Inverness Highland Games Programme Unveiled
The Highland Council has announced details of this year’s Inverness Highland Games following confirmation that Tulloch Homes are to sponsor the Masters World Championships, which will be staged in Bught Park Arena on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 July 2009.
The Masters (or Over 40s) World Championships are the largest Highland Games Heavy event staged in the world and more than 100 heavies from 12 countries are expected to be contesting the 10 World Championships that will be up for grabs at the Games.
Japanese Highland Games Champion Kengo Kubota scheduled to become the first Heavy from the Asian Highland Games circuit to travel to the Highlands to throw. Kengo first started competing in Highland Games while studying at Strathclyde University 20 years ago and is one Heavy that Colorado-based Scottish Masters International Chief Executive Bill Scruggs is really looking forward to seeing compete.
Bill Scruggs said: “There is a lot of excitement in Japan about Kengo’s trip to Inverness to compete in the 40-44 class which looks like being the strongest we have seen at the Masters World Championships. Kengo’s form has been excellent in recent months and it will be great to see him in action. We are absolutely delighted with the high number of entries for the Championships which only goes to prove that it will take more than a global recession to stop Heavies throwing at the world famous Inverness Highland Games. We were given a fantastic welcome in 2006 and everybody is really looking forward to returning to the Highlands.”
Highland Games Committee Chairman Angus Dick said: “We are delighted with the great news that Tulloch Homes are going to sponsor the Masters and we are very excited that we can add Japan to the list of countries who have been represented at the Inverness Highland Games in recent years.
“It should be quite an International Gathering this year. As well as having so many Heavies coming to Inverness, we are planning to stage a full scale Basque Rural Games at the Bught as part of the celebrations. We are working with officials of the Nazioen Mundua (World of Nations) group who are bringing a squad of 50 performers to the Highlands.
“We are hoping to stage the first Scottish Highlands v Basque Highlands Traditional Sports Challenge match but it may take a coin toss to decide if we are going to Toss the Caber Scottish Style or Saw it in half Basque Style.”
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