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Thank you!

We wanted to extend our thanks to all of our volunteers and committee members!

The Festival wouldn't be possible without the hard work of our volunteers - on the day of the Festival, and all the weeks leading up to it :)!!

 

You helped us Fight Cancer!

Last year the Frederick Celtic Festival teamed up with the American Cancer Society. We gifted a portion of each ticket sold and donated over $1000.00!

Thank you for supporting the Frederick Celtic Festival AND the American Cancer Society!!

 

Athletic Events

Open Stone (clachneart) -
The Open Stone weighs 16 lbs. (the same as a shot-put) and is thrown with an approach resembling modern shot-put techniques. The box for the Open Stone throw is  7’ 6” long and 4 feet wide.

Weights for Distance—
Two weights are thrown, 56 lbs and 28 lbs. The overall length of these weights cannot exceed 18 inches and the athlete throws them from within a box that is 9 feet long and 4 feet wide.  The weights are also thrown from behind a trig (toe-board) that the athlete cannot step over.

Scottish Hammers—
The Scottish Hammer has a total length not exceeding 4’ 2”, and weighs 22 lbs. This event is the ancient ancestor of the modern Olympic hammer throw. Unlike the modern form of the Olympic hammer, the Scottish hammer has a rattan handle, which is closer to the original Blacksmith’s hammer that was thrown. The hammers are thrown from a stationary position, behind a trig that cannot be stepped over. Athletes generally attach a 3-6” spike on the sole of a pair of boots for this event in order to provide greater stability and exert more force on the hammer.

Caber Toss—
The Caber Toss is the signature event of the Highland Games. A Caber (gaelic for ‘tree’) is the trunk of a tree which is generally 18—21 feet in length and anywhere from 90-150 lbs. The objective is for the athletes to flip a ‘12 o’clock’. Athletes will ‘pick’ the caber (leaning down and popping the caber up into their hands), run with the caber and attempt to flip it so that it lands perfectly straight in front of them, or “pointing to 12 o’clock”. Points are awarded from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock, and even if the athlete does not flip the caber, they are awarded points for how far it goes over before it falls back, in degrees.

Sheaf Toss—
A modern, American addition to the traditional events is the Sheaf Toss. It is only contested in the Eastern, Southern and Mid-Western parts of the country. An event usually reserved for Farm Festival’s in Scotland, the Sheaf Toss is an event unique to the Heavy Events. Athletes use a 2 or 3 tined pitch fork to throw a 20 lb bag over a bar. The athlete gets three chances at each height and is eliminated after missing all three chances at any given height.

Weight for Height—
Sometimes referred to as Weight over Bar, this event is contested with a 56 lb weight. The objective is to get the weight over a bar for height. Each competitor is given three chances at each height.