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History of the Highland Games
Introduction
The story of humanity is filled with stories of physical strength and the feats accomplished with strength. Often times, these stories were nothing more than exaggerated tales passed down through oral tradition that had its roots in a similar act in reality. Many of these feats are recorded from ancient Greece. Famously Milo of Croton was said to have carried a bull on his shoulders around the stadium in Olympia. Though this story comes out to be fantastical at best, reality says that there is more than a drop of truth in the idea of Milo carrying the bull for a short distance (Crowther, 114). In modern strongman competitions, athletes compete in a yoke carry where they must carry a load across their shoulders, often times in excess of the weight of a bull (NAS, 5).
Another large part of early strength development comes from stories and legends of stone lifting, which remains a large part of strongman competition to this day. From antiquity there are stories of stones being lifted that are inscribed with the story of them being lifted. While often times these stones are massive and stories seem incredulous, comparing the weights of the stones to modern weightlifting records only makes the stories more believable. One of these stones is found on the island of Thera, and weighs 480 kilograms, or 1058 pounds. The modern deadlift world record now stands at 1015 pounds. While there is a discrepancy, the legend does not tell us if the stone was lifted to waist height (as the weight is lifted in the deadlift) or just moved from the ground into the air slightly (Crowther, 111). Other cultures have forms of stone lifting also; the Basque region of Spain still holds stone lifting (Crowther, 113). Adapted from a story from Iceland comes the Husafell Stone. In this event the athlete must carry a weighted shield or large stone hugged to their chest and walk for distance of fifty to one hundred feet (NAS, 13). Stone lifting in some format is an important aspect of strongman competitions, and therefore, of strength athletics to this day.
Eventually, stone lifting and athletic competitions that very closely resembled activities men would be doing in their trade began to take place. These events range from races by couriers to strength events. Often times these events were at best impromptu contests that men would hold based on their surroundings. As is often the case in athletic competition, the events held were typically derived from a necessary activity more than just creativity and the search for entertainment.
History of the Games in Scotland
Legend dictates that during King Malcolm Canmore’s reign in the 11th century, clan chiefs would hold athletic competitions to determine the strongest and the fastest men in their respective clans (Webster, 10). Of those that competed, the quickest became the clansmen and king’s messengers while the strongest became the king’s soldiers, respectively. This competition was made up of multiple clans and is unofficially referred to as the first Braemar Gathering by many Scots (Jarvie, 20). The area of this first gathering is important in Scottish culture for two reasons: first, the area was prime hunting ground and was used as such by the nobility and second, it was strategically placed in the hills of the area. The latter also making Braemar an ideal location for gathering (Jarvie, 20).
The hill races found in the Games trace their roots to King Malcolm overseeing races of his subjects up Craig Choinneach (pronounced Kanyach) to determine those most fit to be couriers and postal runners. With this information, two caveats are present. The first, there is no documentation of this event only oral tradition. The second, the traditional Highlander did not exist until the fourteenth century, making this hill race possibly just a gathering of peasants in which clansmen were present (Jarvie, 21).
However, there is some thought that many of the events linked with the Highland games are more than just a means to gather the clans together. There is some thought that many of the events not only originate from rites of passage or just a manipulation of everyday acts, but also possibly more pagan in nature. This is evidenced by a village named after Ceres, the Latin god of agriculture, which claims to host the oldest Games in Scotland. This link between the Latin god and the Games adds weight to the idea of heavy events, such as caber tossing, being linked with fertility rites (Webster, 10).
The Highland Gatherings, and Games, were held fairly regularly to some level from the time of the first race held by King Malcolm until 1750. At this time, the Scottish Highland way of life was curtailed and technically criminalized. This was due to a rebellion that had taken place in 1746 which the Scots lost and the British passed the “Act of Proscription” outlawing their way of life. With their cultural music and dress taken from them, some Scots immigrated to the colonies either voluntarily or by force. They took with them their culture and this caused the spread of the Highland tradition into not just the Americas but also other British colonies.
Growth and Development of the American Games
When Donaldson first published her book, The Scottish Highland Games in America, in 1986, there were eighty Games taking place annually. However this was a fairly large decline, compared to the previous century, for example during the twenty to thirty year period after the Civil War, there were as many as 125 Games held annually (Donaldson, 23). Some of these North American Games could be considered long standing traditions by American standards, but in comparison to many of the Scottish Games, North American Games are relatively “new” Games (Donaldson, 23).
Whereas in Scotland, Highland Gatherings have been occurring since the eleventh century, most Scottish organizations have only been present in America since early colonial times (1657 in Boston), often referred to as St. Andrew’s Clubs or Societies (Donaldson, 24). The purpose of these organizations was: “To relieve indigent and unfortunate Scotchmen or their families; to foster and encourage a love of Scotland, its history, literature, and customs, and, for a number, is added encouragement of the national athletic games; and to promote friendly and social relation of members” (Donaldson, 25). The clubs of the colonies began to take on a new life as they began to be referred to as Caledonian clubs as they became more numerous and reached prominent stature throughout the nineteenth century (Donaldson, 25).
The first North American Highland Games took place in 1819 in the town of Glengarry, Ontario, Canada. This event was hosted by the St. Fillians Society of Scotland (Donaldson, 25-6). In pre-Civil War America, there were four main Games hosted in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Newark (Donaldson, 27). All these Games held similar athletic events, only the number of the events varied from twelve to twenty-five. Often times the events were focused on traditional Highland dancing and track and field, along with the stereotypical Highland Games. However, in modern times the events have been trimmed down to only include roughly five to eight (Donaldson, 27).
Money was a large factor in the development of the North American Highland Game culture. Prize money was a motive for competition as awards were given to athletic competitors and even for those attending that were considered the best dressed. Quickly, the sponsoring clubs realized the importance of admission fees for income during these gatherings as often times it was the only income for the Games (Donaldson, 27).
In 1866, the first Highland Society was formed in San Francisco; five days after the formation of the club, they hosted their first formal Games (Donaldson, 32). The First San Francisco Games were small and held on invitation only status. Holding true to traditional Scottish Games, athletics events were the main focus of these Games and gave the event a strong background (Donaldson, 33). This became the first full scale example of the Games on the West Coast and signified the beginning of the proliferation of the Games throughout the continent (Donaldson, 34). By 1871, the San Francisco Games were highly attended, with the attendance of that year besting four thousand attendees. This year ushered in dramatic changes in these Games as they were the first Games that offered events for the general public to compete in. These events included a foot race at the traditionally held Highland Games, and also there was a second Highland Games that year, for charity, in which all of the events were open to public competitors (Donaldson, 34).
These Games that originated in San Francisco went on to move multiple times, ending up in Santa Rosa and becoming the largest example of Highland Games in the country with thirty thousand or more attending and one thousand competitors and participants during the time Of Donaldson’s book (Donaldson, 36). The Santa Rosa games are held in high regard in America as they are now the site for many important events. These events include The Western United States Open Highland Dancing Championships, the United States Heavy Events Championships, and the United States Caber Tossing Championships. The cabers used in the last event are imported from Scotland, lending credence to the Games. Also this event hosts a challenge caber weighing in at one hundred twenty pounds (Donaldson, 36).
The expansion and prevalence of the Games in North America saw athletes from both the US and Canada compete in the Games in each country. With the rising popularity, many Scottish athletes also were known to compete in the North American games throughout the continent, including Donald Dinnie and Jason Fleming (Donaldson, 38).
In 1868, the New York Athletic Club was formed and held a competition with the New York Caledonian Club, in a style that would be reminiscent to a modern day track and field competition. Many of the field events were very similar to the events held in the Highland Games and were won by the Caledonians (Donaldson, 39). As the popularity of track and field grew ironically, the popularity on the Caledonian Clubs dwindled, as the latter had given birth to the former (Donaldson, 40).
Heavy Events
There are seven events that make-up the Heavy Events in the Highland Games: the caber toss, stone throw, 28 pound weight throw, 56 pound weight throw and toss, Scottish hammer, and the sheaf toss (Donaldson, 65). For a competition to be considered major five of the seven events must be used while having five competitors with experience in Highland Games competition (Donaldson, 65). This means that no fewer than five of the competing athletes must have competed before in a previous setting. While it is still possible to have a competition where this requirement is not met, the results of the competition will be looked upon as substandard.
Of all the events, the sheaf toss is considered more and more to be antiquated and in many contests may be replaced by a second hammer or stone event of some type. Still, the anachronistic nature of the sheaf toss may hold part of the appeal for spectators. On the other hand, the event could also be a source of irritation for the athletes due to the difficulty in training and replicating the conditions of the sheaf toss. Some researchers believe this event is seemingly popular with the spectators because they can easily see what is happening and understand the event better (Donaldson, 65). For this paper, the sheaf toss will not be discussed as there is not a significant carry over to modern strongman events and strength athletics.
The Stones of Strength
Across many long established cultures, it is not uncommon to hear of feats of strength, or even having test of strengths as a rite of passage for manhood. The Scottish Highland culture is no different, and might be one of the most well known. Being that easily recognized weight lifting equipment such as barbells and dumb bells were not seen or heard of until the nineteenth century, the bulk of these tests were done with implements that could be found in nature. This means that rocks, logs, and large stones were used by the Highland clans to test their strength (Webster, 127).
“Stones of Strength” were common in the days of medieval Highland chieftains. Often times these stones would be either “manhood stones” or putting stones. Visitors or even young clansmen seeking to be considered full grown men would test their strength by either placing the “manhood stones” atop a separate rock or ledge varying in height from three to four feet (Webster, 61). The stones of strength are large stones weighing from thirty pounds to a hundredweight (112 pounds) and upwards that were used by clan chieftains to test the strength of the men in their respective clans. The former (lighter) stones were referred to as the Clach Neart, and the latter (heavier) stones were referred to as Clach Cuid Fir or Manhood Stones (Brander, 19). To alleviate the confusion between the names of the stones, stones of strength were used specifically for putting while manhood stones were to be lifted (Webster, 128).
Manhood stones are typically huge stones weighing anywhere from one hundred to three hundred pounds. Once lifted, the stones were placed upon a wall or ledge typically ranging in height of three or four feet. This height is often believed to have varied with the weight of the stones, the heavier the stone the shorter the height, and vice versa (Webster, 128). The height of the ledges varied from the chest or shoulder or in some cases above the head. This was usually used as a rite of passage into manhood for younger clansmen of the time (Brander, 19-20).
Of these stones, the McGlashen stones are the most recognizable. The process of lifting these stones would be instantly recognized as lifting of the Atlas Stones from modern strongman competitions. The McGlashen stones are a series of five stones that weigh from roughly one hundred pounds to slightly more than three hundred pounds. In the Highland Games version of this event, all of the stones are loaded atop overturned barrels, making the height of the platform standard and the only change from stone to stone is the weight. In modern strongman competitions the stones are placed on platforms, but the lighter stones are placed on higher platforms and the heavier stones on shorter platforms. Another difference between the event in the Games and modern strongman is the height of the platform in strongman can be very close to over the head of the competitor for the lightest stone. This event is practiced in some versions of the Scottish Games, but it is mainly common in Canada and the United States (Donaldson, 74-5).
Many manhood stones can be found throughout the countryside in Scotland. Examples of these stones include a 285 pound stone in Braemar, the Putbrach outside of Balquhidder Churchyard, and the Stones of Dee also known as the Dinnie Stones (Brander, 20). Of all the manhood, or lifting stones, the latter of these stones are the most famous and possibly easiest recognized. The Dinnie Stones derive their name from Donald Dinnie. Dinnie carried the two of these stones along the width of the Bridge of Potarch. Together the stones weigh an unbalanced 785 pounds, making the task even more difficult is they are oddly shaped. While oral legends of the feat have come to describe Dinnie as crossing the bridge with the stones in hand, it is not true. In reality, he covered the distance the bridge spans on one side of the bank, which is approximately five yards (Webster, 128). Because of the fame of the stones in the weight lifting world, there have been many attempts over the years to lift the stones. While the majority of the attempts have failed, some have succeeded and have placed themselves in the legends of stone lifting (Webster, 130-2). These men include David Prowse, the man who portrayed Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. The stones have also been used in the World’s Strongest Man competition many times also since its inception in the 1980s. Bill Kazmaier has lifted not only the Dinnie Stones but another set of manhood stones, the McGlashen Stones.
The Stone Throw
In order of heavy events, the stone throw is first in most cases (Donaldson, 75). This event is thought to invoke the history of the clachneart, or “stone of strength”, kept by Highland chieftains so that visitors could test their strength by throwing the stone (Donaldson, 74). The style of throwing resembles that of a modern day shot putter, using a glide or spin technique; however, the Braemar style, or standing throw, is often used in the United States (Donaldson, 75).
While also a manhood test, or rite of passage, putting the stone was for some period of time, one of the most popular forms of informal recreation in Highland Scotland. This was due to the ease in finding a stone to put, and then the ability to use any stretch of open ground to practice or compete (Webster, 61). This led to a very easy adoption to the Highland Games as it was a common practice among men at the time. However, during the reign of Edward III, the putting of stones was actually outlawed due to the fact that it grew so popular that it began to outpace archery in popularity. Being that archers were very important in warfare, this decision was easily justified. The popularity of putting the stone was not just among peasant men, but also found among the nobility in the eighteenth century (Webster, 61).
In this event, a rock that was worn smooth and round river water was used, weighing in at anywhere from 10 to 30 pounds. While this was used as a rite of passage, it was also used in competition to see who could put the stone the farthest for purely competitive purposes. This could range from friendly competition, used to ascertain the strength of men for battle, or assessing the strength of any visitors that may come to a chieftain’s home (Brander, 20). These stones would be putted for distance; a certain distance was required for acceptance into manhood by each clan’s respective chieftain. Visitors from other clans would be able to gain respect and welcome from the completion of these tasks (Webster, 61).
The Weight Throws
This topic encompasses three different events involving two different weights. The first two events are throwing weights for distance. The weights used weigh in at 56 and 28 pounds, or one-half and one-quarter hundredweight. The third event is throwing the 56 pound weight for height. The text states that attempting the 28 pound weight throw for height would be very complicated and for that reason is not done in competition (Webster, 71). It is important to note that throws and tosses are very different events. Throws are only done for distance whereas a toss is done for height.
The athlete’s grip strength comes into play as holding onto the weights one-handed requires a strong grip. However, the event is even more challenging because holding onto the weights while turning and building momentum that is to be transferred into the weight for a throw requires a level of grip strength above and beyond what is expected by most and the athletes will often times use Venice Turpentine for this event (Webster, 71).
Originally, the weights used in the throwing events were block weights that were awkward to grab hold of due to the bar atop the weight. This caused the athlete to typically skin his knuckles against the bar, and waste energy in the throwing attempt. Some weights did have rings attached to the top, and were preferred by the throwers. This has made the ring style is common now, with the ring attached to a small chain which in turn is attached to the handle and the weight to allow for more momentum to be built up during the spinning and turning of the wind up during the throw for distance (Webster, 71). The total length is no more than 18 inches and both weights appear similar to each other and are distinguished solely on when the weight is hefted or thrown (Donaldson, 76).
56-pound Weight Toss
Using the same weight as the one used in the 56-pound weight throw, the athletes toss the weight overhead for height. The typical set up has the athlete standing with their back to the standards, and then in a fluid and explosive movement throwing the weight over the crossbar with one arm in a backward arc. Similar to field events in track there are 3 attempts allowed at each height, in turn the athlete is eliminated if he fails to clear a height after his 3 attempts (Donaldson, 80-1). In the throw for height, the athlete would grasp the 56 pound weight with one hand and explosively throw the weight overhead to clear a bar set-up that is very similar to what a pole vault or high jump standard with similar rules (Webster, 72).
This event has been utilized in modern strongman events. During the strongman events the athlete may throw a weight similar to these, or they may use kegs of varying weight and throw them over a crossbar and standard set up. The best of these athletes, strongmen or Highland competitors, make this event look nearly effortless. The fluidity and explosive power that is demonstrated by the athletes fools spectators into believing that these particular events are fairly easy. It has been described by some athletes that tossing the fifty-six pound weight for height is comparable to throwing a small child over a double-decker bus.
The Hammer Throw
Blacksmiths were an essential part of any village, and because of this there would have hammers aplenty. A common past time would be for the apprentices or assistants to the blacksmith test their individual strength by seeing who among them could heave the hammer the furthest (Brander, 21). Therefore, this event arose from those workers in either smithies or quarries taking a break from the chores and tasks while at work to have an impromptu competition (Webster, 65).
The Highland Games hammer resembles a hammer that a blacksmith would own and use more than that of an Olympic hammer. The Scottish hammer is 16 or 22 pounds dependent on the Games and attached to a handle made from wood or cane. Also, unlike that of Olympic hammer throwing, the Scottish hammer throw is a stationary event; there is no spin or wind-up leading into the release of the hammer (Donaldson, 77). The actual throw was forced to evolve after the spin technique was removed. Athletes experimented with a pendulum technique where the hammer was moved in a fashion similar to that of a pendulum and released at the height of the arc. This technique then morphed into a technique that resembled turning the hammer in a figure eight to improve the momentum transfer. Both of these techniques had the athlete facing the throwing field in a side stance. Finally, and most familiarly to athletes in modern competition, the athlete stands with his back to the field, winds up overhead, and releases over his shoulder into the field all while keeping his feet solidly planted to the ground (Webster, 67).
Of all the variables in throwing, one that all hammer throwers were keenly aware of had to do with the shaft of the hammer. The thickness of the hammer affected the grip and therein affected the ability of the individual athlete to transfer his momentum into his throw. In some early cases, athletes would modify the hammer shaft by removing (shaving away with a pocket knife) some of the thickness to make it easier to grip. Other methods of improving grip were used by the athletes such as applying Venice Turpentine to their hands (Webster, 67).
With the differences mentioned earlier, it is no shock to see that the Olympic event has records that are nearly twice that of the Highland Games record. It must be stated that the Olympic event allows for the athlete to impart a greater amount of momentum and force into the implement with the spinning technique, where the Highland Games competitor stand still and releases the hammer backwards over his head. This difference could account for the disparity between the record distances.
Also the difference in the implements used in the events could make one event harder than the other. The Olympic hammer is a weight attached to a cable with a handle that allows the athlete to grasp the implement with both hands at the very end of the implement. As previously stated, the Highland Games implement is much cruder, and resembles the traditional hammer much more. This makes holding onto the implement much harder and requires more effort to throw.
Origins of the Caber
Tossing the caber may well be the most recognizable event in the Highland Games gamut of events. The event has retained a certain lack of sophistication that very well could explain the appeal most spectators have when viewing this event (Webster, 75). This event may have stemmed from the need to flip felled trees from the Highlands into the local rivers to float the logs downstream. Flipping the felled tree, became a very important ask to perform (Brander, 20-1). However, logic dictates that men involved with physical labor would find ways to conserve energy as much as possible making throwing logs much less likely. Still, there is a reason to believe that caber tossing did originate with Scottish loggers, only the difference would be it was a leisure time activity and not a task they had to perform while working (Webster, 75). While the previous statement sounds contradictory, it should be remembered that Scottish society in the times when most of these events in the Highland Games were being invented revolved around tests of strength for manhood. The text quotes and old passage “the desire for strength is greatest where manliness is strongest” (Webster, 75).
The Caber Toss
The word caber is a derivative of the Gaelic cabar which is used to define a trimmed tree trunk. Typically the caber is a tree of the local variety, but it is speculated that cypress is preferred because it does not dry out quickly. The weight of individual cabers can vary from competition to competition, but typically, and especially so with the challenge cabers, they do not change weight from year to year (Webster, 78). This is due to the way that cabers are stored. During periods in which they are not used, it is not uncommon for the caber or cabers to be stored in water or steam to prevent them from drying out. Preferences tend to lie with a straight tapered caber, but it is not out of question to have cabers that are crooked or have dramatic arcs in them (Donaldson, 78).
A typical caber will be anywhere from 16 to 20 feet long and weigh from 90 to 120 pounds with the length of the caber determining the difficulty of turning it. The process of a caber toss is not well known, but it is a fairly easy process to understand. Upon having the caber placed upright by the stewards (more or less helpers), the competitor then grasps the caber and hefts it so that the bottom end is resting in his hands and the caber is resting against his shoulder. The competitor gains his balance, and then runs to build speed and momentum. The competitor will then, upon reaching an appropriate or desired speed, stops, dips down and explodes through thrusting the smaller end of the caber into the air using the momentum he has built up and his own body’s upward thrust. The caber then lands on the larger end, flips over and away from the competitor and is scored. The common misconception with caber tossing is that competitors toss it for distance. In reality, the competitors toss it to see who can toss it the straightest. Scoring is based on how the caber lands; perfect being at a straight line from the competitor, or 12:00 position. The judge for the event is running behind the competitor and after the toss, judges the caber’s position based on where the athlete has stopped running. Only positions from 9 to 3 o’clock are valid in scoring a caber toss (Donaldson, 78-9). In scoring, a throw of 1 o’clock or 11 o’clock would then result in an equal score of the two throws (Webster, 75). While throwing a caber that weighs anywhere from one hundred pounds to the more modern ones that are coming closer to twice that weight is no easy task, what makes the caber toss challenging is the length of the caber. Most competitors will express a desire for a shorter, heavier caber than a lighter and longer one (Webster, 78).
On some occasions, the caber is very difficult to turn, so there are ways to make it so that it can be. A common way is to remove some of the length by sawing a piece from the end decreasing the length and weight of the caber. This will repeat until an athlete can finally turn the caber. If there is a circumstance where the throwing field is unlevel or on a grade, the judges may turn the field one hundred eighty degrees so that the athletes toss the caber downhill rather than uphill (Webster, 75). While in some competitions steps are taken to ensure that the caber is tossed, the more well known and traditional Games have cabers that are never modified regardless of whether or not the athletes competing can turn them. These cabers are not the ones used for the specific event, but as more of a challenge event for the athletes (Webster, 75).
While the idea of caber tossing is one that is stereotypically thought of with Scottish Highland roots, the event has been practiced throughout the continent of Europe. A second country that still practices and holds regular competitions is Sweden; often times many Highland Games competitors will compete against Swedish champions and vice versa. France, Italy, and Germany all have a historical account of caber tossing for recreation. Specifically France and Italy utilized caber tossing as an exercise to improve their football skills (Webster, 78).
While there is no explicit representation of the caber toss in strongman, it would be wrong to omit the most iconic image of the Highland games from the research. Also, this event demonstrates very strongly the link between feats of strength and using that which nature has provided to test said strength. Also, it must be remembered that the caber toss is not a test of pure physical strength but requires, speed agility and explosive power to be successful; brute force is but a small part of tossing the caber.
At best, the caber toss is tangentially related to the strongman event of the fingal fingers. In this event the athlete will flip cylindrical steel or wooden posts, or “fingers” one hundred eighty degrees. The “fingers” range in weight from four hundred fifty pounds to six hundred sixty pounds and above. The “fingers” vary in length depending on the weight from ten feet to upwards of sixteen feet (NAS, 12).
The Light and Novelty Events
It could be argued that these events more truly represent the origin of the Highland Gatherings, and therefore the Highland Games, when compared to the story of King Malcolm. However, for the scope of this research due credit cannot be given to these events so the topic will be discussed, only not at length.
While the stereotypical image of the Highland games is that of a caber being tossed, there are many more facets of the Games. There are dancing competitions, bag pipe competitions and also the “Light Events.” The Light Events in the Highland Games are the events that most closely resemble a track and field meet. It is not uncommon to see high jumps, long jumps, triple jumps, pole vaults, sprints, and other similar events being held at a Highland Games gathering. Another event that is widely seen in the Highland Games is wrestling, or grappling. While this sport is fairly universal, Highland wrestling differs in the attire. The men wrestle in a kilt, using their manner of dress to separate themselves from the English.
The competitors at the Highland Games Light Events have historically competed at levels that were comparable to Olympians. Specifically, this was witnessed in 1970 when George McNeill beat American Tommy Smith (famous for being the first to break the twenty second mark in the two hundred meter dash) in the one hundred ten meter sprint (Webster 112). There are many records of Highland sprinters registering performances in sprints that were comparable to the one hundred meters sprints of the day.
Novelty events refer to events that may or may not be present at the Games. These could include the dancing and bag pipe competitions, tug of wars, partner races, or even other heavy events. While stone carries are a large part of strongman competitions, there are other carries that are performed also. Two of these events are Farmer’s Carries and Frame Carries. Some Games use events similar to these (Donaldson, 74-5). These carries are quite similar between the strongman and Highland Games competitions. In the Farmer’s Walk, a large weight is carried a set distance, typically eighty or one hundred feet with a turn, with a Frame carry being very similar (NAS, 5, 6).
Effects of the Highland Games
The pageantry and various areas encompassed by the Highland Games can easily cause comparisons to the Olympic Games. This is a well-deserved comparison as Coubertin was said to have seen an exhibition of the Games at the Paris exhibition in 1889. After seeing many of the field events in action, such as the hammer throw, shut put, weight throws, and pole vaulting Coubertin saw that his Olympic dream could indeed work and the experience solidified his desire to see his dream though (Horne).
One effect the Highland Games has had on modern strength athletics is the building up of modern strength heroes. Many men who have competed in the Highland Games now have a near legendary status that was once reserved for heroes of the past. These men include Donald Dinnie and A.A. Cameron, from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Progressing to more modern times, names such as Bill Kazmaier, Geoff Capes, George Clark and Bill Anderson have become part of Highland Games legends.
Of these men, Dinnie is the most iconic and most relegated to myth. This is easily attributed to Dinnie competing at a high level for forty-three years. During these years, there was a period of twenty years where he was the top athlete in the Highland Games. While Dinnie is best recognized as being immensely strong and best remembered for this trait, it should also be brought to attention that he was a highly respected and successful track and field athlete as well as wrestler (Zarnowski, 5). To highlight this, Dinnie was at one time the worlds’ top high jumper, shot putter, and hammer thrower. While already impressive, he was also within a very small margin of being the top one hundred yard ash competitor and was also considered a top hurdler of his time (Zarnowski, 6).
Similar to Heracles, Sampson, and the heroes of legend, Dinnie inspired poems, songs, and stories wherever he would go. This is fitting as Dinnie was also a very intelligent individual. Before leaving school to pursue athletics full-time, Dinnie was known as being a superb student. Letters written by Dinnie and other examples of his writing show a unique ability to tell a story and his penmanship was quite striking in its elegance (Webster, 83). This needs to be mentioned as it disqualifies the stereotype that follows most strongmen that they are as lacking in intelligence as they are strong.
The Highland Games have long stood as a forerunner of modern strength athletics. Due to their history and proliferation around the world they are a widely recognized event and one that predominantly focuses on feats of strength. Both Dinnie and Cameron were able to compete worldwide in a setting where the rules were standardized to some degree. This allowed them to compete against a variety of men and be able to accurately be considered as one of the top athletes of their time. Having that in place is something that is present in modern strength athletics whether it is Powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, or strongman. Standardized competition now allows for the comparison of athletes who may have never met, yet can still be discussed for their accomplishments in competition.
Today, there are Highland Games held in the overwhelming majority of states. California hosts the most Games annually with seventeen with one nearly every month of the year. Of the modern Games, the most important in the arena of the Heavy Events is the International Highland Games Federation World Championships. These Games have been held annually since 1980 in varying locations, with the most recent being held in New Hampshire. These games typically attract numbers still in the tens of thousands with varying interests that are well served by the Games environment. The focus of the World Championships though remains locked on the Heavy Events. The events participated in are the ones discussed previously, stone puts of sixteen and twenty-one pounds, weight throw of twenty-eight and fifty-six pounds, hammer throws of sixteen and twenty-one pounds, caber toss and the weight over the bar toss of fifty-six pounds (IHGF).
The International Highland Games Federation, or IHGF, list of those who have formerly competed in the IHGF World Championships includes many great athletes from many different arenas of athletic competition. Of these there are competitors from other Highland Games from other countries including Scotland, Australia, and Canada along with Olympic level athletes and World record holders to physique athletes and World’s Strongest Man athletes and champions. The sixteen pound stone toss is an event that has a fair carry-over to the modern shot put both in technique and record distances. Brian Oldfield at one time held the unofficial world shot put record, and also holds the world record in the sixteen pound stone put. His then World record put of 75’ with a shot is nearly twelve feet farther than his put with the stone. This is easily attributed to the size and weight distribution differences between a sixteen pound stone and a sixteen pound shot. Still, his record in stone putting of 63’ 1” is still standing after nearly thirty years of competition.
Many of the records recorded by the IHGF have been set in the last fifteen years with the exception of Oldfield’s stone put record. What makes this intriguing is that he recorded records of Donald Dinnie are still very competitive in some events. However, it is not a stretch of the imagination by any means to assume that the understanding of training and ability to manipulate said training to enhance certain attributes of the individual athlete in modern times will lead to even greater improvements on the records.
One issue that arises in comparing the Highland Games records to other venues is that of professionalism versus that of the amateur competitor. Oldfield is a perfect example; he became a professional track and field athlete, which kept him from Olympic competition during his record setting years of the late 1970’s. Other athletes might not have this issue as most Heavy Event competitors do not train for Olympic events such as the discus and javelin throws or the shot put. Most of the recognizable names on the IHGF Roll of Honor include many of the past champions of the World’s Strongest Man competitions (IHGF Homepage).
With the similarities of many of the Highland Games Heavy Event champions and the World’s Strongest Man champions training methodologies carry over very well. Both athletes need to train in effort to increase all areas of the force velocity curve. These areas of focus are maximal strength, strength-speed, power, speed strength, and speed. All of these levels are vitally important to strength athletes; however one might be more important than the next. In training for the events in both the Highland games and Strongman, the emphasis needs to be on power training, or what is the middle of the force-velocity curve. This requires training the bulk of the spectrum. Increasing maximal strength will increase power production at the lower ends of the curve. While training to improve bar speed is also essential to be able to move the given weight with the fastest speed possible (Zatsiorsky, 169). This is also seen in a study done by Aagaard et al where it was found that increasing maximal strength also increased RFD and maximal voluntary contraction (1318-20). The authors of that study found that the driving force behind this change in their data was due to the neural influence. Real world applications of this are seen during any strength athletic event. As the athlete competes his or her individual central nervous system begins to tire and has less effect on the contractile RFD and the athlete moves slightly slower and less powerfully in the latter stages of competition compared to the beginning of the event.
As much as is possible then, the training protocol will mimic the events. For a given strength athlete, there will be sports specific exercises geared towards improving the performance of the athlete in the given events. When looking at the events involved in both Strongman and the Highland Games having a greater emphasis on explosive power yields more results as the events typically do not focus on brute force but more the rapid application of strength into an implement. From the previously cited study by Aagaard et al, it can be extrapolated that training solely to develop maximum strength would allow for improvements in speed of contraction that would be satisfactory for the athlete. Therefore, both aspects of training need to be addressed with the majority of time being spent on the attribute that the athlete has less of. In other words, if the athlete is slow but strong, he should focus more on improving strength-speed, power, and speed strength training and maintaining maximal strength. Whereas, if an athlete is capable of producing fast, explosive movements but lacks maximal strength, he should train for maximal strength and maintaining his explosiveness.
Because of the nature of many of the Highland Games Heavy Events and also those involved in Strongman, there will be a strong emphasis on developing the hip extensors to produce maximum strength and power. Hip extension is easily the most powerful movement in the human body; the muscle mass that powers this motion encompasses the largest muscles in the body. Also, when dissecting the movement patterns of any throw, toss, or lift the movement is finished with a powerful extension of the hips. Because of this a staple exercises in any strength athletes training program will include squats, dead lifts, and often times variations of the Olympic lifts. All of these exercises will focus on increasing the power and strength of the athletes’ posterior chain muscles, the gluteals, hamstrings, and lower back, the muscles that drive hip extension. In a typical training program, the squats and dead lifts will provide the stimulus for increasing maximal strength while the Olympic lifts are utilized to develop speed and explosive power. While these are not hard set rules, they are followed because of the ease of implementation.
Another aspect of training that these athletes these two venues need is the ability to press weight above their heads. While this is more prevalent in Strongman than it is in Highland Games competitions, it is not without merit. The musculature involved in pressing overhead is also going to be involved in the events where a weight is tossed for height and will assist in improving the ability to toss a caber. Pressing weight over the head requires stability of the upper back muscles, shoulder girdle, and core musculature that is not found in other upper body pressing exercises such as a bench press variation. Also, the carry-over from bench pressing to strength athletic competitions is very minimal therefore making a bench press variation a less than optimal exercise for Strongman or Highland Games competitors. This does not mean that the bench press cannot be utilized effectively; it means that for sport specific training, this exercise is not the best.
One aspect of training for Strongman that is highly undervalued is training efficiency. This idea is similar to that of Occam’s razor; the simplest answer is usually the best. What this means is that while direct strength training within the confines of a weight room is important, directly training the events is just as, if not more, important. While the training programs of these strength athletes will have traditional barbell and dumbbell exercises, many of them also have the same amount of time spent training the events. This allows the body to develop the motor pathways and skills needed to perform the events efficiently and powerfully when needed. To prove this, it is best remembered that barbell exercises were not popular until the latter parts of the nineteenth century, yet the Highland Games had been occurring for nearly four hundred years at this point. This means that those competitors must have been training the events, and improving in this area and having those improvements then translate into competition.
There has not been a dominance of the sport like Dinnie had during his competitive years. Many athletes in both the Highland Games and Strongman have competed at an incredibly high level and set themselves apart. The similarities in strongman events and Highland Games events is a list that runs quite long, and it is easy to consider the heavy events of the Highland Games a very close relative to the modern day strongman competitions of today. There is a trend among modern day strongmen to have at least some experience in the Highland Games, and there is reason to believe that the athletes of old, Dinnie and Cameron specifically, would do very well when competing in a strongman contest. This is already seen today in the success of champion strongmen in the Highland Games such as Bill Kazmaier, Geoff Capes, and Derek Poundstone.
While modern strongman competitions are less similar to Highland Games currently, because there is much more focus on brute strength, the early beginnings of the World’s Strongest Man, referred to as WSM from here on, competition was very similar to Highlands Games settings. Even beyond the carryover of Heavy Events, there was a variety of events that tested not just the physical prowess of the competitors, but also speed and agility. Previously, the WSM featured a form of grappling between the competitors, but this has fallen to the wayside. Whether this can be attributed to more and more strongman competitors being extremely large and with that much stronger is up for debate. However, grappling does require agility and foot speed, something evidenced with both Dinnie’s and Cameron’s excellence in this area.
The WSM in the early days also held their competitions in more rustic settings, settings that were not as refined as the settings of today’s competitions. Holding these competitions in settings that were more of a primal nature allowed the audience to embrace the unrefined nature of strength athletics and this quality is part of the romanticism associated with the early Strongman competitions. Today’s WSM competitions tend to have lessened the degree of that quality, using more refined tasks and implements than in the beginning. However, with the Highland Games, the events are such that they cannot be made less rustic, and will retain that rough aspect that is so often associated with strength athletics.
Conclusion
The Highland Games are a celebration of a culture. It is easy to focus only on one portion of them, and easier still to focus on only one event. In reality, the Highland Games cover a large range of topics, even though the image most people have of them is that of the caber toss. The focus of this research was on one aspect, but the information was found usually enclosed within mountains of information on the Scottish culture and the life of clansmen. The iconic imagery of the Scottish Highland Games is that of a kilted man tossing the caber. This myopic view blinds many to the overall celebration that is the Highland Games. The heavy events, while for some, are considered the most entertaining aspect of these Games, it could be argued that they hold an interest for all. With competitions ranging from dancing to bag piping, from sprinting to heavy events, and from hill races to competitions on who is dressed the best to name only a slight few seeing the Highland Games as a much larger creature than just a few events.
Many similarities between events practiced in the Highland Games and those seen in strongman competitions are found. The developments of these events, the standards and practices of the heavy events have translated into modern strongman competition so completely that many athletes compete in both venues. The training methods and similarity of the events between the two sports are similar which helps account for the athletes’ crossing over and having great success.
A noticeable change in the type of champion has occurred as the Games have progressed. Whereas men such as Donald Dinnie are renowned as overall champions due to his success in multiple areas of competition, today the champions of the heavy events typically have trained to be successful in this realm alone. The contention may be to consider this change in time a slight cheapening of the quality of those who win the Heavy Events, but is it really? With the carryover of many Highlands Games champions to strongman and their respective success in that sport an argument can be made that the overall athletic prowess needed to succeed in both the Highlands and strongman is still quite high. Strongman competitions rely on athletes to not only be strong but also be able to have an endurance of strength and agility.
References
Aagaard, Per, Simonsen, Erik B.; Andersen, Jesper L.; Magnusson, Peter; Dyhre-Poulsen, Poul. Increased rate of force development and neural drive of human skeletal muscle following resistance training. Journal of Applied Physiology 93:1318-1326, 12 July 2002
Brander, Michael. The Essential Guide to the Highland Games. Published by Canongate Press plc 14 Frederick Street Edinburgh EH2 2HB. Great Britain. Copyright 1992.
Crowther, Nigel B., Weightlifting in Antiquity: Achievement and Training.” Greece Rome, Second Series, Vol. 24 No. 2 (October 1977) pp. 111 – 120
Donaldson, Emily Ann. The Scottish Highland Games in America by Emily Ann Donaldson. Copyright 1986. Published by Pelican Publishing Company, Inc. 1101 Monroe Street, Gretna, Louisiana 70053
Horne, Marc “Highland Games were the model for the modern Olympics.” Sunday Times, The, 04/25/10, p6-6; 1
International Highland Games Federation. http://www.worldheavyevents.com/index.html.
Jarvie, Grant Highland Games The Making of the Myth. Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh, Scotland. Copyright 1991.
Webster, David Price. Scottish Highland Games. Printed in Scotland by Macdonald Printers (Edinburgh) limited. Edgefield Road, Loanhead, Midlothian. Copyright 1973
North American Strongman. “Standardized Strongman Rules.”
Zarnowski, Frank. “The Amazing Donald Dinnie: The Nineteenth Century’s Greatest Athlete.” Iron Game History Volume 5 Number 1. May 1998 pp 3 – 11.
Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M., Kraemer, William J. Science and Practice of Strength Training. Human Kinetics.
Editors’s Note: This article was written by Jeremy Smurr. He is an extremely large individual and his whereabouts are largely unknown. I personally have seen him lift some large weights, crush some strongman competitions, and even win a heavyweight body building contest. Currently Jeremy is dedicating all of his spare time trying to deadlift 1000 lbs natural and raw. He is the epitome of a strength athlete. Jeremy wrote this article a little over a year ago but had no outlet for it. Jeremy no longer has Facebook or a computer for that matter. His time is spent lifting heavy things. I wanted to publish this article for him because I think it is a worthy contribution to the strength community. This article provides some historical perspective on strength sports. We would love feedback from strength athletes on the matters discussed below.