History
Highland Games has a long and distinguished history in Scotland. It was once claimed to be the biggest spectator sport in the country after football and as a format has been exported around the globe. In particular, it has been very successful in North America. However, in its native land some well informed commentators began to note that it was attracting small crowds, the format was deemed tired and the number of traditional heavy competitors was dwindling at once well attended gatherings.
Dr Douglas Edmunds, the co-founder of the World's Strongest Man, but more pertinently a former world caber-tossing champion, determined to reinvigorate the sport in his native Scotland. Along with his son, Gregor Edmunds the 2007 winner of the World Highland Games Championships, he set about organizing a new competition that would attract some of the top names from the world from such disciplines as Highland Games, strength athletics, powerlifting and field athletics. He said "Gimmicky strength events, like truck-pulling, we feel are inappropriate when Scotland has such a magnificent history…Sadly, some games have poor quality athletes, bad equipment, and poor quality commentary with little crowd interaction. We aim to change that."
Thus was spawned the Highland Challenge. Invitees to the tournament had to meet hig criteria, being either national champions, Olympians, world record-holders, World Highland games champions, World's Strongest Man finalists, and US highland games champions. Having brought the earth of their homelands to the Moot Hill, in the same manner and place as allegiance was sworn to Scotland's ancient kings, contestants would enter a competition consisting of a mixture of traditional Highland Games events and more contemporary strongman tests in order to vie for the title of the "Chieftain's Champion".
The 2007 event saw Sebastian Wenta win the competition and having sampled some success the next games were planned for 2008. Douglas Edmunds managed to attract a number of sponsors for the 2008 event, as well as gaining an agreement with Channel 4 to televise the event. The 2008 event took place at Scone on 19 and 20 July 2008. Such was its success that a 2009 event was planned for immediately.
Read more about this topic: Highlander Challenge World Championships
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