NSV, Friends, Athletics and a LOT of pictures....
mcdonl
Posts: 342 Member
Hi folks, I tried to create a blog entry but it seems as though you need to be an HTML code pro so I will just stick the message boards.
First, my NSV...
So... Two of the events in the highland games requrie a height aparatus. One of the vents requires a significanly tall one. We use a ladder which is at 23 feet at the low point. During the confusion of erecting this rig, we forgot to attach a tape!! Well... I went searching for the smallest man on the field to bribe them to climb the ladder and fasten a measuring tape...well... my 241 pounds was the smallest!! Yeah... BOO!! I had to climb this!!
Now on to what I tried to put in the blog....
We all have situational friends. You know the type of friends you only see at certain times during certain situations. Friends from church, guys from the over 40 B-Ball League and things of that sort.I guess I am blessed as some of my situational friends come from all over the world, and are elite athletes.
I have some friends I have known for a number of years like Alistair Gunn from Scotland, Hans Lokema from the Netherlands and Petur Gudmonson from Iceland and this year I got to meet some new friends like Sabastian Wenta from Poland and Craig Sinclair from Scotland. As they rise to the top of the world class highland games circuit I will get to know them and someday miss them as I do my friends who have retired at the top of their game.
This is not to say that all of my friends are from faraway places as some of my best friends are from right here in the US such as Scott Depanfilis from NH, Myles "Silver Back" Wetzel, Mike Baab from Austin and Bill "Doc Roc" Crawford. And new friends such as Dan McKim (1st Place), Matt Vincent (2nd Place) and Sean Betz (5th Place) they are the new crop of champions and are currently ranked #1, #2 and #3 in North America, and now the world.There are very few times that you can get ALL of the best in the world in the same place at the same time.
One of those times is the International Highland Games Federation world championship!! As a member of the field crew at Loon Mountain I was in my glory when I found out the NH Highland Games at Loon Mountain would be hosting the world championship this year!!I was probably a little more excited than most because a) I am the Athletics Director for my own Pro Games so this is a great time for me to be around my friends with no worries other than lugging implements around the field all day long and b) it is the only vacation my wife and I take. She is a score keeper and gets to sit near the head judge and record the scores.
The following will be my weekend in pictures. There are few action shots, as when the throwing is going on I am working so my pictures are more about the experience than the competition….
Day one, arriving at the Penguin Club – The penguin club is an old school, converted into a ski club which the games use to host the field crew and amateur athletes
We got the “Honey Moon” suit - Exodus
Despite the fact they served breakfast and dinner each night in this very penguin cafeteria, we chose to be in control of our own diet and brought our own food.
What do old fuddy duddies who do not drink or party do when we have a night away from the kids? We play back gammon
(Another NSV!!) As promised… here is my new kilt and an XL T-Shirt!! First time I have been able to wear a plain old XL in a long time!!
The view from up on the mountain…..
I did not get any pictures from the World Hammer Championship but here are the winners…
1st Place – Mike Pockoski (145’ LH and 116 HH) (NV, USA)
2nd Place - Dan McKim (OK, USA)
3rd Place – Craig Sinclair (Aberdene, Scotland)
There was some drama as an implement broke, in the second round with only one thrower left. The rule is, if an implement breaks during a round you need to redo the round as all throwers must use the same implement. There are three rounds for each event. Craig Sinclair had a HUGE 119 foot throw with the light (16#) hammer and it had to be thrown out. It would have moved him to 2nd.
There are two hammers, 16 and 22 pounds and the combined scores total the final result.
This year there was a special focus on hero’s… both first responders and veterans. That is why you will see my wife and I both wearing our firefighter tartan kilts.
This little guy here… Gerard Benderoff was one of the first NYPD officers on scene on 9/11. He commands some respects
One of the high points of the weekend was the Wounded Warrior open stone throw. We needed to pound a stake in the ground so that they could anchor themselves and their chairs when they put the stone. The woman, incidentally just made the US Para Olympic Team so she is truly a world class athlete. There was not a dry eye in the house when they were announced along with the conflicts where they received their injuries…
There are two major competitions that go on at Loon… the World Championships this year and a standing tradition is a world class Masters competition. These are all 40+ athletes many of them, including this years winner are in their 50’s.
These men are some of the best, most interesting people I have ever met. And, at their age to be able to do what they do is nothing short of amazing. I hope you enjoy these photo’s….
My wife surrounded by big strapping men… she is as excited as her goofy grin looks!!
The winner, Gene Flynn
One of my best friends, Myles Wetzel (With Gerard Benderoff) – This would be a good time to introduce you to the Diamantes… Ray and Cinda Diamante are major supporters of the athletes, and not only do they provide some major financial support they open their home to us all and feed us like kings. I went to the party with 800 calories on the table. I know I exceeded it, but it was my night to enjoy. And enjoy I DID!!
And, now onto the BEG men!! The International Highland Games Federation, 2011 World Championship!!
Art McDermott, myself and Eric Suave – They are the judges and I am on the field crew. These guys are top notch, and Eric still holds the loon stone record (More about the loon stones in a bit….)
My wife and Sebastian Wenta
Speaking of Sebastion… the yellow flag indicates the furthest throw in the competition, and the blue flag indicates the World record… As you can see, his throw set a new world record.
Hans Lokema from the Netherlands and Greg Hadley from Canada…
3rd Place – My friend and husband of the Woman World Champion, Mike Pockoski
2nd Place – In his FIRST Pro Competition, Matt Vincent (Sporting my 12 year old daughter’s glasses)
And 1st place, one of the nicest men on the planet – Dan McKim!! (PS – No one beat him in any games all season and he looks even bigger in person!!)
So, I know what you are all thinking? What did you do for a workout this weekend? Well… I will not count the hundreds of 56#, 28#, 16# and 22# weights, hammers and stones I jogged from 50-144 feet back to the trig… or the fact that for 10+ hours, three days in a row I was on my feet, the 150-250 pounds stones I carried multi times… instead I will focus on the caber.
The caber toss is the signature event of the Highland Games, and well… being the world championship you would expect that this would be the most difficult caber there is. And you would be right. This 18’ 165# ash caber is a MONSTER!! With 12 Pro each getting 3 attempts, 12 Masters each getting 3 attempts and the challenge another 10 athletes taking three attempts I got to step this caber for 50% of them….
51 times I hoisted this caber (The heavy end as only two of us on the field could do it….) walked it back to the next athlete and then stepped the caber up like erecting a ladder… no idea how many calories get burned doing this, but it may explain to why I lost 3+ pounds despite eating Mashed potatoes, Chicken AND Pork, salad, apple pie and two cookies Saturday night at the Diamantes!!
2nd Place overall, Matt Vincent with a caber that only about 3 of the men could flip….
And the last event of the weekend… well… what can I say. It does not count for points, and the money (500, 300 and 200) does not make them any lighter… these guys just like the chance to carry a piece of history. The loon stones are heavy (234 and 274), are on a chain that swings and have handles that rip your hands apart… despite that they were carried for a winning carry of 58’!!
I hope you all enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!!Remember… athletes come in all shapes, colors and sizes.
Leroy
First, my NSV...
So... Two of the events in the highland games requrie a height aparatus. One of the vents requires a significanly tall one. We use a ladder which is at 23 feet at the low point. During the confusion of erecting this rig, we forgot to attach a tape!! Well... I went searching for the smallest man on the field to bribe them to climb the ladder and fasten a measuring tape...well... my 241 pounds was the smallest!! Yeah... BOO!! I had to climb this!!
Now on to what I tried to put in the blog....
We all have situational friends. You know the type of friends you only see at certain times during certain situations. Friends from church, guys from the over 40 B-Ball League and things of that sort.I guess I am blessed as some of my situational friends come from all over the world, and are elite athletes.
I have some friends I have known for a number of years like Alistair Gunn from Scotland, Hans Lokema from the Netherlands and Petur Gudmonson from Iceland and this year I got to meet some new friends like Sabastian Wenta from Poland and Craig Sinclair from Scotland. As they rise to the top of the world class highland games circuit I will get to know them and someday miss them as I do my friends who have retired at the top of their game.
This is not to say that all of my friends are from faraway places as some of my best friends are from right here in the US such as Scott Depanfilis from NH, Myles "Silver Back" Wetzel, Mike Baab from Austin and Bill "Doc Roc" Crawford. And new friends such as Dan McKim (1st Place), Matt Vincent (2nd Place) and Sean Betz (5th Place) they are the new crop of champions and are currently ranked #1, #2 and #3 in North America, and now the world.There are very few times that you can get ALL of the best in the world in the same place at the same time.
One of those times is the International Highland Games Federation world championship!! As a member of the field crew at Loon Mountain I was in my glory when I found out the NH Highland Games at Loon Mountain would be hosting the world championship this year!!I was probably a little more excited than most because a) I am the Athletics Director for my own Pro Games so this is a great time for me to be around my friends with no worries other than lugging implements around the field all day long and b) it is the only vacation my wife and I take. She is a score keeper and gets to sit near the head judge and record the scores.
The following will be my weekend in pictures. There are few action shots, as when the throwing is going on I am working so my pictures are more about the experience than the competition….
Day one, arriving at the Penguin Club – The penguin club is an old school, converted into a ski club which the games use to host the field crew and amateur athletes
We got the “Honey Moon” suit - Exodus
Despite the fact they served breakfast and dinner each night in this very penguin cafeteria, we chose to be in control of our own diet and brought our own food.
What do old fuddy duddies who do not drink or party do when we have a night away from the kids? We play back gammon
(Another NSV!!) As promised… here is my new kilt and an XL T-Shirt!! First time I have been able to wear a plain old XL in a long time!!
The view from up on the mountain…..
I did not get any pictures from the World Hammer Championship but here are the winners…
1st Place – Mike Pockoski (145’ LH and 116 HH) (NV, USA)
2nd Place - Dan McKim (OK, USA)
3rd Place – Craig Sinclair (Aberdene, Scotland)
There was some drama as an implement broke, in the second round with only one thrower left. The rule is, if an implement breaks during a round you need to redo the round as all throwers must use the same implement. There are three rounds for each event. Craig Sinclair had a HUGE 119 foot throw with the light (16#) hammer and it had to be thrown out. It would have moved him to 2nd.
There are two hammers, 16 and 22 pounds and the combined scores total the final result.
This year there was a special focus on hero’s… both first responders and veterans. That is why you will see my wife and I both wearing our firefighter tartan kilts.
This little guy here… Gerard Benderoff was one of the first NYPD officers on scene on 9/11. He commands some respects
One of the high points of the weekend was the Wounded Warrior open stone throw. We needed to pound a stake in the ground so that they could anchor themselves and their chairs when they put the stone. The woman, incidentally just made the US Para Olympic Team so she is truly a world class athlete. There was not a dry eye in the house when they were announced along with the conflicts where they received their injuries…
There are two major competitions that go on at Loon… the World Championships this year and a standing tradition is a world class Masters competition. These are all 40+ athletes many of them, including this years winner are in their 50’s.
These men are some of the best, most interesting people I have ever met. And, at their age to be able to do what they do is nothing short of amazing. I hope you enjoy these photo’s….
My wife surrounded by big strapping men… she is as excited as her goofy grin looks!!
The winner, Gene Flynn
One of my best friends, Myles Wetzel (With Gerard Benderoff) – This would be a good time to introduce you to the Diamantes… Ray and Cinda Diamante are major supporters of the athletes, and not only do they provide some major financial support they open their home to us all and feed us like kings. I went to the party with 800 calories on the table. I know I exceeded it, but it was my night to enjoy. And enjoy I DID!!
And, now onto the BEG men!! The International Highland Games Federation, 2011 World Championship!!
Art McDermott, myself and Eric Suave – They are the judges and I am on the field crew. These guys are top notch, and Eric still holds the loon stone record (More about the loon stones in a bit….)
My wife and Sebastian Wenta
Speaking of Sebastion… the yellow flag indicates the furthest throw in the competition, and the blue flag indicates the World record… As you can see, his throw set a new world record.
Hans Lokema from the Netherlands and Greg Hadley from Canada…
3rd Place – My friend and husband of the Woman World Champion, Mike Pockoski
2nd Place – In his FIRST Pro Competition, Matt Vincent (Sporting my 12 year old daughter’s glasses)
And 1st place, one of the nicest men on the planet – Dan McKim!! (PS – No one beat him in any games all season and he looks even bigger in person!!)
So, I know what you are all thinking? What did you do for a workout this weekend? Well… I will not count the hundreds of 56#, 28#, 16# and 22# weights, hammers and stones I jogged from 50-144 feet back to the trig… or the fact that for 10+ hours, three days in a row I was on my feet, the 150-250 pounds stones I carried multi times… instead I will focus on the caber.
The caber toss is the signature event of the Highland Games, and well… being the world championship you would expect that this would be the most difficult caber there is. And you would be right. This 18’ 165# ash caber is a MONSTER!! With 12 Pro each getting 3 attempts, 12 Masters each getting 3 attempts and the challenge another 10 athletes taking three attempts I got to step this caber for 50% of them….
51 times I hoisted this caber (The heavy end as only two of us on the field could do it….) walked it back to the next athlete and then stepped the caber up like erecting a ladder… no idea how many calories get burned doing this, but it may explain to why I lost 3+ pounds despite eating Mashed potatoes, Chicken AND Pork, salad, apple pie and two cookies Saturday night at the Diamantes!!
2nd Place overall, Matt Vincent with a caber that only about 3 of the men could flip….
And the last event of the weekend… well… what can I say. It does not count for points, and the money (500, 300 and 200) does not make them any lighter… these guys just like the chance to carry a piece of history. The loon stones are heavy (234 and 274), are on a chain that swings and have handles that rip your hands apart… despite that they were carried for a winning carry of 58’!!
I hope you all enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!!Remember… athletes come in all shapes, colors and sizes.
Leroy
0
Replies
-
Fixed IT!!
I needed to remove the space in the name of the album... it was a photobucket thing!0 -
That link is incorrect... somehow... reclick the pictures and get the links...
EDIT-- oh yay! It works!0 -
Those are awesome pictures! Looks like a GREAT TIME! You look great!0
-
It was a great time, and a good insight into why I need to lose weight. When you train for heavy athletics no one tells you that you need to come down as slow as you grow. I will never be able to compete at a high level (Nor did I ever really before) but I will be healthier. These guys are pretty much genetic freaks.0
-
That was a great overview and some rockin' pictures. Thanks for sharing - and congrats on those 3 pounds!0
-
these pics and descriptions are fantastic. i love the kilts, the events, everything! thanks for sharing.0
-
these pics and descriptions are fantastic. i love the kilts, the events, everything! thanks for sharing.
My pleasure, it is something my family has enjoyed for a long time and it is so cool because it shows you can be an athlete at any size.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions