole end over end. I didn't capture those successful tries on video as I was watching and videoing the weight throw at the same time.
24 seconds: https://youtu.be/c2UX_TPE6TI
18 seconds: https://youtu.be/DnVpeZxbIwQ
Weight Throw
Also known as the weight for distance event. There are actually two separate events, one using a light (28 lb for men and 14 lb for women) and the other a heavy (56 lb for men, 42 lb for masters men, and 28 lb for women) weight. The weights are made of metal and have a handle attached either directly or by means of a chain. The implement is thrown using one hand only, but otherwise using any technique. Usually a spinning technique is employed. The longest throw wins.
Here is a 25 second video of a man tossing a weight. Notice as he spins a second time both feet briefly come off the ground. https://youtu.be/KRosgep8ioE
Sheaf Toss
A bundle of straw (the sheaf) weighing 20 pounds (9.1 kg) for the men and 10 pounds (4.5 kg) for the women and wrapped in a burlap bag is tossed vertically with a pitchfork over a raised bar much like that used in pole vaulting. The progression and scoring of this event is similar to the Weight Over the Bar. There is significant debate among athletes as to whether the sheaf toss is in fact an authentic Highland event. Some argue it is actually a country fair event, but all agree that it is a great crowd pleaser.
Now, this is an event I should be able to do!
Music
We also listened to two musical acts.
Tra Le Gael
http://tralegael.com/
This Flathead Valley band played traditional Celtic music. Most of the time we heard them playing in the background as we watched some of the Highland Games.
Here is a 2 minute 24 second video of the band playing a song: https://youtu.be/jodUvePPY3U
Top House
http://tophousetheband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/tophousetheband/
(Their cover of the "Stand By Me" song on their Facebook page is a fun video.)
The band is from Missoula, MT. They are an excellent band! The lead singer in the middle is also a marketing major. The fiddle player I - amusing - thought could also be a computer science guy and on their web page it says he is a graduate assistant in the University of Montana's computer science department. I had a suspicion... since is as nerdy looking artsy looking guy.
Galway Girl: 2 minutes 37 seconds: https://youtu.be/xXaATkun9xQ
Dublin: 56 seconds: https://youtu.be/yzuvrE6EQfM
500 miles: 32 seconds: https://youtu.be/2sqHK7tNmjM
Renegade: 2 minutes 26 seconds: https://youtu.be/UzUbco52EhM
After I got home I discovered one cow in the hayfield. Yes... of course it was Maria. She broke one fence barb wire, and broke the wire holding another barb wire to a fence post, and crawled through the fence - even though she is fatter than a pig and looks like she can give birth to twins tomorrow. She must have been in the hayfield a long time as she was ready to go back to the pasture so her calf could drink. I fixed the fence.
The grass in the hayfield is greener than the grass in the pasture.
No comments:
Post a Comment