The Glengarry Highland Games consist of a series of traditional Scottish competitions held annually in Maxville, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, usually held the first weekend in August. The games span three days and with an attendance of over 20,000, are the largest Highland Games outside of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The Glengarry Highland Games are primarily intended to be a showcase of traditional Scottish heavy events,

Highland Dance Highland dance or Highland dancing ( gd, dannsa Gàidhealach) is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It ...

pipe and drum A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

competitions.

History

The Glengarry Games were first staged in 1948. Although primarily intended to be a showcase of traditional Scottish events such as the caber toss, the games also serve as an annual gathering of area residents as well as the various

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...

societies across Canada and the United States. The games have evolved to be home of North America's most competitive and prestigious Scottish cultural events, particularly in bagpiping and drumming. The North American Pipe Band Championships are held in Maxville annually, and see pipe bands across North America competing in every grade. The Canadian Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal and Bar to the Medal contests have also been held in Maxville since 1973. On Saturday 31 July 2004, the MacCulloch School of Dance set a Guinness World Record for the 'Largest Massed Performance of Highland and Step Dance'. 505 dancers and two musicians performed for 5 minutes and 13 seconds in a display of Celtic dance.

Events

Heavy events

The

caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...

event involves tossing a 22-foot-long spruce log weighing about 125 lbs. The stone thrower event involves hurling a 25-lb. rock shot-put style. The 28-lb. and 56-lb.

weight throw Two sports have events that fall under the name of weight throw one being the track and field event and the other being the Scottish highland games events. The track and field event is most popular in the United States as an indoor equivalent t ...

events involves using a one-handed throw to heave an iron block with iron ring attached. For the 16-lb.

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

, competitors propel a round metal ball with a wooden handle. The 56-lb.

weight toss Two sports have events that fall under the name of weight throw one being the track and field event and the other being the Scottish highland games events. The track and field event is most popular in the United States as an indoor equivalent t ...

event involves competitors launching the weight over a pole vault.

Highland dancing

The

are performed as ceremonial dances mainly by young female dance competitors. Historically, however, Highland dances, such as the Sword dance were performed by men over the body of a slain opponent as celebrations of victorious battles.

Piping and drumming

Maxville is home to the annual North American Pipe Band Championships. Solo competitions are also held during the games in both piping and drumming. During the Massed Bands, over 50 pipe and drum bands play together as a single entity.

Recognition

In honour of the 50th anniversary of the Glengarry Highland Games held annually at Maxville, Ontario, Canada Post issued 'Highland Games' on 1 August 1997. The commemorative stamp was designed by Fraser Ross, based on photographs by Andrew Balfour. The 45¢ stamps are perforated 12.5 x 13 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.glengarryhighlandgames.com Eastern Ontario Highland games Sports competitions in Ontario August events Recurring sporting events established in 1948 Multi-sport events in Canada Festivals established in 1948 Sports festivals in Canada 1948 establishments in Ontario