The Scottish Government

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Highland Games

The focus of this report is indigenous sports. There are a number of non-sporting elements of Highland Games, such as piping and story telling which do not meet this criterion. However, there is no reliable way of disaggregating the components of the events when calculating impacts, given that they are (by definition) a package of activities, the removal of any of the core components resulting in the loss of all activity.

The additional economic impact of the Highland Games, based on the expenditure of spectators and the costs of running the Games, is prudently estimated to be within the range of £10 to £16 million to the Scottish economy, depending on the size of crowd achieved. Attendance at the Games can be highly sensitive to weather conditions, and thus high and low estimates have been presented, based on illustrative costs and revenues for average events provided by the Scottish Games Association. It should also be recognised that many of the smaller games, which predominantly have a local audience, contribute significantly to community cohesion.

In addition to the direct expenditure impact on Scotland, it is likely that there will be an additional impact related to the international promotion and presence of these activities, attracting visitors to the country. It is unrealistic to put a figure on the value of this marketing, given the low quality of the available data. However, a press search of all major newspapers from January to July 2006 recovers 445 entries for Highland Games in the international media. In addition there is anecdotal evidence of television coverage in Japan and Europe for some events. While there are obviously differing degrees of coverage and levels of association with Scotland, estimates for the G8 conference impact in 2005 published by the Executive suggest that the 4,371 broadcast and media pieces would have cost £66m to purchase, and could generated £618m worth of additional tourism expenditure to Scotland per annum. Upcoming major international events - the World Highland Games in 2007 and Year of Homecoming in 2009 - offer significant opportunities to market Highland Games to overseas markets. It is recommended that Visit Scotland take a central role in the management of this approach, at minimum offering advice to the responsible organisations.

There is a degree of coordination between those Highland Games events affiliated with the Scottish Games Association, but in general these indigenous sports are organised by local committees and clubs in relative isolation. These local organisers can potentially lack the expertise in management, administration, marketing and promotion to ensure efficiency in operating costs and optimum realisable spectator numbers, which might reduce their overall impact. Individual Highland Games can vary between profit and loss between years depending on the crowd size. As the Games are largely funded through the contributions of individuals, this offers a significant hurdle to sustainability. Costs are incurred prior to the event days, while revenues are only received following on-day ticket sales. Thus, the risk to individuals and local organisation committees is significant, especially as they may require significant collateral for bank borrowing. There is potentially an information failure here, given that events insurance may be available to compensate individual organising bodies for lost ticket sales in the event of poor weather. A closer relationship with public sector organisations who have experience of event insurance to share experience of known insurance schemes may offer a straightforward solution to this market failure.

Back-hold wrestling

Back-hold wrestling is primarily a demonstration event, which currently forms a component at some international and domestic gatherings of cultural events and sports. The technique is recognised to be distinctively Scottish and involves the competitors wearing kilts to participate. Registered membership is relatively low (150), though the competitors tend to be members of mainstream wrestling clubs, also practicing other techniques. While the bouts are highly competitive for the participants, there is no formal competitive structure. Demonstrations are open, allowing crowd participation, and thus offer a direct and easy access point to sport, generally unavailable through other sports with professional leagues.

Official recognition as an individual sport could promote participation amongst young people in wrestling clubs. This could be facilitated through some LA support. Back-hold wrestling is recognised as a sport by SportScotland through affiliation with the Scottish Wrestling Association, but there is not an active relationship with two-way communication between an established governing body and the public sector (again, this refers to access to expertise and advice, rather than direct financial assistance).

There is also scope for a closer relationship with Visit Scotland in order to maximise the promotional opportunities associated with participation at international cultural events. This could take the form of marketing and coordination expertise, with minimal funding requirements. This could also lead to enhanced opportunities for demonstration of the sport, forming a component of other Visit Scotland events.

Quoiting

Quoiting (pronounced 'Kiting') has its origins in Ancient Rome, with the distinctively Scottish form involving heavier hoops and a longer pitch than other regional variations. Active participation is currently low. While there are around 1000 registered club members, the vast majority of these are non-playing social members. Regularly playing, active membership is estimated at around 150. There is a competitive tournament structure coordinated informally by a maximum of 12 clubs at their AGM, however a number of the competitors find it financially difficult to travel between events. Members are predominantly retired and there appears little or no interest from young people, despite attempted marketing events. Sustainability is therefore a core issue.

Quoiting offers an opportunity for elderly participants to remain active. As with wrestling, building on official recognition of quoits through the establishment of two-way communication with SportScotland could enhance funding opportunities and LA support, helping to promote sustainability. An informational website, containing details of the rules and equipment purchase, could be targeted towards pub and hotel landlords, thus offering a low cost route to sustainability that is driven by demand as a pub game. Again, rather than financial support, this offers a low cost intervention to promote sustainability.

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