The Highland Games, Sports of Ireland by Lindsey Banks

St. Patrick’s Day was here last Saturday and March Madness is heavy in the air. The two mixed made me think of all the cool sports they play over in Ireland. Of course, they have regular, every day sports like soccer, football, basketball, etc. But they also have some unique sports.

One that most of you have probably heard of is, Rugby. Rugby is a very close contact, aggressive sport. It’s played much like football, but is actually much more hard-core. The ball resembles a soccer ball mixed with a little bit of a football.

Most of the crazy sports they have are played in The Highland Games. Some of the sports that are played are, Caber Toss, stone putt, and sheaf toss. Some crazy names, right? These games are their way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage.

Let’s begin with the caber toss. A long pole or log is stood upright and lifted into place by the competitor who balances it vertically holding the smaller end in their hands. Then the competitor runs forward attempting to toss it 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. Competitors are judged on how closely their throws approximate the ideal 12 o'clock toss on an imaginary clock. Sounds difficult.

Next, the stone putt. This event is similar to the track and field event, shot put. Instead of a steel shot, a large stone of variable weight is used. There are two versions of the stone toss events, The "Braemar Stone" uses a 20–26 lb stone for men and a 13–18 lb for women and does not allow any run up to the toebaord, it is a standing put. In the "Open Stone" using a 16–22 lb stone for men and a 8–12 lb for women, the thrower is allowed to use any throwing style so long as the stone is put with one hand with the stone resting cradled in the neck until the moment of release.

Lastly, let’s talk about the sheaf toss. Any idea what a sheaf is? I just learned today, it is a bundle of straw. In this event, the bundle of straw weighs 20 pounds for the men and 10 pounds for the women and is wrapped in a burlap bag. It is tossed vertically with a pitchfork over a raised bar, kind of like the ones used in pole vaulting.

I wonder why we don’t have weird, wacky sports like these around here. I would definitely love to cover and write about those! I’d even play a few myself, if I had the strength!