Games

Aberlour Highland Games

Taking place on the first Saturday of August, is Aberlour Highland Games. Set in an idyllic setting, on the banks of the Spey, in the beautiful little village of Aberlour, the Games attract more than 5,000 visitors annually. An afternoon celebrating all things Scottish. Including the usual Heavy Weight events, Track & Field, Highland dancing, and performances from a number of pipe bands. You can even take part in a 'Haggis Hurling Competition' Great day out for all the family. ... Read More
Bonspiel

A bonspiel is a curling tournament (curling: two teams of four players compete by ‘throwing’ two granite curling stones each). It is traditionally held on a frozen loch (lake) and can last 2 or 3 days over a weekend. As a result of milder winters and the requirement that the ice should be at least 7 inches thick for safety reasons, these outdoor games now rarely take place. The word may be a combination of both Scots and Gaelic - ‘spiel’ is northern European (to which Scots is related) for ‘play�... Read More
Choosing It

Below are two examples of traditional playground games in East Renfrewshire: Choosing It When playing a game where one person needs to be 'it' or 'on' a chant or rhyme in combination with pointing is often used to make the selection random and therefore fair. Ingle-angle All players put one foot in the middle, toes touching. The person calling chants: Ingle-angle-silver-spangle-ingle-angle A B C D… and so on through the alphabet. For each word or letter they touch... Read More
Dragon Boat Racing

Four boats raced at part of series of events, organised as part of China Now in Scotland, which raised funds to support the Tayside Chinese Community Centre and Dundee Chinese school. There are many Dragon boat races that take place throughout Scotland. On May 30th 2010, Consul General Tan Xiutian attended the Dragon Boat Race at the invitation of Dumfries and Galloway's Provost, Jack Groom. The event was organised by the city Council and Rotary Club with strong support from the local Chinese Community. (so... Read More
Dumfries Rood Fairs

Twice a year, in March and September, Dumfries hosts one of the oldest street fairs in the world. The 'Rood Fair' has adapted to modern tastes, containing fair ground rides such as carousels, ferris-wheels, helter-skelters, as well as a 1953 Coronation Waltzer (which was built and maintained by several generations of showpeople who work the fairs of the UK). There are also food and competition stalls, an arcade, and other entertainments. History The earliest record of the fair is from a charter dated ... Read More
Elastics

I was speaking to my niece recently, age 8, and she mentioned that she plays elastics with her friends and it brought back a lot of memories. It was one of my favourite games when I was at primary school. You play by tying elastic bands together to make a large loop of elastic. It is a game for three people, although I used to practice a lot in the house using chair legs when there were no other friends around. Two players stand inside the loop so they are stretching it relatively taught around their ankles... Read More
Gourock Highland Games

The first Gourock Highland Games was held on Saturday 21st July 1956 to celebrate the official opening of the new playing fields at Gourock Park. The Games were presided over by Chieftain Colonel Duncan Darroch, Laird of Gourock. Eight pipe bands competed and the West of Scotland Highland Dance Championship, which is still held in Gourock Park today, was instituted, with fifty-three dancers taking part. Other events included a 14 mile road race, adult, junior and schools flat and relay races, handicap high ... Read More
Jedburgh Ba' Game

The ba' game is essentially a form of street football, some of the action taking place in the streets around the market place shown in the picture above. Today the game is played at Candlemas and Easter E'en by two opposing teams. The ancient ball game known as 'Jethart Hand-ba', popular throughout medieval Scotland, supposedly derives from the Jedburgh men playing with the heads of English soldiers. The traditional ball game, which has been played in the Border town for 250 years, pits the Uppies (resident... Read More
Kirkwall Ba' Game

One of a small number of such games still existing in Scotland, the Kirkwall ba' game takes place twice a year: Christmas Eve and Hogmanay. Its historical origins are unclear, but, in essence, it is a game of mass-football, played up and down the streets of the town centre, of the type that was once quite common in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. It pits the 'uppies' against the 'doonies' (or 'up the gates' against 'down the gates'). The ba' itself is a hand-made, cork-filled leather ball. The allegieanc... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Objects Speak Louder Than Words

Greater Govanhill community magazine celebrated the diversity of the local community with FONDS: Objects Speak Louder Than Words. Residents in the area brought objects that were special to them to be photographed by Morwenna Kearsley and these objects were the focus of interviews with participants, inspiring memories and musings of family, identity and home. Objects from Kuwait, Brazil, Afghanistan and Romania are all featured. You can access the wide range of objects and interviews here: https://www.gr... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: One Life, Two Cultures

On the evening of Saturday 24 September African and Caribbean Elders in Scotland (ACES) hosted an online event offering a sneak peek at stories collected as part of their oral history project, One Life, Two Cultures. Twenty-five people attended the session. Nine different speakers shared their stories of life in Scotland and what it was like to move to the country from Ghana, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, the Gambia, Uganda, and Nigeria. Participants joined in from all over Scotland, including Glasgow, ... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Seen & Heard - Stories of Scottish sport to inspire

As part of Year of Stories 2022, LEAP Sports teamed up with Pride of the Terraces to host a podcast called Seen & Heard. This podcast shines a spotlight on different aspects of sporting life in Scotland. Seen & Heard is created in association with Pride of the Terraces, Scottish Women in Sport and Scottish Disability Sport, and covered diverse topics such as Football and Homophobia, LGBTQIA+ sports journalism and the visibility of disability sports. You can listen to all the podcasts here: https://lea... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Standing Tall Stories

Standing Tall Stories was a project working with separated young people seeking asylum in Scotland. The young people are supported by Scottish Guardianship Service, which provides tailored support for unaccompanied children in Scotland. In celebration of Refugee Festival Scotland on Saturday 18th of June Standing Tall Stories hosted an afternoon of arts, music, and food at Scottish Youth Theatre to celebrate the launch of this project and the work we have made so far. This event was catered by Afro-Fusion C... Read More
Scotland's Year of Stories Project: Striking Herstories

In 2021, the Scottish Football Museum, Hampden Park, was awarded funding to create a trail based on women’s history. The project was delivered by the Museum’s curatorial staff and our volunteer Curatorial Assistant. There were four objectives for the funding: • Commission four artworks • Commission a custom trail • Update 5 existing text panels • Host a girls community football club The funding allowed the Museum to commission an artist to paint four subjects relating to women’s footb... Read More
St Ayles Skiff

The 'St Ayles Skiffs' is a design commissioned by the Museum from renowned boat designer Ian Oughtred and are made from a plywood kit. It was inspired by the traditional Fair Isle Skiff. These reasonably priced kits can be purchased from Jordan Boats, partners in the project, with the Museum earning a royalty from each kit sold. Each skiff requires a team of four rowers and one coxswain to complete a full crew with each rower taking one oar. The 'Chris o' Kanaird' was the prototype boat built by Jordan B... Read More
Stone Skimming Championships, Easdale

The World Stone Skimming Championships were started in 1983 by Albert Baker, and then lay fallow until they were resurrected in 1997 by the Eilean Eisdeal (The Easdale Island Community Development Group) as a fundraising event. Easdale Island is the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides. It was once the centre of a thriving Scottish slate mining industry, and one of the disused quarries forms a perfect arena for the World Stone Skimming Championships. The championships are held ever... Read More
Tig

Tig is a tradtional children's game in which one player touches another, then runs off to be pursued and touched in turn. Basics: One player is ‘it’ (sometimes pronounced ‘het’) and they must touch another player (tig them). When It tigs another player the person who has been tug is now It and must tig someone. You usually need to call out 'tig' when you tig somebody. Extra rules: • Designated places are den. When you are in or touching Den you cannot be tigged. Den could be a wall, all walls, ... Read More

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