The sun came out in Argyll today as the Oban Games went off with a flourish.
Around 2,000 people turned out for the Argyllshire Gathering at Oban’s Mossfield Stadium.
Today’s event was a celebration of Highland heritage and tradition with dances, pipe tunes and athletic events.
Oban Games secretary Claire Purdie said: “It was a very busy hillside today.
“It started to rain as the march left. But by the time they were halfway up the hill the sun was splitting the skies.”
What were today’s highlights?
While the majority of events were cancelled because of the pandemic, organisers pulled out all the stops to make sure the 2021 Oban Games went ahead to mark its 150th anniversary.
Early indications suggest this year’s attendance will reach the same 2,100 figure.
Ms Purdie added: “We absolutely had to go for it last year with it being the big anniversary.
“I’d say our march was slightly busier this time around. It’ll be interesting to see the final tally.
“One of the main highlights was a display with the Strathardle tug of war team.
“We had great numbers for our hill race. There was a fantastic standard and high number of heavy competitors.
“Our pre-school races had record numbers this year.”
Oban stalwart and former world champion caber tosser Brian Robin also received a special shout-out today.
Mr Robin is retiring, having been involved in the town’s heavy events since 1974.
All of today’s equipment will remain in place until tomorrow to allow Oban High School to hold its own version of the Games.
Why is the Oban Games held on a Thursday every year?
A quick look at the Highland Games calendar shows you that most of the events take place at the weekend.
That makes sense to give locals the best chance of fitting it into their schedules, but some are still held on Fridays.
The Oban and Mull versions are held on a Thursday however, and the reason for that goes back more than a century.
At its inception, the Oban Games was held to coincide with a public holiday in Argyll.
The Duke of Argyll and other local landowners would give their staff the day off to attend.
That tradition continued and with so many other Highland Games events filling the space on the other weekends in August, there was no opportunity to change it.
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