International flavour at Dornoch Highland Games with athletes from Nebraska, Washington and Arizona and pipers from New Zealand
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Dornoch was blessed with a dry day on August 4 for the annual Highland Games, which were first held on the Dornoch Links in 1835. Maybe the best view of the field came momentarily from the top of Hercher’s Big Wheel, writes Willie MacKay, games president.
With local events in the morning, Dornoch Pipe Band, led by Drum Major Brian Fraser, started the Chieftain’s Parade with hundreds of spectators marching the full length of Castle Street into the Meadows Park which has been the venue since the early 1900s.
Chieftain Jim Campbell, in his speech to officially open the games, paid tribute to two ladies who we sadly lost and who had made outstanding contributions to the longevity of the Dornoch Games. Mary Thomson, a past vice-president and daughter of Lord Migdale, had for many years generously presented the Carnegie medals to the champions in piping, heavies and track and field.
Also Molly Gunn, past chieftain and vice-president and, more importantly, head of the Gunn family who was a very popular person in the Dornoch community and whose extended family are the backbone of the games today and always present the field in excellent condition. Both ladies worked tirelessly for the good of our games.
Teenager Tyler Ross, Dornoch, won the Gashaigaich Shield for local heavies as well as the Migdale Cup and the Tommy Ross Shield, presented in memory of his grandfather. It was good to see his uncle, Ian Ross, returning to the heavy circuit.
Will Fryer, Latheron, won the Balblair Challenge Cup in the local junior piping section confined to Sutherland, Ross-shire and Caithness. Hector Finlayson, Kyle, had a clean sweep in the junior open piping with Grace Kelman, Inverness, runner-up in each competition and Don MacKinnon, Dingwall, third.
Steven Gray, Edinburgh, won the Mrs Carnegie Miller Trophy for open piping against strong opposition from pipers as far away as New Zealand. Cameron MacDougall, East Sutherland piping instructor, won the pibroch in the senior piping section.
Hector Finlayson, Kyle, won the MacPherson Quaich, for the junior piping, with Grace Kelman, Inverness in second place. This was the second year of the primary school chanter competition with a new winner in Ruby Stevenson, Invershin. Toby Dingwall and Lyster Price-Davis came second equal.
Stewart Clark, Stonehaven, former Scottish Highland Games champion, returned to Dornoch to face tough opposition from Ewan Bradley and Abbie Harrison, both from Inverness. Much to the delight of the grandstand crowd, Abbie won the 220 yards handicap race. Clark and Bradley, with three firsts and three second places each, shared the Lord Migdale Shield for the open track and field. It was a first time competing at a Highland Games for teenager, Liam Vass, Embo, who will be a serious contender as he continues to develop his talent with East Sutherland Athletics coach, John Davis.
It was mostly new faces at the open heavy events this year with regular Caithness heavy, Jamie Gunn, competing against athletes from Nebraska, Washington and Arizona. The crowd also enjoyed Rebecca Maeule and Laura Barber competing against the men with the ladies using lighter weights. Barber pipped Maeule by a single point.
A first for our games was having Debbi Tugwell compete in the local heavies. This means that Dornoch had male and female competitors in all competitions, which could possibly be a first in the Scottish Highland Games circuit.
The men’s competition was extremely close with the final event, the caber, to decide the overall winner of the Robin Miller Trophy. Chuck Kasson, Nebraska, was the only heavy to toss the caber with a full “12 o’clock” landing but Aaron Castle, Washington, taking second equal with Jamie Gunn in the caber, had enough points to win the Robin Miller Trophy and the Alistair Shaw Cup.
The adult open dancing saw Cara Wilson, Dingwall, won the Gardiner Cup for the Highland Fling and Seann Triubhas and the MacKenzie Shield for the adult local dancing, with Innes Mackenzie runner-up. Amy MacRae, Munlochy, won the Grant Cup for the 13-15 years age group with Eilidh Guthrie, Rosemarkie, winning the Shiela Waring Memorial Cup for 12 years and under and the John Grants & Sons Cup for the Seann Triubhas and Sailors Hornpipe.
As always, the children's races were a great success with great energy and determination visible in everyone’s faces. Sport has no language barriers with French, German, Portuguese Spanish and Italian children having fun mixed with local children.
The obstacle race with the greasy slippery board is followed by Tilt the Bucket. The theory is that competitors might get washed with water if failing to get the pole through the rather small hole as can be seen if the demonstration from former champions who had a “bad day at the office".
