Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Cornhill Highland Games back to its best after freak storm halts last year’s competition

Racers at the Cornhill Highland Games.
Racers at the Cornhill Highland Games.

An annual highland games event has been hailed a success by its organisers one year after a freak storm brought the last competition to an abrupt end.

The Cornhill Highland Games returned on Saturday, with hundreds of people turning out in blue skies to cheer on teams in events including the tug of war and caber toss.

The games were taken on by a volunteer committee following last year’s event, when long-standing organisers decided to call time on their involvement.

The Massed Pipes and Drums take to the field at Cornhill.

They had helped steer the games through 20 years before officially handing over the reigns.

Last night, the games’s new marketing coordinator, Vivien Rae, said the team was already looking forward to next year’s effort.

“We enjoyed a very successful day,” she said.

“The weather continued in its recent good form, with sunshine throughout the day.

“The games attracted a large number of visitors, including locals and people from throughout the north-east – and many international tourists, too.

“As ever, the highland games events were a big draw for the crowds, including the caber toss and hammer throw.”

Murdo Masterson from Oban tossing the caber on his way to joint first.

This year’s games was also a year of firsts.

It was the first time that local schoolchildren had been allowed to enter their own teams into the tug of war competition, and a 10k race was added to the games alongside the classic Knock Hill competition.

The Knock Hill race was introduced as part of the games in 1970 alongside the traditional events.

The race was originally planned as a one-off fundraiser for a new village playing field, but proved such a success it was made a firm fixture of the games.

Runners are tasked with completing the eight-and-a-half mile course from Cornhill to the top of Knock Hill and get back in under one hour and 45 minutes.

The school’s tug of war was won by youngsters from Ordiquhill Primary.

Young dancers compete.

“The new committee are delighted with the event and would like to thank competitors, judges, sponsors, volunteers, stall holders and visitors,” Ms Rae added.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone back next year.”

And in an effort to prepare for next year’s games, a Burns Supper fundraiser has already been scheduled for January 26, 2019.

The Cornhill Highland Games, which marks the start of a series of tourist events in the region – including the Portsoy Boat Festival, had to be called off just hours before its scheduled close last year.

A freak mini-tornado tore through the Cornhill playing field, throwing equipment and a first aid tent around the park.

Results

YOUNG HEAVIES

Light hammer, light stone – Murdo Masterson, Oban

 

OPEN HEAVIES

Light stone – Lucas Wenta, East Kilbride

Heavy hammer – Murdo Masterson, Oban

 

RACES AND ATHLETICS

Fernie Race

Under 12s – Orla Innes, Keith; Ryan Sopez, Turriff

Under 16s – Vicki Elder, Cummingstone; Morgan Livingstone, Huntly

Men – Drew Tivendale, Aboyne

Knock Hill Race – Debbie Greig, Kyle Greig

10K Race – Sunny McGrath, Lindsay Brayt

Young Farmers Tug of War – Keith

725kg Tug of War – Cornhill