Need some Caber advice, please

[A Hay]

Scottish Highland Games are coming to Grafenwoehr and Vilseck, Germany!

Perhaps my kilt wearing is having some impact on the Military Communities here.

A brigade here at Grafenwoehr is planning an organizational day in November, and they want to have some Scottish Athletic events. I'm trying to help them get the equipment together. I have the rules from the North American Scottish Highland Games Association which gives standards for most equipment, but not Cabers. Seems to be somewhat subjective.

I've seen them at games, but never really measured them.

Dan any of our athletic competitors out there give me some general dimensions? Or a range of dimensions, Length, diameters, and weiights?

I found the thread from Yaish about using chains to make up weights. Think I'll give that a try.

Then, Next May, our Morale, Welfare, and Recreation team wants to have a Highland Games in Vilseck. They have already booked a Celtic Rock Band (seems to be popular with Germans). I can use the equipment for that also.

I don't play the bagpipes, but I'll probably show up at the events in a Kilt to add some atmosphere to the event!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and would be great fun for our troops!

Thanks,

Tom Hays
A_Hay!

[Thunderbolt]

Try this;

http://www.nasgaweb.com/rules.asp

But as they mention, there's no "standard" caber. But it is of course limited to what the athletes can turn. Most often, there are several cabers of different sizes, then a "challenge" caber where often very few ever turn.

Good luck!

T.

[A Hay]

Folks, I really could use some advice on how big a caber should be.

I'm trying to put together equipment for an Army Organization Day for some troops over here in Germany.

I know there is no exact standard, but if someone could give me some ranges of size (length and diameter) as a starting point, it would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Tom

[thescot]

I found the following on Wikipedia, and it agrees with everything else I've ever heard.

"A traditional caber is around 5–6 m (16–20 feet) long and weighs around 35–60 kg (80–130 pounds)"

If you can find a few small trees about that size, you'll be in business. I'm no pro, but I have particiapted a few times, and I strongly recommend that you choose on the smaller size for newbies. And make sure you have more than one because they do break.

Sounds like you have a great time planned, so let me wish you well. And be sure to post lots of photos.

[thescot]

The larger end of the cabers I've tossed (or tried to toss as a very amateur person and probably too old to start such) was about 4"-6".

At 2.54 cm /inch, that would work out to about 10.25 cm - 15.25cm.

That'll give you an idea of the size of the tree (or whatever) you need to secure. And be sure to check the weight since green wood is pretty heavy. If you cut some now and put them where they can dry out, you'll be better off.

[Cynthia]

I'm definitely no pro (only just started training, myself, and haven't even personally seen a lot of Games), but I would also recommend not going on the heavier/long side of things.

I train with a group who are pretty strong and they brought a monster caber to practice recently. Apparently it was 16 1/2 feet long and I heard one person say it weighed 115lbs and another say it HAD to weigh at least 125lbs.

Regardless, none of these guys could turn it (although one came close and it was really frustrating him), and although I am not sure how many times they've worked with it I had heard no one from their group has ever turned it.

My husband had never touched a caber before and they were all very nervous about him even going near it and stuck close to him while he tried. He had to bail on it twice and barely even picked it one time. I think that was it and they decided two tries was enough, they would get some better cabers for folks like him to practice with. The guy who runs our practices is very good about safety and form, and I could even see how nervous and concerned he was about Christopher trying it. I'm not sure he really wanted him to, but Christopher was determined to at least see what it was like.

Hope that helps at least some.

[jgorley]

If this is the first games any of the competitors has been in I recommend something that everyone can safely pick. Try to keep it about 16 feet long and at most 80 pounds. The narrow end should be about 4 inches across and the wide end should be more. Look for a log that has good taper. Use a draw knife to remove the bark and sand it down. Don't want any slivers you know! Kind of round the base off a little to help grip and turn. Hope this helps.

[Thunderbolt]

Also, remember that tossing the caber ISN'T about how much you can lift or how far you can throw it, it's about accuracy. So, using a shorter/lighter caber would be better for now, I'd guess.


T.

[Alan H]

LONG, long reply to you via PM....

[jgorley]

LONG, long reply to you via PM....

Awwwww, come on, we wanted to know too!