Deloraine resident, Tyrell Hogg, is connecting with his Scottish roots this weekend while participating in the Highland Heavy Games, the sport that requires brute strength, steady balance and technique to score high points against other contenders.
The Games are returning to the Deloraine Summer Fair after a nail-biting competition last year where rookie Hogg went toe to toe with athletes who've been at this for years! Hogg came in second in the Master's Category of men over 40-years-old. That's quite a feat for a first-time run at this extreme sport of launching, throwing and flipping really heavy things!
"It was something that when I was younger, I always watched the videos online of the strongman competitions and I was always interested, but I never really had an opportunity," explains Hogg. "So last year when I had an opportunity to join, I was a little hesitant to go into it to say the least. So, after a while of hemming and hawing and enough people prodding me. I thought, what's the worst that could happen?"
"So, I went in there and I thought that I was not going to compete very well just because I've never done it before. But I ended up doing pretty good and then ended up placing second!"
Hogg caught the heavy weight bug, you might say!
"It fit my body type very well, and it's kind of low impacted. So, it's one of those things that was kind of exciting to actually know what I could do!"
When watching the younger athletes compete in the caber toss, the hammer throw, the sheaf toss and the stone put, Hogg was feeling inadequate to say the least.
"Some of the young guys that were out there, I was absolutely amazed on how far they can move those weights! So, when I got out there, I thought I was not going to do very well, but once I got told that there are different divisions for different levels and so, it actually makes it pretty even for everyone across the board."
"So, it's it is more of a competition against yourself than anyone else because all you can do is go for your next personal best," he adds.
However, you are in fact competing against others in your own category. Hogg lost first place to a 64-year-old man named Gary. He says both men and women compete in the different age categories.
And then of course there is the Open Division. "These are the people that compete all the time," he says. "There's the one guy who's been overseas competing and he's the one who is just amazing at how he can move stuff!"
So, what are the different events and what do competitors need to do?
(The following is a brief explanation of the Heavy Games from the Manitoba Highland Gathering website)
The Caber Toss:
One of the most well-known events is the caber toss, where the athlete launches this 16–20-foot pole end over end in front of him, to get as close to the "12 o'clock" position as possible. Height and distance are not the goal. The goal is to have the caber directly in front of the thrower, but it is mandatory that it is end over end. The weight of a caver (pole) can range anywhere from 50-130 pounds.
The Hammer Throw:
This event is similar to the hammer throw as seen in modern-day track and field competitions, though with some differences. In the Scottish event, a round metal ball (weighing 16 or 22 lb. for men or 12 or 16 lb. for women) is attached to the end of a shaft about 4 feet in length and made out of wood, bamboo, rattan, or plastic. With the feet in a fixed position, the hammer is whirled about one’s head and thrown for distance over the shoulder.
The Weight Throw for Height:
The weight is thrown one-handed over a bar set at increasing heights above the thrower. Similar to the high jump or pole vault, the thrower has three attempts for each successive height. Places are determined by maximum height reached with the fewest misses.
The classic technique swings the weight between the legs before pulling the weight up and directly overhead. The size of the weight varies with the competition class.
Advanced male athletes throw a 25 kg (56 lb. or four stone) weight, female athletes throw a 12 kg (28 lb.) weight and male master class and lightweight athletes throw a 19 kg (42 lb.) weight.
The Sheaf Throw:
A bundle of straw or bailing twine (the sheaf) weighing 20 pounds for the men, 16 pounds for amateur/masters and 10 pounds for the women is wrapped in a burlap bag and is tossed vertically with a pitchfork over a raised bar much like that used in pole vaulting.
The Stone Put:
This stone put is the precursor to the modern Olympic event of shot putting. The event is split into two events each with a different weighted stone and different rule set.
Braemar Stone: is thrown as a standing throw with no approach and a stone weighing up to 28 lbs is used for the men and 18 lbs for the women.
Open Stone: weighing up to 22 lbs for the men and 12 lbs for the women. It is thrown with the option of an approach that includes but not limited to the spin and the glide.
Please listen to more with Tyrell Hogg below!
Tyrell and Lindsey Hogg are the new owners of Kirkwood Ag & Auto in Deloraine and even though he's into cars, the Heavy Games will be taking his utmost attention so being a part of Deloraine's car show n' shine this weekend isn't on the events list.
