Highland Games for fun and health
2006-09-24
24th Japan Scottish Highland Games
It's not everyday a guy can stap on a skirt in a show of manly sportsmanship. But that's what kilt-clad competitors at next week's 24th Japan Scottish Highland Games will do as they lob stones, hammers and even logs in a show of strength, balance and stamina. The best part is that it's not too late to join the fun.
On Oct 8, the annual gala event kicks off a second year in its new location, at Kanda University of International Studies, in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, about 45 minutes from Tokyo. This age-old fitness fest, however, is more than a show of Scottish sport. It includes a football tournament organized by Footy Japan, netball, traditional Scottish piping and dance competitions, tug-of-war bouts and a variety of kids' events, too.
For many, however, the main event will be the Highland games, or the "heavy events" of the day: The open and breamar stone puts, like the shot put but with a 7 to 11 kilogram rock; weight for distance, a one-hand toss of 13-, 19- and 25-kilo weights, the similar weight for height and the hammer throw to see who can chuck a 7- and 10-kilo hammer the farthest. Then there's the legendary caber, which is best described as flipping a skinned log end-over-end for distance - all while sporting a mandatory Scottish kilt.
Said to predate Christianity, Highland games were originally a test of strength to select the mightiest warriors for battle. In the 11th century they were organized as a popular sport in Scotland. After being banned for decades by the invading English in 1746, Highland games came back with a vengeance as a popular organized sport throughout Scotland by the early 1800s.
"We follow the basic rules and regulations for the governing body in Scotland, the SGA (Scottish Games Association), says Bill Patterson, 61, heavy events director and a member of the Japan Scottish Highland Games committee. "The chief judge, Mr. Alan Sim, is a past president of the SGA. But you needn't be a pro to play the games.
"When most of us in Japan started we were rank amateurs who were bitten by the competitive urge to throw; we all started as pure novices, Patterson says. The Nihon University teacher from Lawrence, Kansas is of Scottish descent with a self-styled passion for his ancestral Gaelic language and has participated in the games for the past eight years. "It helps to have experience in track and field but this is not altogether necessary. Most of us work out in the gym with moderate to heavy weights. Some of us don't. The hammer throw and weight over bar (for height) don't require footwork. The weight for distance and the 16-lb (7 kilo) shot (put) do. The caber is designed to test balance, strength, coordination and skill. Most of the events require lower body strength rather than upper body strength.
The heavy events competitions are open to anyone wanting to throw, toss or lob and willing to do so in a kilt. General admission is 1,500 yen (600 for children). Registration for the heavy events cost 1,000 yen to help cover the cost of T-shirts, medals and other prizes and can be done on the day of the affair. Mandatory kilts are provided for a modest 1,000-yen fee. Newcomers are encouraged but had best be prepared for a bit of a workout.
"Fortunately, I had taken up Olympic style weight lifting two years prior to my first competition so I lasted the day, Patterson says. "Eight years ago, there were three Canadians, an Ecuadorian, several Japanese and myself. The throwing experience was so challenging, and seemed to be so intertwined with Scottish culture, that I started attending Highland games in the United States.
Some, like two-time Grand Champion and two-time runner up William Drew, 40, seem to have a knack for Highland games. The former ice hockey coach and player turned high school teacher heralds from Scotland and Canada. He boasts taking first place at his first ever competition seven years ago. "I beat out David Tait for bragging rights for the year, he says of another regular competitor. Not lacking in humor, Drew also claims the, "Best Chili Award, because no one brought anything to eat for the participants. And in addition to the weight for distance throw, he jokes his other specialty is, "the liquid weight to lips event. "All the competitors have become good friends, he adds. "We tease each other on and off the field.
It's not all fun and games, however, nor is it a once a year workout for a core group of diehard Highland gamers. They meet regularly to hone their skills, originally with homemade hammers and weights. "We have a group of us who get together once a month, Drew says. "We call ourselves the Tokyo Tossers. Anyone can come out and join us for a practice session. It is usually followed by a lamb barbecue at my house in Yokohama. But he cautions newbies to, "ring the doorbell with their elbow. We don't want them coming to the barbecue empty handed.
Patterson says that in addition to informal practices Japan Highland game regulars have recently been invited to show off their throwing techniques at the U.S. Marine Corp's Camp Fuji base, which this year began its own Highland games. He points out, however, that similar to when Japan locals first started convening for practice, you can't exactly practice all the games in the Land of the Rising Sun. "We were not able to practice throwing the caber, he says. "No one could store a tree in his house.
Stuart Picken and the St. Andrew Society of Yokohama and Tokyo started the Japan's Highland games in 1982 to promote Scottish culture in the Japanese and international communities. Named after the patron saint of Scotland, the society continues to host a myriad of local Scottish cultural events. The Highland games, however, have taken on a life of their own with an independent committee and a venerable tradition that draws hundreds annually, says Jane Best Cooke, 54. The president of Refugees International (an NGO) has been coordinating the food booths that serve up sumptuous Scottish dishes at the event for the past 15 years.
"We're a very, very mixed bunch, she says, noting that famed bagpipers Tokyo Pipe Band, who perform at the event, are 90 percent Japanese. "It was originally set up to showcase Scottish culture but for Scots living here it's so authentic and for Japanese it's so interesting - they can't believe the things we do, like throwing around a log. Best Cooke says it's a truly international event. "It's not just British but all nationalities and all ages. It's a great day out for the family."
Get details, including directions and contact info, on the Japan Scottish Highland Games at: http://www2.gol.com/users/bestcooke/index.html. Learn more about events hosted by the St. Andrew Society of Yokohama and Tokyo at: http://www.st-andrews-society.com. Those interested in monthly Highland games practice can e-mail William Drew at: drewshimomura2000@ybb.ne.jp.
