'Best day out' sees crowds flock to Cowal games

One of the highlights of the Gathering’s final day was, as always, the Cowal Pipe Band Championship.

Section and grade winners in the Cowal Pipe Band champions were:

Novice Juvenile B – Oban High School Development Band.

Novice Juvenile A – Renfrewshire Schools Novice A.

Grade 3 – Renfrewshire Schools Novice A.

Grade 3 MSR – Dunbar RBL.

Grade 2 – Kilchoman Distillery Isle of Islay.

The champion adult drum major was: E Barr, Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band.

The champion juvenile drum major was: L Anderson, New Ross and District Pipe Band.

Saturday also saw the Argyllshire Highland Dancing competitions (for dancers who live in Argyll and Bute), with top honours in the 7 and under 12 years Premier category going to Georgia Dow from Helensburgh and the 12 and 13 years Premier category awarded to Amelia May Smith from Dunoon.

Top prize in the 14 and 15 years Premier category went to Ellie Gorman from Campbeltown and Catriona Gammons from Helensburgh triumphed in the 16 years and over class.

Then came the biggest Highland Dancing competition in the world – the World Championship finals - with dancers from Australia, Canada and the USA pitting their skills against the best the UK has to offer.

In the end, it was Aisla Gocan-Wright from London, Ontario who emerged victorious in the World Juvenile finals, followed by Rebecca Acob of Coldstream and Ellie Murgha of Townsville.  

The trophy for best Scottish Juvenile Dancer went to Cody Fong from Kirkcaldy and the best Overseas Juvenile Dancer was Aisla Gocan-Wright.

In the World Junior championship, Eilidh Gammons of Helensburgh, defended her title and held off the challenge of Katjana Bruinsa from Leduc County and Maria Monk of Glasgow.

The best Scottish Junior Dancer was Eilidh Gammons, and the trophy for the best Overseas Junior Dancer went to Katjana Bruinsma.

The Adult World champion was Rebecca Thow from Aberdeen, followed by Marielle Lesperance from Dartmouth, with Chloe McClean from Edinburgh in third.

Marielle Lesperance is taking home the Mary McHarg Quaich for best Overseas Adult Dancer.  The cup for best Scottish Adult Dancer went to Rebecca Thow. 

Throughout the afternoon, some of the world’s hottest traditional music bands entertained the crowds in the now-famous Cowal Live Music Tent.

Top of the bill was one of Cowal Gathering’s favourite bands, Beinn Lee who were joined by two of the hottest names on the traditional music scene – Oban’s Ceol An Aire and Abigail Pryde, who is no stranger to the Cowal Live Music stage, both as a solo performer and with her band, Heron Valley.

Also on the line-up was Cowal Gathering regulars The Inverhooley Ceilidh Band who made sure nobody got out of the Live Music Tent without dancing!

While the bands were playing in their marquee behind the stadium, the heavy athletes and wrestlers battled it out for top honours in the stadium itself.

In the International Heavy Athletics Team competition, Team Scotland were victorious with Team Austria coming runners up.

In the overall individual heavy athletics, Kyle Randall from Scotland triumphed in the men’s competition, with Craig Winslow from Scotland in second and Martin Tim Kuhne from Germany third.

In the women’s event, Mhairi Porterfield from Scotland beat off the challenge of Eve Robson from England (second) and Christina Scheffaur from Austria (third).

Of course, the Gathering’s reputation for being one of Scotland’s best family-friendly events was cemented with the selection of entertainment for all ages.

One of the most popular draws was the debut of The Stunt Runner who wowed the crowds with his adrenaline filled performance.

Among the other biggest attractions were the Braveheart Axe Throwing Team, The BMX Show, mountain biking track, the Cowal Ceilidh Tent with the Inverhooley Ceilidh Band and legendary children’s favourite, Artie’s Singing Kettle featuring veteran entertainer Artie Trezise, who has entertained generations of children with his songs and stories.

Speaking on behalf of the board of Cowal Gathering, Fraser McCowan said the event would go down as one of the most memorable in recent times.

He stressed that its success was in no small part due to the ongoing efforts and support of the people of Dunoon and the wider Cowal community, as well as the event’s sponsors.

"On behalf of the Gathering’s organisers, I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make sure the 130^th Cowal Gathering goes down in history as the best party in town!

"I’d also like to thank the thousands of people who have come out to support the Gathering over the last three days. 

"We’ve welcomed spectators not just from Argyll and Bute and Scotland more generally but from right around the globe, and the feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive.

"Of course, we wouldn’t have a Gathering at all without the wonderful competitors, who excelled themselves this year. Those of us lucky enough to have been here witnessed levels of performance never seen before.

"We all know how popular the traditional Highland Games events such as the piping, dancing and heavy athletics are, and of course they remain the main draw. This, together with our Top Field entertainment ensures Cowal Gathering will remain at the top of the list of Fun Family Days Out in Scotland in the future.

"A big thank you again to everyone involved, and I hope we’ll see you back again next year."

Ian Laister, managing director at Bakkafrost Scotland, headline sponsor of the event said:  “This special family event has brought fun and great competitive spirit to Argyll. It has been our pleasure to support the Cowal Gathering, now for the tenth year.

"Providing support to local community events like the Cowal Gathering is part of our commitment to support rural communities in Scotland where we live and work.

“Thank you to the organisers who put so much effort into planning a successful event not only for the local community to enjoy, but for visitors to experience the best of what Scottish tradition has to offer.

“Our flagship Native Hebridean salmon has been a hit but the world Highland Dancing competition was a highlight for me.”

Cowal Highland Gathering is supported through EventScotland’s International Events Programme.