The power of the kilt
Published 7:00 am Saturday, August 17, 2002
Stones were flung, hammers were hurled and poles were tossed at one of the island’s most unusual sporting events of the year Saturday.
It was also the only place on the island where it was possible to find really big, muscular men showing off their strength while wearing kilts.
The fourth annual Whidbey Island Scottish Highland Games at the Greenbank Farm attracted a flock of novices and amateurs to try their hand at the stone, the Scottish hammer throw and the caber toss. The latter event, which involves tossing a tall pole, was perhaps the day’s most challenging event.
Julie Riise, an island resident and former multi-event champion in the Scottish games, judged the strength events at this year’s games.
“We had 22 competitors, mostly novices,” she said. “The hardest was the caber pole,” she added, pointing out the difficulty of balancing a long, heavy pole and then tossing it straight ahead for distance.
Competitors also huffed and puffed their way through 28-pound and 56-pound stone throws, for both height and distance, depending on the event.
While the throwing implements in that event were fairly obvious, other events involved more unfamiliar objects. In the Scottish hammer throw, competitors grabbed hold of a cane handle attached to a round, metal head. Of little use for pounding nails, the throwing hammer has intimidating heft, weighing 16 pounds for men’s competition and 14 pounds for women.
The caber poles ranged from 13 to 17 feet in length and weighed from 70 to 120 pounds. Riise said the event originated in Scottish boglands, when it was necessary to lay poles to walk across wetlands. That explains why the main point of the contest is to throw the pole end-over-end so it lands straight.
In the overall competition, a number of throwers came away with awards. In the novice division, a local thrower, Jason Artis of Langley, came out on top, followed by Greg Butcher of Lynnwood and Adam Wahl of Lynnwood.
In the more advanced amateur competition, Jeremiah Strand of Stanwood was the hands-down winner. Strand is ranked as one of the top five Scottish games athletes in the United States, and is getting ready for a trip to the world championships in Pleasanton, Calif. in September.
The Scottish Highland Games also included dancing events, piping and drumming competitions and a “flyball” contest for dogs. With a perfect sunny day for the competition and the festival, most athletes went home with only one type of ache or pain.
“The weather was beautiful,” Riise said. “A lot of sunburns.”
