A quick synopsis from one of our brother's in arms down in the mighty USofA and some of the games he has travelled to...
This games is one of the largest games you can attend on the east coast. The crowd was over 22000 in 2000. The pro competition was on the Saturday, with the Amateur A and B athletes competing on the Sunday.
The Amateur A division is actually the South East US Championships and in order to compete, you must have qualified by placing first or sometimes second in a number of other "qualifying" games (these include Annapolis, Maryland; Stone Mountain, Georgia; and Williamsburg, Virginia). The B division was invitation only.
The first place finish throws were in the following ballparks:
Open Stone - 49'
28# Distance - 70'
56# Distance - 36'
16# Sheaf - 31'
22# Hammer - 94'
56# Height - 13' (Bad day, apparently)
Pros of the event
- Website is great. Easy to follow directions.
- 2 massage tables
- Reasonable parking
- Athlete's tent and food and drinks right on the field.
- Tshirts given out
- 1st-3rd place medals given out for each event
- 1st and 2nd Athlete of the Day awards
- Good field placement of facilities.
Cons of the event
- Amateurs pay to play ($12 US)
Overall impression: Great games and good organization. Rumour mill grinding that they're looking to host a North American Championship in 2005 or 2006 with about 12-14 US competitors and 2-4 Canadians. Time to practice hard, I guess.
Charlston, South Carolina
Easily the best games I was at in 2001. I'm not sure how many people, maybe 6 or 7000. Professionals and amateurs compete at the same time on the same day.
The site is Boone Hall Plantation. BEAUTIFUL!! A huge plantation. Only a short drive to the ocean. Lets see if I can remember first placements.
Open Stone - 45'
28# Distance - 66'
56# Distance - 35'
16# Sheaf - 26'
22# Hammer - 89'
56# Height - 15'
Amateurs are treated very well. Much like in Alberta. Amateurs get some travel money. OK US$25. Better than anywhere else (in the US) I went to this year and I went to quite a few this year.
Pros of the event
- Great parking
- Athlete's tent, food and drinks on the field
- free tshirts
- medals awarded
- gorgeous place to visit
- amateurs do NOT pay to get in
Cons of the event
- None that I can think of
- OH YA!! The state police hide in the trees in the middle of the highways in twos in South Carolina. Do not speed. Do not follow a speeder they will get both of you ;-) (No, I never got a ticket...I was good that day)
Overall impression: Great games and good organization. Can't wait to go back for next year.
Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina
Another Huge games. 20,000 people on a mountain cleared for 5000. It is too many. Professionals and amateur As compete at the same time on the same day. The event runs over 4 days. B's and Pros over 45 or 50 go on Sunday. The A event has a 9 player max.
I dont remember 1st placements in the events exactly. It would be a good competition for Gord, Mike, and Sean. I mean there is no reason they couldnt win if they have a good day.
To win, you would need...
Open Stone - over 45'
28# Distance - over 65'
56# Distance - over 35'
16# Sheaf - over 28'
22# Hammer - over 90'
56# Height - 15'ish
Pros of the event
- Great food and drink
- free tshirts
- medals awarded
- gorgeous place to visit
- amateurs do NOT pay to get in
- some of the best pro throwers were there
Cons of the event
- Parking SUCKS!!!! you park at the bottom of the mountain and get bussed up.
- Plan ahead.. WAY ahead. There are no hotel rooms and no camping sites left with a couple of months to go. We slept in out van in a grocery store parking lot. The best room we found was US$110 a night. and that was 30 miles away
- Impossible to find...no really, you may be there and not know it
- traffic was crazy
- Too many people
- Mad rush to get finished from the word go.
- OH YA!!! if you are not an A class competitor dont bother with the A competition. You will not get to play if you are not in the top 9. They toss the stone and 56 distance and take the top 9 throwers for the rest of the day. (Editor's note: B's in Alberta...get used to this. We'll be instituting it for games with more than 15 competitors. Top 10 from the previous games get a by, the next 5 slots will be from the top throwers in the stone and 28)
Overall impression: It sucks...and I'm not sure If I will go back this year. However if there is anything to be found at a highland games IT IS HERE. 2 rows of tents side by side all the way around the field.(about 400 Meters)
Heading back...
Main|
Articles