Highland Games

 Today was a very busy weekend in Kansas City. There was a Busker Festival at the City Market, Dragon Boat races on the Plaza, huge sales in all the stores, and the Highland Games in E.H. Young park. We'd never been to the games so we decided to check it out. It was $10 per person to get in and parking was free. I think the rain kept many people away. We arrived when it began at 9am and stayed until 2pm. We had a few moments of drizzle but it wasn't bad at all.

To start the day, the competitors met for instruction and a group prayer. The men were in teams and they rotated through the competitions. While they were warming up we walked to one of the tents that had the dancers. These girls (and two boys) look so dedicated and I was impressed. It was a competition and once they brought out the swords to dance over, we were really impressed.

 The first even we watched was the Weight Over the Bar. 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. There was a man in pink socks who tossed the weight like it was a pillow. He won easily.

 

The next event was the Sheaf Toss. A bundle of straw (the sheaf) weighing 20 pounds (9 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.

 

 
Next was the weight throw. I liked this event. We didn't get to see the Stone Put or the Scottish Hammer Throw (similar events) so I was glad to see this. There was a small group of women who were competing at the events and at the stone put (their first event of the day) a woman blew out her knee and the firetruck and ambulance came.

The man on the right was my favourite competitor but the man on the left was also impressive. He's an Iraqi war veteran who did most of the competition with a cigar in his mouth.

 

 We took time away from the competition to watch this sword show/demonstration. It was one part comedy team, one part history lesson, and one part fighting. It was very entertaining.

 There were tents set up with clan names and details about their origins and locations. It was well done and you could tell people were really into their clan. There were also treats for sale (haggis) and tartans.

There was a small parade where the representatives of the clans walked through the main walkway followed by bagpipes and drummers.

 We took a break at the play equipment so we could eat our lunch (funnel cake) and let Allison run off some energy.

 We played at the park until 1pm and then headed back to see the Caber Toss. This was such a cool event! The event features a long tapered pine pole that 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. It was a slick day and a couple of the men fell while carrying the logs. It was nerve-wracking to watch.