Sunday afternoon Sarah, my son Gavin, and I stopped by the Fergus Highland Games Festival.
Lots of the competitions are new to me. Tug of war is familiar, of course. But I was glad to realize, after my second or third time hearing it, that this competition was “sheaf tossing” not “sheep tossing.”
We really just wandered in to see what it was all about, hoping to catch some of the women’s competitions.
And we lucked out. We got to see Sultana Frizell, set the new women’s Canadian record in light weight for distance. The record is now 85 feet, 2.5 inches.
Later this amazing athlete set another record in the hammer throw.
I loved watching the different shapes and sizes of the competitors and seeing all of their different techniques too.
I don’t have a photo from the events yesterday but here is Sultana at the Commonwealth Games.
Just as rugby and roller derby and power lifting are on my list of sports I wish I’d tried, so too are the lifting and throwing competitions associated with the Highland Games. This blog’s Sandi does it and I love hearing her talk about it.
It’s also a lot of fun to watch. I recommend it!
Here’s Sultana talking about the stigma of being a woman who throws heavy things. She laments not being seen as an athlete but rather looked at through the lens of normative femininity. People are often commenting not on her throws but on, given her size and strength, how remarkable it is that she looks like a girl/woman.
After we watched the women’s competitions on Sunday we also wandered over to see the animals on display.
They look a little overheated. We were too.
