Haggis Hurling - Background

Background

Although its proponents often claim an ancient origin, haggis hurling is actually a very recent invention. In 2004 Robin Dunseath, publicist for Scottish entrepreneur Tom Farmer and ex-president of the World Haggis Hurling Association, said he invented the sport as a practical joke for the 1977 Gathering of the Clans in Edinburgh, later using it to raise funds for charity at Highland games. It appeared on the BBC TV programme That's Life! around that time, when many people would have realised it was basically a joke.

Two variations have developed, one enacted at festivals, the other a professional sport.

The present World Record for Haggis Hurling was set at 217 feet by Lorne Coltart at the Milngavie Highland Games on 11 June 2011, beating Allan Pettigrew's 180 feet record which had stood for over twenty years. However, the Australian cricket player Tom Moody was purported to have thrown a haggis in 1989 over 230 feet.

Modern Haggis Hurling is judged on the basis of distance and accuracy of the hurl and a split or burst haggis is immediately disqualified, as the haggis must be fit to eat after landing. The sport requires subtle technique rather than brute force, as the hurl must result in a gentle landing to keep the haggis skin intact. There is a World Haggis Hurling Championship. Plans to use a fake haggis in a hurling competition at a Highland festival in Melbourne have split the purists from those who are fearful of the mess a high-speed impacting may cause.