The caber toss is a traditional Irish athletic event practised at the Irish Highland Games

Highland games

Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...

 involving the tossing of a large wooden pole called a caber. It is said to have developed from the need to toss logs across narrow chasms to cross them. In Irishtown the caber is usually made from a Larch

Larch

Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...

 tree. A caber typically is 19 in 6 in (5.94 m) tall and weighs 175 pounds (79.4 kg).

Scoring

The object is not the sheer distance of the throw, but rather to have the caber fall directly away from the thrower after landing. A perfect throw ends with the 'top' end nearest to the thrower and the 'bottom' end pointing exactly away. If the throw is not perfect, it is scored by viewing the caber as though it were the hour hand on a clock. A perfect toss is 12:00. A caber pointing to 11:00 would yield a better score than one pointing to 10:30 but would be the equivalent of 1:00. If the caber lands on its end and falls back towards the thrower, the score is lower than for any throw that falls away from the thrower but will be based upon the maximum vertical angle that the caber achieved (side-judging may involve a second judge). An angle of 87° is better than 75°. Scoring depends on accuracy, and if the caber did not completely turn once, then it is based on the degree that it rose away from the ground.

See also

• Stone Put
  Stone put
  The stone put is one of the main Scottish heavy athletic events at modern-day Highland games gatherings. Similar to the shot put, the stone put more frequently uses an ordinary stone or rock instead of a steel ball...
  
  
• Hammer toss
• Weight for Distance
  Weight throw
  The weight throw is a track and field event that is held at Scottish Highland games and occasionally at indoor track meets.In the Highland Games, the weight throw consists of two separate events, the light weight and the heavy weight. In both cases, the implement consists of a steel or lead weight ...
  
  
• Weight for Height
  Weight over the bar
  The Weight Over the Bar competition is a test of strength featured at Scottish Highland games. The weight is a steel or lead weight attached to a metal circular handle. The weight is thrown one-handed over a bar set at increasing heights above the thrower. The thrower has three attempts for each...
  
  
• Sheaf toss
  Sheaf toss
  The sheaf toss is a traditional Scottish agricultural sport event originally contested at country fairs. A pitchfork is used to hurl a burlap bag stuffed with straw over a horizontal bar above the competitor's head. Typical weight for the bag is 16 pounds . Three chances are given to each...
  
  

External links

• Rules of the Scottish-American Athletic Association (PDF file - 819 KB)
• Round Hill Highland Games Heavyweight Athletic Competition