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The 37th annual Alaska Scottish Highland games begin Saturday morning with a new group of highly competitive female athletes who are coming from all across the United States to show off their throwing skills at the Alaska State Fairgrounds.
“This is definitely the big exciting thing. So over the past 20 years we’ve always invited professional male athletes and they put on a fantastic show and we love having them, but this year we wanted to bring up and showcase six of the top women in the world,” said Jeni McDaniel, athletic director and coordinator for the Highland Games.
There are some Highland Games that do not have women athletes involved at all, and some of the organizations are “putting feelers out,” according to McDaniel, and considering changing their shows to be more inclusive.
“In the Lower 48 right now there’s a big push to get these women their rightful place in the sport, because like I said, they’re throwing just as far as the guys and they put on a show,” she said.
People aren’t surprised that men can throw a hammer hundreds of feet, but the women bring an element of power to the sport that is unexpected by most people, according to McDaniel.
The competition pool for the women is deep. Some of the new contestants are world record holders, world champions and US champions, and a few have a background in college track and field. One of the six, Chrystal Rubert, is returning to Alaska after her record-making sweep of the games last year, but this time she’s up against a tougher crowd of women.
“With the group of girls that are coming up, there’s going to be records that are broken. I don’t know if I’ll be breaking them, but I know that there’s a couple girls that are coming up that [are] phenomenal throwers and they’ll probably shatter my records from last year,” said Rubert, who is traveling from Washington.
For most of the contestants, it’s the camaraderie and spirit of competition that makes them love the Highland Games.
“We all try to throw well, but we push each other in a very positive way, and I love that too because if they’re throwing well it makes me want to work harder,” said Adriane Wilson, a competitor who is just starting her throwing season after a hip surgery in December.
Wilson competed professionally in track and field for about 12 years, and went to three Olympic Trials before getting involved the Highland Games.
Regular throwing events start at 9 a.m. and go until 4 p.m. when the special events begin. Special events include the challenge caber, the farmers walk, the challenge stone, which is 116-pound stone thrown for distance, and the Alaskan salmon toss, in which contestants throw a 50-pound rubber salmon. Participants compete in all throwing events.
The event itself begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m., and hosts not only world class throwing athletes, but an array of 65 venders, a variety of music and dancing as well as performances from The Fire, an international band composed of a fiddler and two multi-instrumentalists.
A genealogist will also be attending the games due to the widespread occurrence of visitors in the past who interested in discovering their possible Scottish heritage.
Twelve groups of representatives from different clans in Scotland will be setting up their tents in the Celtic Village and will be available to talk to and to answer any questions from the public. They will also be marching in the clan parade during the opening ceremonies.
Other attractions include a shortbread contest, a tall tales contest, a highland cow, birds of prey, and the kilted mile. There is also a scotch tasting opportunity — the educational event is sold out — but there is a general tasting session where visitors get five tastes from a variety of scotch choices.
As for the games, McDaniel is certain that after last year’s record-breaking events, this year will be even better.
“I do think that we might see a world record broken also. We’ve got a couple of these ladies that hold world records and they are all chomping at the bit to get those records continuing to rise,” she said.
Ticket prices are $13 per person if bought in advance, $15 at the gate, and $30 for a family pack, which is only available in advance. There are also special military, senior and children rates. Tickets can be found online at alaskascottish.org/highland-games.