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"The
Gathering 2009" will be one of the major
events of Homecoming Scotland. 2009
marks the 250th anniversary of the birth
of our national poet and cultural icon
Robert Burns, whose message of
friendship and 'Auld Lang Syne' lives
on. And Burns is the inspiration behind
our year long celebration of some of
Scotland's great contributions to the
world: Golf, Whisky, The Enlightenment
and Innovation, Burns himself and our
rich culture and heritage. Whether you
have Scots ancestry or simply a passion
for our great nation, 2009 will be an
exceptional year to visit Scotland.
It is
primarily a celebration of the
contribution that the clans have made to
the culture and history of Scotland, and
will be one of the largest clan
gatherings ever witnessed. A series of
unique events being designed to
commemorate the occasion. It is
estimated that there will be over 80
clan tents, with over 7500 clan members
from around the world. The Highland
Games, that are an integral part of The
Gathering , should attract a further
30,000 people over the 2 days.
The
Gathering 2009 has the honour of hosting
the 2009 World Highland Games Heavy
Athletic Championships. Over the weekend
the largest highland games ever to have
been held in Edinburgh will play host to
the greatest international clan
gathering to have taken place on
Scottish soil.
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Set in the magnificent Royal Park of Holyrood, with its breathtaking volcanic
backdrop of Arthur's Seat and Salisbury
Crags, it will showcase heavy events
such as caber tossing and hammer
throwing, accompanied by time honored
disciplines such as piping and highland
dancing. There will be a host of
contemporary musicians, high-quality
Scottish arts and crafts and a 'taste
experience' of the best of Scotland's
produce.
In
all, it is a once in a lifetime
opportunity to immerse yourself in your
Scottish heritage and its rich wealth of
traditions.
Members of the following Clans have
expressed an interest in attending. If
you are :
Agnew, Armstrong, Barclay, Bell, Blair,
Borthwick, Boyd, Brodie, Bruce, Cameron,
Campbell, Chattan, Colquhoun, Crawford,
Cumming, Cunningham, Currie, Davidson,
Dewar, Doig, Donnachaidh, Douglas,
Dunbar, Eliott, Erskine, Farquharson,
Fergusson, Forbes, Fraser, Gordon,
Graham, Grant, Gunn, Hay, Henderson,
Home, Hunter, Irvine, Jardine, Keith,
Kennedy, Kincaid, Lamont, Leslie,
Lindsay, Livingstone, Lockhart, Lumsden,
Macalister, Macarthur, Macaulay,
Macdonald, Macdougall, Macduff,
Macfarlane, Macfie, Macgregor, MacInnes,
Mackay, Mackenzie, Mackinnon,
Mackintosh, Maclaine, Maclaren, Maclean,
Maclennan, Macleod, Macmillan, Macnab,
Macnaghten, MacNeil, Macpherson, Macrae,
MacTavish, Macthomas, Maitland, Malcolm,
Matheson, Maxwel, McCallum, Mciver,
McVicar, Moffat, Morrison, Napier,
Nesbitt, Oliphant, Paisley, Ramsay,
Rose, Ross, Scott, Sempill, Sinclair,
Skene, Stewart, Strachan, Sutherland,
Turnbull, Ulster, Scots, Urquhart.
Do not
hesitate to get in touch with Scots
American Travel Advisors and let us plan
your trip.
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Gathering 2009 Passport
All visitors are welcome to attend the
highland games at The Gathering 2009,
but there is a special opportunity for
clan members and their families to
represent the 45 million people of
Scottish ancestry from around the world.
By purchasing a passport to this
remarkable event, you will take on the
role of proud participant, an experience
perhaps never to be repeated, and
certainly never to be forgotten.
Each commemorative leather-bound
passport entitles you to unlimited
access to the weekend of highland games
and secures you a guaranteed place in
the clan march, a place at the clan
pageant ...and, indeed a place in
history. However, there are only 8,500
passports available and it is not
possible to buy single tickets for the
clan parade or clan pageant, these are
only available as part of the passport.
Passports are now available for
purchase.
**
Scots American Travel Advisors are not
selling the passports on an individual
basis and they are only available with
accommodation provision.
**
Passport Prices
All passports include:
◊ Entry to both days of the Highland
Games in Holyrood Park
◊ A place in the clan parade up
the Royal Mile
◊ A seat at the Clan Pageant at
the castle esplanade.
Available Passport prices are graded
silver and gold and vary in the seating
position for the Clan Pageant on the
castle esplanade.
All prices include VAT (value
added taxes)
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$237.00 -
seating in the East stands
facing the castle |
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$205.00 - seating in the North &
South stands
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Seating Plan
Notes on the Passport
It must be remembered that Edinburgh is
a capital city and therefore as well as
the 8,600 clanspeople who will be taking
part in the events on Saturday night we
are also expecting large crowds to be
watching the parade. The length of the
two performances also means that
passport holders will not be leaving the
castle esplanade until quite late on the
Saturday evening.
For these reasons we do not recommend
that young children attend the pageant.
However, the Highland Games in Holyrood
Park is thoroughly recommended for
families with children of all ages.
Tickets for the Highland Games can be
bought in advance on this website
(available early 2009) or can be bought
at the gate.
Please note that there are no price
concessions on the passports and
passports are only available with
accommodation. The Gathering 2009
passports bear no relation to official
passports which identify the holder as a
citizen of their country.
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World Highland Games Heavy Events
Championship
The Gathering 2009 will be hosting the
2009 World Highland Games Heavy Events
Championship. The top 10-12 leading
"Heavies" will compete in 8 core
disciplines, including tossing the
caber.
Legally registered on 25th May 1973 the
World Highland Games Heavy Events
Championships has become the most
important date in the calendar for
leading international 'heavies'. Great
athletes from home and abroad have
competed in the World Championships.
Many Olympic Games competitors and
Commonwealth medalists and champions
from nearly every continent have entered
the lists, Australians, Canadians,
Americans, African, European stars have
thrilled people over the years. With a
number of events it is a grueling
competition which draws the crowd's
attention, holding a very important
position in the Highland Games program.
Athletic sports and competitions,
historically, were the main feature at
any Highland Games and many today still
consider Highland athletics are what the
games are all about.
Here is an overview of the events, so
you can learn about what you will see
over the two days:
TOSSING THE CABER
Contrary to general belief, athletes do
not aim to throw the caber further than
their opponents; they try to toss it
‘straighter'. A ‘12 o'clock throw' is
perfect and judging is easily understood
if you visualize the caber as the hour
hand of a clock with the thick end of
the caber at the centre of the clock
face and the athlete tossing from the 6
o'clock position.
PUTTING THE STONE (two events)
 Putting
the Stone has long been one of
Scotland's favorite sporting events.
Indeed it became so popular during the
reign of Edward III that a law was
passed to make Stone putting illegal!
This was because archery, so essential
for national defense, was being
neglected. Like the stones used at
Highland Gatherings, the ones being used
in this competition come from the bed of
a Scottish river where the action of the
water has gradually worn the stone to a
shape and smoothness required for this
event. There are two different versions
of the stone put, the "Braemar Stone"
which weighs 20-26 lb, where the
contestant stands still while throwing,
and the "Open Stone" which weighs 16-22
lb where the contestant is allowed a
‘run-up', so long as the stone is put
with one hand with the stone resting
cradled in the neck until the moment of
release.
THROWING THE HAMMER (two events)
Just like other throwing events, the
competition is graded on who can throw
the hammer the furthest. The ‘Hammer
Throw' derived from old competitions
where an actual sledge-hammer was
thrown, nowadays however the hammer is
replaced with a steel or lead weight.
One of the adopted methods derived from
one of the most significant players in
Hammer Throwing, Donald Dinnie. Back in
the 19th century, he was the first
athletes to turn the hammer a full 360
degrees before releasing. The turns
allowed the athlete to achieve a much
greater distance. This marked a
significant split between the
traditional Scottish Highland games and
modern track and field athletics. There
are two events in this category which
differ only in the weight of the hammer:
light (16-lb.) and heavy (22-lb.)
THROWING THE WEIGHT FOR HEIGHT
Throwing the weight
for height was originally practiced in
farmyards where an object such as a
barrel top would be suspended from a
pulley at the hay loft or alternatively
from a branch of a tree. Nowadays,
athletes throw a 56 pound (4stone)
weight with an attached handle over a
bar on stands as used in the pole vault.
Three consecutive failures eliminates
the thrower from the contest.
THROWING THE WEIGHT
FOR DISTANCE (two events)
This is probably the most graceful of
the heavy events but the footwork
necessary is very intricate. The
technicalities have much more in common
with discus throwing although the weight
used by our champion athletes is about
ten times heavier. There are two
separate events in this category, with
two different weights, 28lb and 56lb.
The athlete throwing one handed, usually
adopts a spinning technique, with the
longest throw winning.
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Spirit
of Speyside Whisky Festival 2009