![]() Additionally, as the ancestral home of golf, its rolling green courses are not just playing fields but sacred grounds that have shaped the sport for centuries. From the robust and iconic Highland Games, where participants showcase their strength by tossing the caber and hurling stones, to the ancient field game of shinty that resonates with echoes of ancient Celtic culture, Scotland proudly upholds its unique sports with fervor. “Once you start, you get kind of addicted to it.Scottish sport, deeply entrenched in the nation’s rich history, is a vibrant tapestry of tradition and modern athleticism. “I enjoy the camaraderie with a lot of these guys. “It’s partially from my heritage, and I enjoy athletics,” said Brammell, 35. Saturday was his second competition in the event since learning about it when he purchased a kilt at a local shop. It was his partial Celtic ethnicity that inspired Latrobe resident Erik Brammell to travel the short distance east to compete in the Ligonier games’ heavy athletics. “We have fun with it, but we all like to win.” There’s a group in the South Park area that trains together. “You see a lot of the same guys and girls at the same competitions. “It’s fun to get out here and be with the same people and make friends doing something that we all enjoy,” he said. Mehls has been competing formally in Highland games for three years, but fun continues to be the main attraction. “We used to do this as off-season training for fun,” he said. Though he can’t claim a clan affiliation, Mehls began taking part informally in Highland sports when he threw the hammer and discuss with the track and field team at Robert Morris University. Lebanon gym and has coached track and field. ![]() “It’s my best event,” said Mehls, who teaches strength and conditioning at Duquesne University, lifts weights, operates a Mt. Though he didn’t match his personal best of more than 57 feet, Kelton Mehls, 32, of Bethel Park, won the “light weight” distance event in his division - hurling a weight of nearly 30 pounds for 55 feet. “I help corral the children’s tug-of-war, which is general chaos most times,” he said.įamily and friends were on hand to root for older lads and lassies competing in several heavy athletic events. Reid’s son, Alan, also of Peters Township, was on hand Saturday. “I’ve missed, maybe, one or two,” he said of the annual games, which began as a Scottish picnic at Kennywood Park and moved to Idlewild in 1973. The Celtic musical strains heard from nearly every corner of the games also were a highlight for Gordon Reid of Peters Township, a native of Scotland and president of the Pittsburgh-based Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust that organizes the volunteer-run event as a fundraiser. “We’ve been having more and more (Buchanan clan members) participating in the parade.” “I’ve been coming to Ligonier for about 10 years,” he said. He gathered with several dozen others in similar-colored attire to march behind their clan banner in the Ligonier games’ midday parade. “My grandfather absolutely hated bagpipes, but I like it.”īuchanan sported a kilt displaying the tartan design of the same-named Scottish clan, a plaid mosaic of hues including red, yellow and green. “I love hearing the bands,” said Brian Buchanan of Apollo. “It’s fun time to play in a large group,” said Shonk. Playing in unison and with expression are among the qualities the judges listened for in Saturday’s pipe band competition.īut, at noon, all five of the attending pipe bands took the field to play en masse. We haven’t had a chance to compete for several years.” “Covid did a number on both of our bands. “It’s really exciting for us to be able to get out and compete with this combined band,” said Betsy McFarland of Martin’s Ferry, Ohio, pipe major of the Macdonald band. He also teachers members of the Macdonald Pipe Band of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial Pipe Band - units that joined forces this year to form the Avalon and District Pipe Band, strictly for competitive events like the Ligonier games. Now, when he isn’t playing the bagpipes, Shonk teaches the skill to others at Baldwin High School and the College of Wooster in Ohio. “I heard the pipes, and I begged my parents to find me a teacher,” he said. Now 36, the Ligonier native first was exposed to his chosen instrument as a kid, when he came to the local annual showcase of Scottish competitive and cultural activities. Shonk, of Avalon, led an ad hoc band of 12 bagpipe players and six drummers in competition in the 64th games at Idlewild and Soak Zone in Ligonier Township. ![]() Palmer Shonk felt right at home Saturday as he joined fellow pipers to play skirling march tunes on the main field of the Ligonier Highland Games.
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