Balloch Highland Games

Last week-end was a strange one for Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling as there was not a single affiliated wrestling event right in the middle of a busy season. At the end of next month there are seventeen venues in a fortnight, but you had to look hard for any action last week. One wrestler who kept his hand in and did well in a competition was Thomas Gibson of Southwaite who travelled into Scotland for some action.
Scottish Wrestling Bond organiser, Frazer Hirsch sent a message that "Thomas Gibson and his father were at Balloch Highland Games on Saturday. Thomas entered the open category which was the Scottish Championship. He did very well and reached the final so there was a lot of wrestling for Thomas as it was the pool system we use and was best of five falls before he got to the final. He met myself in the semi-final, beating me 3-1, then he met Ryan Dolan in the final, but couldn’t deal with Ryan’s experience and skill. Ryan won 3-0."

Results: Open (Scottish Championship)
1st: Ryan Dolan, Carnoustie;
2nd: Thomas Gibson, Carlisle;
3rd: Frazer Hirsch, Carnoustie;
4th: Paul Craig, Wemyss Bay.

Wrestlers were invited to put on a demonstration at the Carlisle United Fun Day, but CWWA Chairman, Linda Scott, reported that, “It was a bit of a disappointment for those involved. They couldn’t manage to get a crowd of spectators, too much interest in penalty shootouts and other things football. It was a shame, I thought we might have got a few kids interested.” So, it’s back to catching young people’s interest at the ring-side where wrestling is the main focus.

Some people, however, are keen enough on wrestling to fly thousands of miles to take part in our events. Linda Scott further reported that, “We have a party of Icelanders coming to Ambleside Sports, Langholm Common Riding and Penrith Show (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, next week). Five junior wrestlers, President Svana Hrönn Jóhannsdóttr, and a father of one of the wrestlers. They will arrive at Edinburgh airport on Tuesday 24th July, will hire a vehicle and stay at Newton Rigg Campus, leaving on Sunday. We have arranged a training session for them on Wednesday 25th July with Carlisle Wrestling Club at Currock House.”

Iceland isolated geographically and with a population of 336,701 in February this year, significantly less than Cumbria’s half million, has been a place where language and traditions scarcely changed. Modern day Icelanders can still read the sagas which detail events of the 10th and 11th Centuries and set down on paper in the 13th Century. Wrestling has a long-recorded history in the country. I have seen the wrestling ring at Thingvellir where the parliaments met over the centuries. It was used to settle arguments, and chillingly a large rock is set in the middle to finish the job.

Various styles existed including axeltock or backspanning which was exactly the same as our style. That dwindled into misuse a hundred years ago leaving only the Glima style which uses leather harness. In 1985 they joined the International Federation of Celtic Wrestling and have been active participants ever since.

On July 31st 1960 I was wrestling in Iceland when I went with the British Schools Exploring Society to do scientific work in the central highland plateau, between and sometimes on two icecaps. In my diary I record, “Had some miniature Olympics with Hakon Olafsson, the Icelandic boy in our party. I could beat him at wrestling and long-jump, but for the rest he was too good.”

(Written by Roger Robson ..... ©All Photographs on this site are the copyright of Roger Robson, Jill Robson, Julian Richardson, Linda Scott or Webmaster. Unauthorised usage is forbidden {2018} ©)

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