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Highland Golf, Games, Ceilidh Celebrate Region's Heritage

From staff reports

The sixth annual version of the ancient games will be played on the grounds of the historic Appalachian farmstead on Wadlow Gap Road, Route 224, near Weber City on Saturday, July 22, beginning at 9 a.m.

And according to highland tradition, the Homeplace Mountain Farm & Museum will host a ceilidh, pronounced kaylee, on Friday, July 21 at 7 p.m. on the museum grounds. Free food and drink are available for the admission price of $5, which also features Celtic music. Children under 10 are admitted free.

Local Celtic group, Fire in the Kitchen, begins playing on the museum's front porch at 7 p.m. for an evening with the Scots. The ceilidh provides an opportunity for local residents to meet and greet athletes prior to Saturday's competition and a time to celebrate their ancestral heritage.

A new addition to the local Highland events include a first-ever four-man golf tournament the day before the games, completed with appropriate attire.

An 18-hole, 4-man select shot golf tournament will be played Friday, July 21 at the Scott County Park & Golf Course, located near Gate City.  The cost is $50 per person. 

Golfers must be kilted to play. A limited number of kilts will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lunch will be served at noon in the clubhouse. 

Prizes will be given to those with the longest drive, closest to the pin and the longest putt. Trophies will also be awarded to the top finishers as well as other goodies.

The Homeplace Highland Golf Tournament is sponsored by Rhoton Law Office, Farm Credit of the Virginias and the Clinch Mountain Cultural Center.

The tradition of Scottish Highland games was originated by the Kings and Chiefs of Scotland as a reasonable agreement method of choosing the best men at arms, according to the Texas Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Crude forms of the athletic events you see today were developed to test the contestants for strength, stamina, accuracy and agility.

Of course, they used the elements and materials of their day-to-day life and so the caber toss, archery, wrestling and foot races up steep hills were seen. Even Highland dancing was used to tax the endurance and strength of competitors.

It is noteworthy that the Scottish regiments used to require Highland dancing as a form of training to develop stamina and agility.

Kay Cummings Sr., the 6-foot-8 president of the Southeastern Scottish Amateur Athletic Association and former world hammer throw champion, headlines a growing list of competitors traveling to Weber City to compete in the games.

Male athletes compete in six contests for medals and other prizes. These games include the Clachneart or "Stone of Strength," the 28-pound and 56-pound stone throw, the 56-pound weight toss, the hammer throw, the sheaf toss and the caber (pole) toss.

All contestants competing at the event are amateur and newcomers who want to compete are welcome and will be schooled before the event. All contestants must wear a kilt. If you do not have a kilt and want to show off your strength, kilts will be available for loan. Registration for the games begins at 8:30 a.m.

More than 23 competitors have already registered to compete in the games including the No. 2 ranked amateur, Chris Chaffin of Currie, N.C. This year’s event features two division classifications with prizes awarded to the top finishers.

Members of the Overmountain Men Chapter SAR, Virginia Frontier Society C.A.R., Wilderness Trail Chapter Colonial Dames XVII Century and Elijah Cross II Chapter U.S.D. 1812.host th  Genealogy/Lineage Research Section at the games and will assist local families searching for their Gaelic roots. Information on many Scott County families with Scottish/Irish descendants will be available.

The Friends of the Homeplace are sponsoring some special events for the wee ones. They will have coloring books and markers at the coloring booth to keep the children entertained as their parents marvel at the physical strength of competitors.

The Friends organization is also in charge of the Scottish Information Tent.

If music is more to your liking then be sure and listen as Celtic music will be played during the afternoon. Bag pipes, pennywhistles and other instruments will be performed by a variety of local talent.

To discover your link to the Highlands, clan tents will be set up along the fence area of the museum.

Rhoton Law Office, New Peoples Bank, Friends of the Homeplace, Overmountain Men Chapter SAR, Virginia Frontier Society C.A.R., Wilderness Trail Chapter Colonial Dames XVII Century, Elijah Cross II chapter USD 1812, the Clinch Mountain Cultural Center and the Gate City Fire Department sponsor the Homeplace Highland Games.

To find out more visit their website, <www.homeplacehighlandgames.org>.

Parking is free and admission is only $3. For more information, call Sid Rhoton at 386-7130 or by email at <sid@rhotonlawoffice.com>.

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