Sport

Baumstammwerfen

Eine der bekanntesten schottischen Sportarten ist "Tossing the Caber".

Bei den an verschiedenen Wochenenden ausgetragenen Highland Games kann man starken Männern und Frauen(!) bei der Ausübung dieses Sports zusehen.
Sie brauchen dazu

Einen "caber" - das ist ein Baumstamm ohne Äste
Falls kein Baumstamm zur Hand ist, tut es auch eine Telefonstange.
Eine Menge Platz.

Das Spiel

Richten Sie den Baumstamm auf
Nehmen Sie ein Ende des Stamms in beide Hände.
Werfen Sie den Baumstamm so hoch und so weit wie Sie können.
Der Stamm muss die Erde mit dem Ende berühren, an dem er nicht gehalten wurde und sich dabei vorwärts überschlagen.
Das Ziel ist es, eine vom Werfer aus gesehen möglichst gerade Fall-Linie zu erreichen (twelve o'clock toss).

Für Anfänger
Wenn Sie noch nicht stark genug sind, um einen Baumstamm hochzuheben, versuchen Sie es doch mal mit einem Bleistift (tossing the pencil). Für absolute Weicheier bietet sich das Werfen eines Zahnstochers an.

Kuh-Beine-Verrenken

Möchten Sie sich wirklich mit dieser Kuh anlegen?

Die Spiele der Schotten im Mittelalter waren zeitweilig etwas roh. Wir empfehlen Ihnen, dieses Spiel nicht auf dem Pausenplatz in Ihrem Geschäft zu spielen ... Das könnte nämlich eines der Spiele sein, die Sie lieber nicht spielen möchten.

Im Jahr 1820 schlossen die Invergarry Games Spiele ein wie "Tanzen, Dudelsack spielen, einen schweren Stein hochheben, den Hammer werfen und von der Insel Inverary nach Invergarry und zurück rennen (sechs Meilen). Das eigenartigste Spiel von allen aber war "Twisting the Legs of a Cow" (Kuh-Beine-Verrenken).

Sie brauchen dazu

Jede Menge tote Kühe - für jeden Mitspieler eine

Das Spiel

Renken Sie ohne Hilfsmittel und nur mit Ihren Händen der Kuh alle vier Beine aus
Wer es in der kürzesten Zeit schafft, hat gewonnen

Wir wissen nicht genau, ob es wirklich eine gute Idee ist, dieses Spiel mit einer Kuh wie abgebildet zu üben. Möglicherweise ist das nur etwas für besonders mutige Leute.

Bierbauch-Ringen

Gemäss einem Zeitungsartikel in der schottischen Zeitung "The Herald" vom 18. Juli 1998 - der Autor ist Darryl Broadfoot - scheint es in Schottland noch mehr seltsame Sportarten zu geben. Aber urteilen Sie selbst. Aus Gründen der Authentizität habe ich darauf verzichtet, den Artikel zu übersetzen. Dabei ginge zuviel von der essentiellen Substanz dieses eigenartigen Sports verloren. Ich zähle auf Ihr Verständnis.

Wanted: Beer-bellied Scots with up-front attitudes

There are some sports people just do not have the stomach for. The ancient art of gut-barging is one such. The game which was founded many years ago as a sideshow at medieval jousts - so legend has it - has found new popularity after enduring a rapid decline into obscurity after its nineteenth century heyday, when the sport was enjoyed by countless ... well, fat people.
So what is gut-barging? The 'authority' which has breathed new life into the sport, the World Gutbargers' Association, founded by a biker from Bradford upon Avon, Binkie Braithwaite, describes it as "a contest of skill and controlled violence borrowing from the traditions of Japanese Sumo. Basically it gives fat, drunken people the opportunity to excel".
Fair enough, but how do you play it? In layman's terms, the gutbarger attempts to knock his (or her - there is footage of a female barging contest which looks extremely painful) opponent out of a circular mat using only their (substantial) gut area.

Before the bout begins, though, here is a ritual to be followed. To protect their skin, bargers will rub engine oil on their guts. Then a show of aggression ensues,the competitors spitting, snorting, and exchanging insults whith each other. A scattering of Bombay mix on the mat, as opposed to chalk by those of the sumo persuasion, signals the start, with the balou (referee) declaring "barge on".
There is no specified ideal weight at which to begin barging, but beeing in excess of 25 stones seems to be an ample enough qualification.
Braithwaite, who enlisted the hep of Main Street Management "to give us some professional direction" has taken the sport to the dizzy heights of the Royal Albert Hall, where it acted as support for The Stranglers anniversary gig last summer. More recnetly, there has been a following growing rapidly in Australia, a possible documentary scheduled for Channel 4, an appearance on the This Morning show wit Richard and Judy,

not to mention the manufacturing of a DIY gut-barging 'six-pack' with which even the skinniest of us can enjoy the wonders of gut-barging. Braithwaite, who has watched the growth with pride, says: "It's very ineresting at the moment with the TV show and we are currently working out our show schedule for the spring ad summer. I started the whole thing from scratch and it really was wonderful to see the bargers taking centre stage at the Royal Concert Hall. It was great occasion and The Stranglers' fans loved it. They couldn't get enough." He is fully aware that his sport is treated with derision from some quarters but, basically, he couldn't care, adding aith a hearty laugh: "We are afeter worldwide domination. It's long since gotten too big for me to deal with by myself and it's great having Main Street around to give us their professional opinion. We have a large following in in Australia and Germany and we are going out to get some Scots and Irish gut-bargers."

With one of the worst diets in Europe, possibly the world, Scotland would seem an obvious choice. Having said tha, any Tartan wannabes will have to pass some stringent rules of the association in order to start up. "They need two things," begins Braithwaite. "First, they have to have the apperancen - they have to be huge. Then they have to have the attitude as well, it takes a certain kind of person to be a succesful gut-barger." Certain kind of person indeed. The current world gut-barging campion is a whopping 21 stones and goes by the name of Mad Maurice. A crowd pleaser, Braithwaite say of his star: "Not only is he the best but he has the spirit and attitude hat will attract others. He scares the **** out of people!" Not a man to do Things by half, Braithwaite concluded the he is hopeful that gut-barging will really take-off by next year. "I am hopeful that we will able to take a nineteenth century pastime and turn it into th spectacular sport of the twenty-first century." Brace yourselves.

Object of the exercise ...
The object of the game is to barge your opponent from a 12ft by 8ft mat using only the stomach

Preparing for battle ...
Each contestant is striped to the waist and lathered in engine oil to protect against bruising. Some bargers use margarine or lard on he nipples for extra protection although this is generaly considered to be effete

Let battle commence ...
On the shout of 'Guts Up' by the Balou (the referee) contestants adopt he barging position - knees bent, shoulders back, guts out! On the command 'Meet' the contest begins

The classic 'Barges'
Barges are awarded points by category. Here are three of the most profitable:

The Full Johnny Turk - 15 Points
A single explosive barge removes opponent from mat