If you are looking for a great day out for the family, the opportunity to witness some of the most breath taking scenery Scotland has to offer and the chance to take part in an actual world championship then get yourself to Easdale this September 24th.
Located on the West Coast of Scotland, a short drive from Oban, Easdale is one of the most unique and picturesque islands that Scotland has to offer. The town of Ellenabeich on the mainland plays host to people camping out the night before the championships with a small and regular ferry taking people to and from Easdale. Accommodation can be found on both Easdale and Ellenabeich and its also quite common for people to travel from neighbouring areas including Oban.
The night before the championships sees celebrations held at the community hall on the island which features a band, a raffle and a wonderful, friendly atmosphere. It is recommended that you make the effort to get to this night as you can really get a feel for the magnificent community spirit that makes the whole event possible.
Easdale is the perfect home for the World Stone Skimming Championships due to its history of it formerly being the centre of slate production in the UK. Although that industry has moved on the remaining quarries, long filled with water and sheltered from the elements, make the perfect arena for skimming.
There is also a great selection of skimming stones to choose from but be warned, there are rules in place. The stones must be made of Easdale slate, so no bringing your own from home. They can be no longer than 3 inches in diameter and must pass through a testing board before being thrown. Another extremely important factor is that the throw is judged on length not the amount of surface skips the stone makes, it does need a minimum of 3 skips to count though.
There are a number of categories including, Mens, Womens, Juniors (10-15), Under 10’s, Old Tossers (60+) and teams. The teams are made up of 4 with the individual throws being counted towards this rather than a separate team event.
The event has seen people travel from all around the world with competitors from Japan and the Netherlands in recent years and has been covered by media from around the world including the BBC’s Blue Peter.
You can find out all about the event, including past results, on the World Stone Skimming site. All the details including rules, event news and information on how you enter is available here. Remember you have until Sunday the 24th of September to practice and you could find yourself being a World Champion.
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/joybot/
