rules to play caber toss

Most people are familiar with Amazing Grace, the bagpipe melody that bands often play at military funerals. However, this tune is not Scottish; it came to the bagpipe by way of England. The author and lyricist wrote this song aboard a slave ship bound for home. Although this popular song soon gained a strong following in Protestant churches, this haunting melody has lyrics that speak neither of Scotland nor of the lives of people who created the Great Highland bagpipes.

The earliest known record of the Scottish bagpipe date to around 1400 A.D. The songs that Scottish pipers first played on their bagpipes had their origin in folk songs heard for centuries at weddings, dances and community celebrations. These songs regale Scottish culture and traditions. They tell the stories of beautiful women, famous clans, Scotlands heroes and places that bonded the Scottish people to each other and to their land.

Is a familiar tune that we often hear at New Years celebrations. It plaintively asks, should auld old acquaintance be forgot? The Scottish author, Robert Burns tells us no, in a poem he wrote in the 18th century. Burns tells the Scots and all of those throughout the world who have adopted this tune, that friends and memories must be held dear, no matter how far from home.

Is one of the most famous folk tunes in Scotland. When it is played on the bagpipe, by either a band or single piper, it moves the stalwart clansman to public displays of emotion. The bagpipe melody has been played since the beginning of the 20th century. Cliff Hanley added lyrics to this tune in the mid-1950s, recalling the history of Scotland, its beauty and the fierce spirit of its people.

Is a strong contender to be Scotlands official national anthem. It also details the history of Scotland and its troubled relationship with England. Scotland is officially part of the United Kingdom, after centuries of struggle against British rule. However, the Scottish Football Association and the national rugby team adopted Flower of Scotland for their opening ceremonies before each game. It is especially significant when Scottish teams play against England, where the national anthem, God Save Our Queen is the ceremonial tune.

Let me tell you what the novice does with a caber if no one tells him or her what the technique is.and of course no one is going to tell us when were too proud to ask! I went into my back yard, walked the caber up and picked it up. It was a big moment. I grabbed and grasped and finally found myself embracing the rough and ugly chunk of wood which was stained with some sort of green preservative - carcinogenic - I was sure! Above me was a mysterious force and it kept pushing the top of the pole in all directions. I knew that if I looked up I would see this giant hand pushing on the caber. But I also knew that if I looked up I would drop it and it would kill me and my wife was off at work and.well you can see how bad this can all get. About six weeks later I actually turned it though, and felt pretty good. I called it my turning point.

The caber is always put in an upright position by the previous thrower or Games staffers. You stand with your heels together and toes out with the narrow end of the caber on the ground between your feet while the other athlete walks it up. I.e.: he grabs the heavy end, raises it over his head and walks toward you until the caber is upright and right in your face. Then he or she says, You got it? And you say, Yup. But then, what else can you say? No, I dont even know what Im doing here!?

You let the stick angle slightly back. resting on your shoulder. Then you start a slow, snaking action, moving your hands toward the ground down the shaft, all the while sensing for a shift in the weight that will tell you that the caber is not going to stay where you want it. You are squatting, back almost parallel to the ground, the caber is pressing on your shoulder and you finally feel your little fingers touch the grass. Later, and with longer cabers, you wont go as far down the shaft. Now comes the first tricky part.

Most people with no instruction try to get their fingers under the rounded end of the caber. It seems to me that I once placed the end on a clump of grass just so I had some purchase. You can also imagine praying for a gopher hole. Well, how the hell do you get it up off the ground? First of all, we cheat! We have this goopy brown paste we call stickem or some such spelling which is pitch and some other stuff to keep it from drying - probably another carcinogen! You put enough on your fingers and palms to be able to grasp the stick. Interlace your fingers almost to the palms, get as much palm surface spread around the base as you can a big reason to get as close to the bottom as possible, dig the heels of your hands in as hard as you can and stand up. Use your legs! You do not want to muscle the caber off the ground with your arms: standing up simply brings the caber up with you.

Up to now it was tricky, now it gets complicated. Using the upward moment imparted by your legs, drop your palms under the base of the caber. This is trickier than it sounds: you keep your fingers laced. Look at the wallpaper of this page and youll see how Ryan has grasped the base of his caber. At the same time you begin what the late West Coast Youth Caber Director / Athletic Director / Judge / Announcer / Amateur Athlete Cletus Abbott called: the Spider Dance. 80 to 90% of the cabers weight is above the fulcrum point and you have just done a bunch of moves that almost guarantee the stick to be out of balance. So you step left to compensate and then its going the other way and also forward and you start forward but not fast enuf and so you start running after the caber, trying not to lose it. It can look pretty funny at times, but eventually you do learn the spider dance with some degree of finesse and once this balance is established you can start your run.

Why run? Another Local Hero / Judge / Athlete Mike Qutermous, would pick up my caber and turn it without taking a step. Or picked the caber with one hand, took a few steps at a fast walk and turned it single-handed. Obviously the need to run is related to the athlete and the physical parameters of the caber.

I think cabers should be thought of as wheels with two spokes: there has to be a center of rotation. The run gives the forward motion to get the wheel spinning. The heavy upper end will assure that the wheel goes forward and starts the spin when you stop. The long and heavy cabers require the field experience, the technique and the strength to make this wheel simile work. With your little 2 x 4 you can easily see the spinning wheel concept when you toss it hard enough to spin twice before hitting the ground. What you want to simulate with the caber is a wheel turning only 270 degrees.

But you dont just stop, you plant. Feet spread a bit, you squat quickly, then use those powerful quads to shoot you and the caber up off the ground and give the long spoke of wheel the push it needs to make a revolution or turn. If it falls back toward you it is a 6 oclock and it makes a funny, hollow whomping, or even a doinnnkk! sound which is somehow different from what you hear when it falls in the other direction - a full 270 degree turn or 12 oclock . or maybe its the roar of the crowd that drowns out the sound then.

Oh, one last word: after a successful toss, stand still. The judge - who has been following your possibly erratic course - needs to estimate the clock angle of the fall, from where you planted. If you do some sort pro football fancy turn, hoping for more applause from the spectators, you might lose your advantage. Note the position of the athlete in the picture below, On the ground and falling. He is standing perfectly still.or is he praying?

There is no standard size or weight of a caber but the caber should be of a length and weight such that at least half the competitors can turn it. The caber is to be made only of wood. The caber shall be placed upright for the competitor, with the heavy end on top. The attempt begins when the competitor lifts the caber from the ground. If the competitor drops the small end of the caber back to the ground after having picked it up, this shall count as one attempt. It is recommended that a back judge and a side judge be used. The judge may set boundaries if he feels the ground in a certain area is not suitable for the caber to be tossed or to provide safety for the spectators. The competitor may take any length of run they wish and may toss the caber from where they choose, as long as it is within the judges boundaries. The caber must pass through the vertical position 90 degrees from the ground in order to count as a turned caber. It is up to the side judge to determine if the caber has passed through it. The clock face method of judging shall be used. The caber in a perfect toss will pass through the vertical position and land with the small end pointing directly at 12 oclock away from the competitor in an imaginary straight line extending from the competitor through the initial landing point and in line with the direction of the run. An overhead view is drawn in Figure 2 below to demonstrate a 12 oclock toss.