Scotland's oldest national sport is on the wane-in its land of origin.

Whilst events like caber-tossing, shot-putting and hammer-throwing are growing in popularity elsewhere in the world, the sports and gatherings where they are practised are in decline in Scotland. There is a risk that all but the largest events could die out.This is attributabe to lack of interest in the younger generation in turn due to youngsters' ingnorance of these sports and a shortage of experts to train them.

Some experts claim that the games were invented by the tribe of the Scotti in pre-Christian Ireland and subsequently migrated to Scotland.

There are 120 Highland Games associations in Scotland. Over the past 8 years Games have lapsed at the rate of one per year. Conversely, there is strong interest in North America where there are 300 events, often attracting 50,000 people, the biggest being at Grabdfather Mountain, North Carolina.

Visit Highland Games and other aspects of Scotland with catswhiskerstours

posted by Nigel Cole @ 8:46 AM