Article: Inverness Highland Games Success

Inverness Highland Games was hailed as a huge success last night – after attracting a crowd of about 10,000 people.

The games returned to the Northern Meeting Park for the first time in more than 60 years, having previously been held at fields at Bught Park.
Inverness provost Jimmy Gray officially opened the games when the Armed Forces Day parade – which saw troops past and present marching around the field led by pipe bands – arrived at the venue on Saturday.

He said: “It was great to have the pipe bands leading the people through the city centre to the games. They acted like the Pied Piper. It was a fantastic day for everyone and I was pleased to see such a big crowd.”
The huge influx of people following the parade through the city centre to the Northern Meeting Park meant that the entrance to the field was extremely crowded for some time in the afternoon.

Event organiser Gerry Reynolds said: “The feedback we have had about the change of venue has been mostly positive.

“One of the difficult things is that we do not know how many people will turn up or at what time.
Lovely
“We did have a lot of people turn up at the same time after the parade and we got them in as quickly as we could.
“Next year, I would encourage people to get their wristbands earlier in the day so that they can walk in through the gates.”

Mr Reynolds said he was delighted by the turnout. He added: “This was a celebration of Highland culture. There was a lovely atmosphere and the Northern Meeting Park is a lovely venue.”

The weather stayed mostly dry and the few showers that did fall failed to dampen the mood. A few umbrellas could be seen going up, and the Highland country dancers kept dry by donning brightly-coloured ponchos.

A large crowd gathered behind the throwing ring to watch the heavies hurl the hammer, applauding each throw.

Caithness athlete Sinclair Patience drew gasps as he threw the hammer more than 121ft in the first round.
Other competitors came from Colorado and Geneva.

The contest ended with the tossing of the caber, with the crowd able to get closer than ever to the action after organisers reduced the size of the competition field. Overall champion was Australian Alan Neighbour, who has now won back-to-back titles.

Tourist Kelly Blundell, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said she and her family attended after reading about the games at their holiday accommodation in Invermoriston. She said: “We knew that the Inverness games would be good and we’ve had a great time.”
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published on: 26/07/2010