THE CALEDONIAN GAMES
A New Way to Experience the Old Country

This summer's 143rd Scottish Highland Gathering and Games festival will be held over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30-31, at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. As always, it will feature the likes of Scottish pipers, battle re-enactments and an array of activities bound to engage and entertain all family members.

The festival will also double as the 34th U.S. Invitational Heavy Event Championships, an athletic competition that rewards displays of sheer strength and muscle. The contests pit muscular athletes against each other in eight categories, all of which involve picking up and throwing large and heavy objects as far or high as possible.

Among the contests are two variations of the shot put, the throwing of the Scottish hammer, in which contestants throw a nearly 50-pound weight for both height and distance, and the famous "caber toss," which requires picking up a 20-foot-tall tree trunk and throwing it as straight and as far as possible, end over end. The scoring for the caber is the position it falls. Exactly straight from the throw is 12 o'clock (a perfect score. To the right would be 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, etc. To the left would be 11 o'clock, 10 o'clock, etc. Each athlete gets three attempts ( This is true of all eight events - 3 attempts) The caber event is very popular with the fans and the hammer toss will be for the world championship.

"It's a way athletes can continue after their college track-and-field careers," said Floyd Busby, an event organizer. "It's a bit more relaxed, although it's certainly not relaxed when they're out there doing it. It's different from regular track and field in that someone might only do the shot put. In our games that might be his specialty, but he has to compete in all eight disciplines. It's a very rounded event in that regard."

A number of accomplished athletes have already committed to this year's event, including last year's world championship winner, Gregor Edmunds, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound Scot from Glasgow. Ryan Vierra, a seven-time world championship titlist, will also be in the field, as will Larry Brock, the reigning hammer thrower. In addition to the Heavy Event Championships, eight events are scheduled daily.

On the women's side, Stanford alum Summer Pierson leads the field. Pierson, the Cardinal's women's discus record holder, is a 2008 Olympic hopeful in the discus event. In addition to the professional and women's classes, the Heavy Events include the Men's Open Amateur, with many aspiring future professionals, the Men's 40-49 Masters and Men's 50-Plus Master classes.

The professionals play for a $2,000 first-place prize and have incentives for setting new records as well. The winner of the Caber Challenge, an exhibition in which the contestants throw an even taller, heavier caber, takes a $250 prize. In addition to the professional and women's classes, the Heavy Events include the Men's Open Amateur. These are the aspiring-to-be pros and many are former college track and field competitors. The other end of the spectrum are the two "aged" classes, Men's 40-49 and Men's 50-Plus Masters Classes.

In addition to the athletic competitions, the games will be alive with music and dancing from multiple stages. Traditional Scottish music will be performed by Alex Beaton, the Browne Sisters, Neil O'Neill, Peter Daldry and Jo Ann Gilmartin, plus Scottish TV personality and vocalist Isla St. Clair. Celtic rock 'n' roll will feature Tempest, Seven Nations and Pladdohb. And lively dance steps will be judged as part of the Western U.S. Open Highland Dancing Championships.

Have a desire for more music? More than 30 competing pipe bands from the U.S. and Canada will perform and the featured band is the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Band from San Diego. At 4 p.m. the massed bands assemble, with over 750 pipers and drummers playing in unison, performing in front of the grandstands and making the end of each day a truly exciting event.

Ever run in a Kilted Mile Foot Race? Here's your chance, and there is no charge to participate around the 1-mile track. The starting gun goes off at 11 each morning, so cinch up your belt!

Other memorable experiences include immersion in medieval Scottish times with roaming Highland warriors and Roman legions, Mary Queen of Scots, plus period artisans. Might there be a wee bit of Scottish blood in you? Find some answers from the approximately 100 clan tents that will be pitched on the fairgrounds.

What would a fair be without food, and the Caledonian Games do not disappoint. Ethnic Scottish and British food, along with traditional fairgrounds food providers, will be available, along with 100 vendors of Scottish, Irish, Welsh and British goods. Seldom does one have the opportunity to visit and participate in an environment so rich in history and color. Plan to stop by and enjoy the 143rd Scottish Highland Gathering and Games, which has something for all ages and interests.

As you can see, there are activities for the entire family, so don't miss this historic event whose origins date back to the Civil War days with the first gathering held in 1866 at the intersection of Market and 12th Street in San Francisco. The games are a tradition that stems from ancient times when Highland warriors began using heavy events as both strength training and group competition. The games begin on the soccer field at 8:30 a.m. each day and close with the caber and weight for height events in front of the main grandstand (in the shade) at 1 p.m.

The festival is produced by the Caledonian Club of San Francisco and costs $18 for an adult one-day admission or $25 for a two-day pass. Youth (8-16), seniors and handicapped are $12 a day and children under 8 years old are free. Service men and women in uniform are also free. Fairgrounds parking is $8 and there will be continuous shuttle bus service to and from the Pleasanton/Dublin BART station, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. For more information, please visit www.caledonian.org.