Minnesota Scottish Fair & Highland Games

Heavy athletics refer to the athletic events which require significant strength and power; as opposed to the light athletics, which require stamina, such as highland dancing, sprinting, running, and jumping. In general, lightweight persons tend to gravitate toward the light athletics, while the heavyweights excel in heavy athletics. Heavy athletics include stone-throwing, weight tossing, hammer-throwing, caber turning, and sheaf tossing.

Scottish heavy athletics should not be confused with "strongman" competitions, which involve lifting cars, loading kegs, etc; although some strongman competitions are held in conjunction with a heavy athletics competition, and some strongman competitions include highland games events. Scottish heavy athletic events are traditional events involving traditional equipment, while the strongman events have been mostly invented recently, using modern equipment.

The Caber is a tree that has been cut and trimmed down so one end is slightly wider than the other. It can vary length from 16 to 22 feet and between 100 and 180 pounds. The smaller end is rounded off so it will be easy to cup in the thrower's hands. The caber is stood up for the thrower with the large end up. The thrower hoists the caber up and cups the small end in his hands. He then takes a short run with the caber and then stops and pulls the caber so that the large end hits the ground and the small end flips over and faces away from the thrower. The caber is scored for accuracy as though the thrower is facing the 12:00 position on a clock face. A judge behind the thrower calls how close to the 12:00 position the small end of the caber lands, 12:00 being a perfect toss. If the caber is not turned, a side judge calls the degrees of the angle the caber makes with the ground. Sometimes a Challenge Caber is also used which is larger than the Games Caber.

22lb. Hammer Throw & 16lb. Hammer Throw
The hammer has a lead or steel head with a bamboo or rattan handle affixed through a hole in the head. The overall length cannot exceed 50". The athlete stands behind the trig with his back to the throwing area, winds the hammer around the head and releases over the shoulder. The athlete's feet must remain in a fixed position until the hammer is released. Boots with blades attached to the front of them are usually worn to keep the feet on the ground and in a fixed position.

The sheaf is a 16lb. or 20lb. burlap or plastic bag stuffed with either chopped rope, straw, or mulch. The sheaf is tossed over a cross bar with a pitch fork. Three attempts are allowed at each height. If the thrower misses all three tries at one height, the he is out of the competition.

Open Stone Put
Similar to the shot put, except a stone is used that weighs usually between 16 and 22 pounds. It is called "open" style because any style of putting is allowed with the spin and glide styles being the most popular. The throwing area is a box 4' 6" wide and 7' 6" long. The thrower must keep one foot inside this area and not step over the back line or inside face of the trig or the throw is a foul.

Braemar Stone Put
This stone put uses a heavier stone usually between 22 and 28 pounds and it must be put from a standing position. The same throwing area and fouls for the open stone apply.

56lb. Weight for Height
The weight for height is the same as used for distance except it is shorter. The weight is tossed over a cross bar with one hand. Three attempts are allowed at each height. If the thrower misses all three tries at one height, then he is out of the competition.

56lb. Weight for Distance
The weight can be either block or spherical shaped with links and a handle. The overall length cannot exceed 18". The weight is thrown with one hand in a throwing area 4' 6" x 9'. The thrower must keep one foot inside this area and not step over the back line or inside face of the trig or the throw is a foul.

2010 Entry Form

Please contact with questions
(651) 247-5942

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2010 Heavy Events Results

Previous Year's Results

Braemar Stone Put This stone put uses a heavier stone usually between 22 and 28 pounds and it must be put from a standing position. The same throwing area and fouls for the open stone apply.

56lb. Weight for Height The weight for height is the same as used for distance except it is shorter. The weight is tossed over a cross bar with one hand. Three attempts are allowed at each height. If the thrower misses all three tries at one height, then he is out of the competition.

Braemar Stone Put
This stone put uses a heavier stone usually between 22 and 28 pounds and it must be put from a standing position. The same throwing area and fouls for the open stone apply.

56lb. Weight for Height
The weight for height is the same as used for distance except it is shorter. The weight is tossed over a cross bar with one hand. Three attempts are allowed at each height. If the thrower misses all three tries at one height, then he is out of the competition.