Blackford & Blair Atholl Highland Games 2012

**Kinetikat** · 21st May 12, 10:15 AM

Anybody going to either of these Games this coming weekend? I'm going to be competing in the Open Heavy Events at both (Blackford on Saturday 26th, and Blair Atholl on Sunday 27th) - my debut on the Highland Athletics scene, oh help!
So if anybody's going to be there, great, fantastic, find me and say hello at some point. If not, no worries.

Sue

**tulloch** · 21st May 12, 02:31 PM

I regret to say that I will not be able to be there in spite of how much I would love to. Good luck to you. I have some small sense of what you are feeling. I am going to compete at a total beginner level with the practice chanter against people 1/4 my age. Woohoo! Will be watching for results. GO GET 'EM TIGER!

**BCAC** · 22nd May 12, 02:06 AM

Well, Sue, it's too far away from me, unfortunately. I too will be watching for the results (and piccies!). Be sure to enjoy yourself and have fun, whatever the results. Remember, we're all with you. Good luck.

**Kinetikat** · 22nd May 12, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by tulloch

I regret to say that I will not be able to be there in spite of how much I would love to. Good luck to you. I have some small sense of what you are feeling. I am going to compete at a total beginner level with the practice chanter against people 1/4 my age. Woohoo! Will be watching for results. GO GET 'EM TIGER!

Wow, Tulloch, piping eh! Good luck then! And remember, in the bar afterwards, it's the circular breathing that sorts the vertical from the horizontal.

**Jock Scot** · 23rd May 12, 02:03 AM

Ok Sue , I might just pop in to Blair and give you a cheer, it depends on a few things, so don't hold your breath! Keep your eyes open for a decrepit "farmer type" leaning on his cromach.

**Jimmy** · 23rd May 12, 02:06 AM

Sorry Jock, would love to be there but cant manage, the best of luck and have a good day

**Jock Scot** · 23rd May 12, 02:09 AM

We will bump into one another one of these days Jimmy!

**Kinetikat** · 23rd May 12, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Ok Sue , I might just pop in to Blair and give you a cheer, it depends on a few things, so don't hold your breath! Keep your eyes open for a decrepit "farmer type" leaning on his cromach.

LOL I will keep my eye out for you, Jock! Though that's not a very specific description for narrowing down the field... I remember a LOT of 'decrepit farmer types' leaning on cromachs from last year!

**Kinetikat** · 30th May 12, 06:01 AM

Well, my first Games weekend came and went... interesting times!

OK, pared to the bone, here's my first two Games scores:

I waived my claim to any prize monies, and they let me throw my own stones and weights.

I did WOB using my 14lb weight 'cos I hadn't trained at all for WOB and wanted to get a feel for it this weekend. Hoping to use the 28lb maybe later in the season.

I scratched for caber at both Games because they had nothing that I could remotely use - I started a try at Blair Atholl, with a caber that they assured me, at 16' long and 6" wide, was considerably lighter than the guys' one, and couldn't even get it off the ground. Bit of a bummer, but what can you do when they don't have the gear? Got a nice round of sympathy applause for that, though would prefer to have got a nice 14', 5" caber instead!

BLACKFORD

8lb shot put: 22'3"
16lb shot put: 15'1"
14lb WFD: 27'
16lb hammer: 32' (PR)
14lb WOB: 13' (PR)

BLAIR ATHOLL:

8lb shot put: 24'11" (PR)
14lb WFD: 30'4" (PR)
16lb hammer: 31' and a nasty bruise on my right wrist bone where the end of the handle clonked me as I wound up for my first go. Barely managed two winds, let alone three. The hammer handles are nothing like as whippy as my electric-conduit plastic one, it's about as responsive as trying to wind a flaming broom-handle. And the extra 2lbs of weight made more difference than I expected. I've grown to love my hammer practice, but hammer in these two Games was a horrible experience and knocked my confidence as well as my wrist! Oh, for an 8lb hammer!
14lb WOB: 13'

Surprised myself by loving WOB, though admittedly I was throwing a much lighter weight. Jason Young was throwing at Blair
Atholl and offered to give me some coaching on several events when I see him at the Ardrossan Games.

It was all kind of different to how I expected - I think being there as a solo artiste with no family or friends apart from one child made a big difference. Quite a few of the guys had family AND friends dotted round the perimeter fence, and came and went every now and then to have a beer or a burger. I was pretty much stuck on the field all the live long day in the baking sun (specially at Atholl, where they seemed to have decided that Heavies are so hard they don't need shelter or shade in 30 degree humid heat), munching my bananas and having occasional very short conversations that ran along the lines of, "Who's that guy over there?" "Stuart Robb." or "Can I borrow some hammer tacky?" "It's John's... John, can she borrow some tacky? Here." The athletes were mostly polite, and also mostly ignored me as much as possible, though how much of that was because I was a woman, and how much was because I'm a noob, I have no idea. The Sinclair brothers were really nice (thanks for the WD40, Craig!), and even gave me a lift back down the field in Craig's car with my big bag of weights at Blair Atholl at the end of the afternoon.
I knew it was going to be an uphill struggle for acceptance in what's basically a big lad's sports club. I tried to be polite and open and listen to what everyone told me. When I spoke to John Robertson, the Heavies convener at Blair Atholl, to check if it was OK for me to compete, he said the guys had told him that I was fine at Blackford, that I didn't slow things up or get in the way. I guess that's as much of a ringing endorsement as I can hope for at this stage!

Blackford was a small Games, a nice one to start with, informal and pretty relaxing. Nice to meet some of the people I've been emailing and phoning for the last while - David McLaren for one, who kept me straight on what I was supposed to be doing and when! Also Duncan Shand, the judge, who allowed me to throw my own weights.

Blair Atholl was a different type of event altogether - bigger, for a start! - and with lots of Atholl Highlander stuff going on round the other events, which was nice to see. At the last minute they included a novelty strongman event called the Cannon Push, which I didn't intend to do but got talked into by Harry Hancock (cheers, Harry!) - the Highlanders brought out one of their cannons on an artillery carriage that had a pair of wheelbarrow-like handles, and set it up at the bottom end of the arena, facing the Duke's pavilion. The competitor then had to pick it up by the handles and push it as fast as possible to a mark at the top of the arena. Well... I did it. I didn't do it very fast, but I got there! And as the field official who helped me roll it back down the arena for the next guy pointed out, "It's not every day you get to point your gun at a Duke!"

It was lovely to be hailed from the fence by Jock Scott and Arnot! Very, very nice to finally meet other X-Markers in the flesh and also to see some genuinely friendly faces. Sorry I never got to get back off the field and spend a little more time and get a coffee.

Onwards!

**creagdhubh** · 30th May 12, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Ok Sue , I might just pop in to Blair and give you a cheer, it depends on a few things, so don't hold your breath! Keep your eyes open for a decrepit "farmer type" leaning on his cromach.

Ha-ha!!! You are far from decrepit, Jock! Wish I could join in the fun, and for a wee nip...one of these days...

Cheers,