ABOUT The World Stone Skimming Championships

2008 winners and runners-up

 

The World Stone Skimming Championships were started in 1983 by Albert Baker, and then lay fallow until they were resurrected in 1997 by the Eilean Eisdeal (Easdale Island Trust) as a fundraising event. Contestants hail from around the world and the championships now attract over 200 participants and many spectators. Anyone of any age and any level of skill can enter the championships. *New for 2008 * Old Tosser category. This year, by popular request, we introduced a new category for those entrants who have reached the experienced and veteran heights of no longer being in their 50s! Entrants to this section will throw at the same time as the other adults in the order in which they register. Be sure and mark your registration form if you wish to enter this category!

Official Rules of the World Stone Skimming Championships are:

• Skimming stones must be no more than 3" in diameter and formed naturally of Easdale slate
• To qualify, the stone must bounce no less than 3 times and stay within the designated lane as marked by the buoys
• Skims are judged on the distance thrown rather than the number of bounces
• The judges' decision is final 

Categories and entrance fees:
Adult Women and Men (16 and over) - entrance fee: £4
Old Tossers (60 and over) - entrance fee: £3
Junior Girls and Boys (age 10-15 years) - entrance fee: £2
Under 10s Girls and Boys - entrance fee: £1

The World Stone Skimming Cup is presented to the over-all winner, and the Sea-fari Salver for the best women's skim. There are also slate medals going to the best junior skim and 2nd and 3rd runner-up in each category. 2002 saw the launch of a new award, 'the Bertie', named after the event's founder, presented to the Easdale Islander who skims the furthest.

Winners and Runners-up in the World Stone Skimming Championships 2008: Men:       1st Eric Robertson Scotland 54m 2nd Dougie Isaacs Scotland 52m 3rd Macolm Hill Scotland 46m *Bertie* Sam Cohn Easdale 27m *Old Tosser* equal Adrian Laycock Scotland (Easdale) 25m *Old Tosser* equal Tony Gill Scotland 25m Women:       1st Gillian Hunter Northern Ireland 36m 2nd Teresa Pirie Scotland 28m 3rd equal Harriet Cole England 23m 3rd equal Jill O'Sullivan Ireland 23m Junior boys (10-15 incl):       1st Cameron Sims Scotland 33m 2nd equal Liam Roberts Scotland 28m 2nd equal Jack Wilson Scotland 28m 3rd Simon Fraser Scotland (Easdale) 26m Junior girls (10-15 incl):       1st Rhiannon McCartney Scotland 18m 2nd Amy Calder Scotland 15m 3rd Eleanor Moffat Scotland 14m Under 10 boys:       1st Euan Fairbairn Scotland (Easdale) 24m 2nd Jake Eye Australia 21m 3rd Alan MacFadyen Scotland (Easdale) 14m Under 10 girls:     2 Entrants 1st Anna Saunders Scotland   2nd Emily Eyre Australia   3rd

The 260 competitors in 2008's competition represented 12 different countries: Australia, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales.

Over-all Champions since 1997:   2008 Eric Robertson Scotland 54m 2007 Dougie Isaacs Scotland back wall (est. 63m) 2006 Tony Kynn Australia back wall 2005 Dougie Isaacs Scotland back wall 2004 Andrew McKinna Scotland 47m 2003 Ian Brown Scotland 55m 2002 Alastair Judkins New Zealand (& Easdale) back wall 2001 Iain MacGregor  Australia 65m 2000 Scott Finnie Scotland 54m 1999 Ian Shellcock England 50m 1998 Ian Shellcock England 53m 1997 Ian Sherriff New Zealand 55m

Press interest in the the World Stone Skimming Championships is increasing every year, and the event has been covered by the following: Oban Times, The Independent, The Scotsman, The Times & The Sunday Times, The Glasgow Herald, The Daily Record, The Daily Mail, The Sun and The Drogheda Independent. Features have also appeared on Radio Scotland, Radio 5 Live, Gaelic Television news, Scottish Television, BBC Scotland television, CBBC Newsround and Channel 4 Big Breakfast.

Scotland on TV produced a video about the 2007 World Stone Skimming Championships which you can view from their website. Watch the video.

If you can't make it to Easdale for the World Stone Skimming Championships how about trying the Wales Open Stone Skimming Championships (www.skimwales.com), the first of which took place in August 2007 on the Castle Pond in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire.

The rules are in accordance with the World Stone Skimming Championships (see above) and anyone of any age and any level of skill can enter. Teams of 3 people can also enter and each person's best skim will also count towards the individual event.