scottish highland games association - newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
Scottish Highland Games
Association - Newsletter
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
I wish my first newsletter message as Chairman could have been accompanied
by a more positive look-ahead however, at the time of writing, this looks like a
really challenging year for Highland Games - arguably the worst in living
memory.
The restrictions on movements have caused widespread cancellations, with
many tremendous events already removed from the calendar and no doubt more
to follow. In addition to the impact on each of the Games there’s the loss of
competition for athletes, loss of enjoyment to the communities and all sorts of
other disappointments and issues to be dealt with. However, we remain
hopeful that some events will be able to go ahead later in the year.
The Games have a great history of being resilient and pulling together in
difficult times. Looking back 25 years ago, one of the main reasons that I got
involved in running the Games (in Montrose) was because of teamwork and a
sense of providing something together which was more than the sum of the
individuals….and that’s been the case ever since.
We have plenty reasons to be optimistic – looking beyond the health crisis we
still have a strong network across the country and, in addition to being its own
event, each Games is part of a bigger group that can depend on each other in
difficult times. We had some special extras lined up for this season, including a
full training day for heavy events, more development activities with Help for
Heroes, television programmes, parliamentary work and wider marketing for
member events, but we’ll pick these up again next season; in the meantime we
continue working to help SHGA members and to keep Highland Games on the
national agenda.
This week we were pleasantly surprised to receive a letter from our patron
HRH The Duke of Rothesay (Prince Charles), letting us know that he’s aware
of the impacts to Highland Games and wishing our members his very best
wishes. Last month the Princes Trust awarded SHGA some funding which
we’ll be putting to good use; two more reasons to be positive !
With best wishes,
Iain Watt, Chairman, SHGA
Caption describing picture or
graphic.
Newsletter
Spring 2020
In this issue
Chairman’s Message
Jay Scott by
Jack Davidson
Shane’s Quiz
Ian Horsburgh Profile
Showmen by Jim Brown
History of H.G. by
Alasdair MacDonald
Setting Goals by
Ross Lorimer
S.H.G.A. Contacts
Secretary, Ian Grieve
President, Iain Watt
Treasurer, Iain Watt
Vice President, Charlie Murray
www.shga.co.uk
JAY SCOTT
HIGHLAND GAMES ATHLETE SUPREME
Jay Scott was one of the greatest ever Games athletes, a handsome, charismatic, extremely talented all-rounder
who claimed prizes by the bucket load in both light and heavy events from the early 1950’s into the ‘60’s.
In 1957 he was Scottish Sports Personality of the Year while in 1958 he claimed the Scottish Heavyweight
Championship from Henry Gray and was also Scottish Light Events champion. In 1964 at Tobermory Games he
set an incredible high jump record of 6’3½” [1m.91] using the ‘scissors’ technique.
Other best performances included 47’ shot putt, 13’8” 56lb.wt. for height, c.120’ hammer, 70’ 28lb. wt. for
distance, 22’ in long jump, 47’ in triple jump and 11’6” in pole vault. Also an excellent sprinter, he was 3rd in
the famous Powderhall Sprint in 1955 and could toss a good caber. Had he been eligible to compete in amateur
athletics he would have been an outstanding decathlete.
At Aboyne Games he won the Chieftain’s Challenge Cup for the best all-rounder many times-in each of
1955,’56 and ’57 he won 4 events and several second places- and at Braemar held the light stone record till Bill
Anderson beat it in 1959. At other Games throughout the country he regularly enjoyed a ‘clean sweep’ of
prizes.
His fame extended further afield through foreign tours to the Bahamas, United States, Canada and Sweden. In
1964 along with Bill Anderson and Charlie Allan he performed heavy event exhibitions in Nassau which were
publicised with his image in highland dress on a 20’ high billboard. Later that year he, Bill, Jock McColl, Louis
McInnes and Sandy Sutherland took part in a 6 week tour of North America -“The Wonderful World of Sport”-
again performing exhibitions in many cities. And in 1968 he competed in five Games in Sweden with Bill,
Arthur Rowe and Dave Prowse.
His film star good looks and sculpted physique attracted promotional activities and he adorned Tennent’s Lager
cans and E.M.I. record token cards. It was also considered the Highland Games athlete on the front of the
Scott’s Porage Oats packet was based on his image.
Born in Ayrshire in 1930, he moved as a two year old with his family to the island of Inchmurrin in Loch
Lomond where they farmed and engaged in tourism activities. Elder brother Tom was also a very accomplished
Games athlete. After attending Keil School, Dumbarton he studied at Auchincruive Agricultural College.
In 1958 he married well known actress and entertainer Fay Lenore and they later developed the award winning
Duck Bay Marina on Loch Lomondside. Unfortunately a tractor accident while farming near Aberfoyle in the
1970’s caused ongoing health issues and he died in 1997, just short of his 67th birthday-arguably the greatest
ever Highland Games all-rounder. - JACK DAVIDSON
Test your knowledge of the Highland Games circuit with SHANE FENTON's Highland Games geographical
quiz. (Answers at the bottom of Newsletter)
1. Where would you find the only two 400 metres tracks on the circuit?
2. Which is the only two Highland games towns whose names start and finish with the same initial?
3. Which four Highland games have the word Loch in their name?
4. Which two Highland games are situated at either end of Loch Tay?
5. Which three games would you be competing at if you were at, The Lump, The Bow Butts and Bogles Field?
6. Which six games takes place within the grounds of a castle?
7. Creag Bun-ulidh or The Rock is the venue for the SHGA Scottish Hill Race Championship, where would you
find it?
8. The New Year Sprint and which other games is the only ones to take place in East Lothian?
9. What is the most Northerly of the SHGA member games?
10. Which games takes place annually in the town of Lochinver in Sutherland?
Athlete Profile
Ian Horsburgh
New Year Sprint
Winner 2020
Home Doune
Age 42
Height 6’1”
Weight 79 kg
Occupation Electronic Engineer
Married Yes
Track PBs 100m – 10.80, 200m -21.48, 400m –
47.1
Most Prized possession(s) My two daughters
Favourite Country Scotland
Favourite Food Chicken Dhansak Curry with
Peshwari Naan.
Sporting Hero Michael Johnson
Best thing About H.G. Friendships with other athletes
Worst thing about H.G. Rain
Favourite Film Shaun of the Dead
Hobbies Running, playing guitar and board
games.
Coach/Club Myself / Central AC
Best performances
2020 New Year Sprint win, Silver
medal at 2019 European Masters
200m.
Dream dinner guests Michael Johnson, David Grohl, Usain
Bolt and Billy Corgan.
What would I save if house is
on fire My family
Interesting Facts about N.Y
Win
I did the majority of the training on
my own and coached myself.
This was my third final with the
previous one being in 1998!
Note for athletes
The position re cancellations of
events this summer is changing all
the time. The SHGA website is being
kept up to date and as soon as we
receive any changes these will be
uploaded. - www.shga.co.uk
Goal setting and training for the Highland Games
With Highland Games events having been cancelled, gyms closing, and being restricted to our homes,
many of us are left feeling discouraged about what we can do to maintain our abilities and interest. In
times like this, it is most important to sustain our motivation and the personal relationships that we
have built up through involvement in the Highland Games. We, as individuals and a group, need to
think outside the box and focus on what we can do – be that throwing stones in the garden that we have
uprooted from the rockery, improvising home-made equipment, working on our conditioning or just
maintaining contact with our fellow competitors to share ideas. We need to stay focused and think
about what we can do and what we can achieve. In order to help, this article will outline the most
fundamental and essential of sport psychology skills – goal setting.
Goal Setting
The author Basil Walsh once said, “If you don't know where you are going. How can you expect to get
there?” Goals give an athlete purpose, the mental equivalent of an Ordnance Survey map when hiking
around the Scottish Highlands. They serve a vital function that allows you to get the most from your
training. Goals are not the same as dreams, aspirations or targets. Goals only work if you have a plan
to reach them, a plan to which you fully commit yourself. Effective goal setting gives you the map to
your own personal improvement, whether that is performing well at a competition, the self-satisfaction
of improving your personal records or just maintaining your sanity in this time of countrywide
lockdown. Every day, every training session, you should have a plan, and you should ask yourself
what you are going to do that will bring you closer to your goals. You should aim to have a purposeful
mind-set, focused on improvement rather than on the final long-term outcome. A good athlete should
aim to improve in small ways every session, using their goals to motivate them. Research has shown
that effective goal-setters achieve more and perform better than those who set poor or inappropriate
goals. Effective goal setting however is not as easy as it sounds. Many athletes who think they set and
use goals are not getting the most out of this simple psychological skill. Therefore, here are six
guidelines for selecting and setting appropriate and effective goals.
Selecting Effective Goals
1. Make it demanding, but within reach: Goals work because they inspire you. Accomplishing them
raises your confidence. Yet for this to work you must succeed. If you typically throw 20-metres,
setting a goal, as “I will throw 30-metres next session” is unrealistic, likewise if you decide to work on
your conditioning, saying “I will run every single day” means you are setting yourself up to fail, which
will sap your motivation. Conversely, if your goals are too easy and you achieve them effortlessly then
you are not pushing yourself and will progress slowly. You want to succeed but feel like you have
pushed for it. Successful athletes set challenging goals and so accomplish more than those who set
unrealistic or undemanding goals. Think about what you can realistically achieve now, that may even
be maintenance rather than improvement.
2. A journey, not a destination: Effective goals are about your development rather than outcomes such
as competitions. Achieving your goals must be under your control. Focus on what you can control
such as “I will start doing home-based workouts this week” rather than what you ultimately cannot, like
“I will get back to the gym as soon as possible”. Remember that your development is a process not a
single event. Focusing just on outcomes means your confidence will increase or decrease depending
on that sole success or failure. Focusing on your own improvement will see your confidence increase
along with your abilities and every small personal victory we achieve while staying at home.
3. You need to be upbeat to go up: More than ever, you need to make sure you frame things in a
positive way. Goals need to be about what you will do, not what you will not do. Do not have goals
like “I will not lose fitness during the lockdown”; instead say, “I will start doing 2-workouts a week at
home”, or “I will use this time to focus on technique”. You want to focus your attention on moving
forward and not on potential barriers and mistakes. Not that you should not consider what could hold
you back, but they should not be part of your goals. Drawing attention to what you should not do just
brings it to the forefront of your thoughts making it that more likely to happen. Frame goals positively
to maximise their ability to motivate you.
Setting Effective Goals 1. Be specific: Goals that are vague or general are not useful. They are a map without landmarks.
Something like “I want to be a great thrower”, “I want to be the fastest runner” or simply “I want to be
the best” only have a slim chance of ever being realised. For a goal to work, you need to ensure it is
measurable so that you can monitor progress and know when you have achieved it. Start by asking the
questions like: How much? How often? How long? A specific goal should read more like “I will add
3-metres to my maximum throw over the next 6-months”, “I will be 10-seconds faster within 3-
months”, or “I will train in the garden for 30-minutes, twice a week, during the lockdown”. You need
to have a clear goal that can be assessed and evaluated.
2. Think short-term: Although dream goals like winning a competition are important, it is the day-to-
day ‘short-term’ goals that are the building blocks of success, especially in times like this when we are
all finding normal training difficult. When competing you do not focus on the podium, you take each
event one at a time. Goal setting is the same. Each training session should have a purpose that takes
you another small step towards your intermediate or seasonal goals, which ultimately will take you to
your dream goal. Plan your development and break your big goals down. Something like, “In this
session I will throw that stone in my garden 15-times”, or “I will go 1-km further on my daily run”.
What are your big goals? What do you have to do to achieve these? What order do they come in?
3. Stay on top of it: Keep track of your goals and get feedback. What progress have you made? Do
you need to change any of them? If you were hiking, through the hills you would not push on in bad
weather (well some of you might!). You would change your route and make alternative plans. The
same is true with goals. Review your progress and compensate for unexpected events like injury,
weather, or a major countrywide lockdown… You should have a timetable for your goals and a way to
assess your progress. Get advice from more experienced athletes, share ideas, see what other people
are doing to stay on top of things. Consistent and accurate feedback is essential for modifying your
goals and improving your performance. If it is not working and you are not achieving goals, then
something needs to be changed.
Conclusion Goal-setting is one of the simplest and yet one of the most valuable psychological skills you can
acquire as an athlete. It is a source of motivation and helps an athlete to focus his or her attention and
prioritise their efforts in order to maximise their own development. Remember that goal setting is a
skill. Like learning any skill, it takes commitment and practice to get the most out of it. You should
discuss your goals with others, write them out, review them frequently, and never be afraid to change
them if needed.
Dr Ross Lorimer
Ross is a lecturer at Abertay University, a sport psychologist, strength & conditioning coach, and
general sport scientist. He is passionate about strength athletics such Strongman but still rather new to
the whole Highland Games. He is keen to learn more about Highland Games and direct his work and
research in this area. Please feel free to drop him a line with questions or ideas:
Showmen
Many books and newspaper articles have been written about the history of our beloved Highland Games but
little has been written about our Scottish Showmen. Whilst we praise the feats of our finest athletes, the
amazing agility and timing of the highland dancers, the wonderful music of our solo pipers and pipe bands and
the raw power of tug-o-war, we have consistently overlooked the huge contribution that the Showmen have
made to the success of our Events over the centuries.
As the travelling fair season begins, fairground workers from all over Scotland should be heading out on to the
road but they too have been hit by the lockdown. At this time let us give some thought to the Fairground
Families whose lives have been long intertwined with our own Games’ history.
Despite meeting the public as part of their work, the Showmen feel that those they entertain do not really know
who they are and they are often frustrated by misconceptions people hold. The public don’t know the
complications they have to go through to maintain their age-old history.
Unlike Travellers, they are not an ethnic group but are a cultural one who travel for business and it is a way of
life. Local people have an identity that is linked to their local games and the fairgrounds are a form of cheap
entertainment which fulfil a community need. Their appeal also lies in their ability to span all ages. Fairs are
multi-generational, you go as a child with your parents, you go as a teenager with your first boyfriend or
girlfriend and then when you get older you take your own children and grandchildren.
They feel that our Games with a long history are special and are very precious to the Showmen and they don’t
think some people realise how much high esteem they hold our Games in. They cherish our Games and it's their
history too.
My first memories of Highland Games are not of cabers, highland flings and bagpipes but of candy floss, flashing lights, loud music, the smell of diesel and the rumble of a generator. They came from a place that for
most people exists for a short time and then disappears - a bit like Brigadoon.
Jim Brown
Past President, SHGA
Alasdair MacDonald is one of the representatives for the SHGA members in Highland region and has been
doing research on the history of Highland Games, he’d like to share some of his findings with us…
History of Highland Games – by Alasdair MacDonald The first known existence, of events that are now universally called ‘Highland Games’, were events that occurred in Druid
times, in Ireland. They were called Aonach Tailteann, or Tailteann Games and were founded as a public mourning
ceremony and fair, for Queen Tailte, a Spanish princess, who had married Eochaidh Mac Erc, High King of the Firblogs.
She was buried c1829 BC, on the side of Sliabh Caillighe, near Oldcastle, County Meath.
The Tailteann Games were founded by her stepson, King Lugh, to honour her death, to proclaim laws and to entertain, by
holding ‘funeral games’ and festivities near her tomb. They were held at Lammastide (The wheat harvest on 1st August)
and the tradition lasted until c1170 AD, when the Normans invaded. They restarted from 1924 to 1932 AD.
The Tailteann Games included long jump, high jump, running, hurling, spear throwing, boxing, contests in sword
fighting, archery, wrestling, swimming, and chariot and horse racing. They also included competitions in strategy,
singing, dancing and story-telling. They also held craft competitions for jewellers, goldsmiths, weavers and armourers.
Scottish Highland Games likely originated from the ancient Tailteann Games. Such traditions will have crossed the Irish
Sea to Celtic Scotland, with the 3rd and 4th century AD migrations of the Irish Scotti, into Dál Riata (Dalriada) in Argyll.
In 563 AD, St Columba left Ireland and founded the monastery on Iona, off Argyll’s coast in Scotland. The area was part
of Ireland’s County Antrim until 575 AD. His friend St Cannich, or Cainnech (Called St Kenneth in Scotland) and their
followers, later carried out missions to the Northern Celtic Scots or Picts. St Kenneth travelled far and founded many
churches in Scotland, including one at Laggan, Inverness-shire and the first church in St Andrews These early Irish
missionaries and their followers, undoubtedly also brought their customs, games and traditions with them.
Numerous similarities then evolved between those living in Ireland and large parts of Western and Northern Scotland.
Both Celtic nations spoke Gaelic, both shared Christianity and shared the same culture. They played similar games
(Hurling and Shinty included) and played similar music with harps and with their own bagpipes. Uilleann, or elbow pipes,
in Ireland and the Great Highland pipes, in Scotland. Both nations also developed their own style of kilts
Historians say that the earliest known ‘Highland Games’ in Scotland, were believed to have been held at Inveraray,
Argyll. That is no surprise, given that Argyll is just a short trip across the Irish Sea from Ireland.
Some people believe that Highland Games originated from a ‘gathering’ of people that took place at the foot of Craig
Choinnich, at the Braes o’ Mar, in 1040 AD. King Malcolm III of Scotland, aka Malcolm Canmore, wanted a good gille-
ruith, or runner, to quickly take messages from one place to another. He ordered a hill race and the winner became his
messenger. Any evidence to support these facts will be welcomed. It is said that one tree does not make a forest and It is
hard to separate folklore from fact, especially as our early forefathers could neither read nor write.
In 1314, after King Robert the Bruce’s victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, 600 of the ‘small folk’ (peasants), who
fought at the battle, triumphantly returned home to Fife. They were given the freedom of Ceres, where a Charter was
granted, to hold a free Fair in their honour, at the village’s Bow Butts. Archery was the game of the day. The Ceres
Highland Games take place on the same field and entry is still free.
In 1574, at Inverness Castle, Hugh Fraser, Lord Lovat, ensured that young men of his district, “dayly exercised upon the
levell of the Castle-hill, or down in the Links, by one Lieutennant Thomas Cerr, a townsman and my Lordships own
domestick servant, an expert soldiour, bred abroad in the warrs of France and Flanders. Cerr keeping set dayes of exercise
weekely, and the whole muster tearmd my Lord Lovats train-band. At intervalls they used swimming, arching, football,
throwing of the barr, fencing, dancing, wrestling, and such manly sprightly exercises and recreations, very fit for polishing
and refining yowth and to keep them from effeminacy, baseness, loitering, and idleness, which fosters vice and inclines
men to all evil.”
In 1655, Lords Lovat and MacKenzie, along with other dignitaries and numerous clansmen, gathered at Loch Monar,
Glenstrathfarrar. They reported that, “in the 4 days we tarried there, what is it that could cheere and recreat mens spirits
but was gone about, jumping, arching, shooting, throwing the barr, the stone, and all manner of manly exercise
imaginable, and every day new sport; and for entertainment our baggage was well furnished of beefe, mutton, foule,
fishes, fat venison, a very princly camp, and all manner of liquors.”
Also in 1665, between the death and funeral of his mother (Jean Campbell), Robert of Glenlyon, held funeral games in her
honour. Those events included a foot race, sword-exercise, fencing, wrestling, tossing the caber, throwing the hammer and
putting a stone. These funeral games and events mirror the traditions of the original Tailteann Games.
What do you think were the first five ‘modern’ Highland Games in Scotland? The SHGA Secretary will welcome any
suggestions, via email or its Facebook page. Details of the supposed establishment of all the current SHGA Member
Games and others, have been researched. Some historical excerpts and data, will be published in the next Newsletter.
ANSWERS to QUIZ
1. Blackford[Grass] and Inverkeithing[Ash].
2. Alva and St Andrews.
3. Loch Lomond, Lochearnhead, Lochcarron and Pitlochry.
4. Killin and Kenmore.
5. Isle of Skye, Ceres and Blairgowrie.
6. Gordon Castle, The Atholl Gathering[Blair Castle], Strathmore[Glamis Castle],Drumtochty, Inveraray and
Strathpeffer[Castle Leod].
7. Helmsdale.
8. North Berwick.
9. Mey at John O' Groats.
10. Assynt.
S.H.G.A. Sponsors 2020
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Henderson Gray
Marquee Hire
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Outside Catering
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IAN WHYTE - Ian Whyte passed away in
hospital after a short illness in January 2020 a
few weeks short of his 80th birthday. Ian was a
prolific runner in the 60s and 70s often running
from scratch or near scratch in events from half
mile to two miles and also an excellent hill
runner. Ian competed for over thirty years at
Highland Games and border events and also
coached and introduced many youngsters into
the sport. Ian was British 2 Mile Champion in
the sixties and SHGA athlete of the year in
1971. He was over the moon to be asked to be
Chieftain last year of Thornton Highland
Games who he has supported for many years. It
will be hard to find anyone more enthusiastic
and knowledgeable about Highland Games and
running in general.