As the creator of this website and an obvious fan of Highland Games and/or Festivals, I get emailed regularly by people looking to get started on entering their very first competition. As someone who also competed for the first time last year, I can say that the process was a lot easier than I expected. Depending on the event, it’s literally just a matter of finding one and signing up!
SIGNING UP:
There are obviously some nuances to this because depending on where you are (North America vs Scotland vs Australia, etc.) registration might be different depending on the event. There may be different classes and there’s obviously a difference between amateur and Pro…but otherwise to get started on your journey you only need to simply find the one closest to your area and look at their athletics sign up form. Depending on the event and sanctioning body, you may find that you are required to enter into a specific class (ie: “Class C”) right off the bat, or you might even be lucky and have an event that has a class just for beginners so that you are competing with people within your same experience level. Whatever the process is, the event will have it spelled out for you on the registration form.
Otherwise, if you are looking to complete in Scotland, instead of registering per event like you might here in the U.S., you have to register as an athlete with the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association. That will give you access to compete in all of their member events. You can register on their website here.
PRACTICING & GEAR:
So, have you found an event you want to compete in? GREAT! Now you have to practice! Obviously you can’t just hit up your local hardware store and grab a sheaf or caber. So, this is where practice groups come in!
We have compiled a list of practice groups you can view here!
If you live in an area that doesn’t have a practice group listed, just shoot an email to the Athletic Director of the event you are looking to compete in and they should steer you in the right direction!
So just to recap…
- Find an event you’re interested in
- Register following the directions of that specific event
- Find a Practice Group (or even start one yourself!)
- Have a braw time competing!
Best of luck, and Slàinte Mhath!
ADDITIONAL HELPFUL LINKS
Sisterhood of Highland Throwers
North American Scottish Highland Games Athletics
Scottish American Athletics Association
Rocky Mountain Scottish Athletics
Scotland – Royal Scottish Highland Games Association
MidAtlantic Scottish Athletics
Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation
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