Participants at the Campbell Highland Games include many world-class Highland athletes. Highlights of the games include the World Open Stone Put Championship.

We also feature such traditioanl Scottish sports as Shinty, Rugby & Soccer. What the heck is Shinty? Scroll down this page for more on this Scottish team sport that's been played for centuries!

2008 Heavy Athletics Event Entry Form Should be Available Soon from scottish-heavies.com

Field Athletics: Shinty & Rugby

The Field Athletics venue was established in 2003 by the Campbell Highland Games Association, to feature and promote Scottish team sports or athletics. We are happy to welcome back Shinty (Camanachd) and Rugby. Both sports will be hosting tournaments on the same field, or pitch, by alternating matches. For more information, please see the specific sport sections on this page.

Please come by to view these exciting sports, and feel free to ask questions or to find out how to become involved. If you would like to volunteer to help run the venue at the games, please contact: fieldathletics@campbellgames.com.

Shinty Tournament Trough of Excellence Cup sponsored by Moylan's Brewery and Restaurant, Novato, CA
Rugby Tournament Talisker Shield sponsored by Talisker Single Malt Whiskey

Shinty and the Northern California Camanachd Club

Join us for our Shinty Cup Tournament matches at the Campbell Highland Games.

Background

Shinty (iomain or camanachd in Scottish Gaelic) is a team sport of the stick and ball variety that has been played in the Scottish Highlands for many generations. The game's origins date back nearly 2,000 years, and it can claim hurling as a cousin, and hockey and golf as descendants. Shinty exists today both as a formalized sport (under the auspices of the Camanachd Association) and as a traditional pastime of the Scots at more casual and/or social events.

The Game of Shinty

Two teams (usually of six or twelve players a side) play on a field of similar proportions to (though somewhat larger than) a soccer pitch. The players use Camans (hooked/curved sticks with a triangular cross section) to strike the shinty ball, either in the air or on the ground, with the intention of scoring a goal. As in soccer, a goalkeeper guards the goal nets, which measure 12 feet across and 10 feet high. A shinty match is either 30 minutes (for six-a-side) or 90 minutes (for twelve-a-side) in length, divided into two halves with a short break between. A referee regulates play, enforcing rules and calling fouls for illegal and/or dangerous play. There are also side judges and goal judges to assist in calling side-outs, end-outs and goals.

Joining the NCCC at the Campbell Games in 2008 will be Scottish Shinty player and accordionist extraordinaire Gary Innes. Gary was both Man of the Match at the Camanachd Cup in 2005 and captain of the Cup winning Fort William team. Gary's double threat of music and sport is a great fit for our group as we pursue our musical interests with local Scottish-American groups. Gary was among the final four nominees for BBC Radio's Scottish Traditional Music Awards in 2005, and more recently, through his music, has been involved in raising money for a vital orphanage and school for the blind in Kazakhstan.

The NCCC

The NCCC, or Northern California Camanachd Association, is an organization that exists to foster interest in this most Scottish of sports. Many of us came to Shinty through various Scottish cultural activities, and we have worked over the years to further our own knowledge as well as to help educate people about the sport. The NCCC holds regular practices at various Bay Area locations and we work to improve our skills through the use of drills and scrimmages. Our schedule (as well as a lot of other information and photographs) is available online via the NCCC homepage, http://www.norcalshinty.com/. Also visit the national website http://www.uscamanachd.org/ and the Scottish website at http://www.shinty.com/.

History of Scottish Rugby

According to rugby mythology, we have Webb Ellis to thank for the creation of rugby back in 1823. However, several hundred years earlier while based in Scotland, the Romans found time to relax from keeping the Picts at bay by playing "harpastum", a sport involving two teams who ran, passed and threw a small round ball with the aim of crossing the opponent's line at the far end of a rectangular field. The Border Ba' games, which probably evolved from the Roman game, are still played today when entire villages take part and try and get a ball to one end of a village or the other, often taking hours to finish.

However, a game following the Webb Ellis ethos, where both kicking and handling of the ball was allowed, was being played by the middle of the 19th century by some private schools, colleges and universities in Scotland. Rules of the game were formally laid down in 1846, and although there were many changes before the game began to look like the game we see today, the new rules brought much needed consistency to the new sport. The first international match was in 1871 when the captains of five Scottish rugby clubs challenged English playing clubs to a representative Scotland vs England match. Scotland won by one goal (a converted try) and one try to England's one try. (It was called a "try" because in those days the main aim was to score a kick at goal, so if a team touched the ball down over the opponent's line, they were allowed a "try" at goal. Scotland, therefore, have the happy distinction of hosting, and winning, the first ever rugby international in the world..!

Rugby Tournament Sponsored by Guinness

THE CAMPBELL MARAUDERS

The Campbell Marauders Rugby Club will be hosting their 4^th annual rugby tournament at the Campbell Highland Games. The winner at the end of the day will receive the prestigious Talisker Shield. The Marauders were the first to claim title to the shield in the 2004 tournament.

Participating Rugby Clubs:

www.montereyrugby.com

http://www.sffog.org

Heavy Athletics Competition Information

CLASSES

Pros, Men's A, Men's B, Men's C, Masters 40-49, Masters 50 and above, and Women.

EVENTS

STONE PUT

There are two stone puts, one open and one standing (breamar).

The World Professional Open Stone Put Championship has been held at the Campbell Highland Games every year since 1996. Professional-class athletes travel from as far away as Canada, Texas, and North Dakota to compete. Regardless of who wins, this is a world class event, and a great competition of the World's Finest Heavy Athletes.

WEIGHT FOR DISTANCE

Light and heavy weights for distance
28 and 56 pounds for younger men and pros
28 and 42 pounds for the masters age 40 and above
14 and 28 pounds for the women

SCOTTISH HAMMER

Two Scottish hammer events light and heavy
16 and 22 pound for the men, no break for the masters
12 and 16 pound for the women

WEIGHT OVER THE BAR

Weight over the bar for height
56 pounds for younger men
42 pounds for the masters
28 pounds for women

CABER TOSS

Various caber weights and lengths up to 19 feet and 150 pounds for the pros
masters tend to be in the 17 to 18 foot range with a max. out around 100 pounds
women's caber around 14 to 15 feet approximately 60 pounds

GENERAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

9 am to noon: At least one or two groups will be contesting the stones, weights, and hammer at any given time.

1 to 4 pm: We try to reserve the weight over the bar and Caber toss for the afternoon, but depending on the number of competitors in the various classes and time constraints, we may schedule a weight over the bar competition in the morning.

Athletics at the Campbell Highland Games

Heavy Athletics Field Athletics: Shinty & Rugby