Dreamweaverrs Ponderings

7 Scottish Contributions to the World of Sports

Many people are unaware of the vast contributions the Scottish have made to the sports world. The Scottish are historically known as creative, hardy and independent people who make the most with what they have. Their contributions to the world of sports reflects their ingenuity and resourcefulness.Not surprisingly the Scots have made their historical mark in the sports world in a number of sports arenas.

Curling

Although  not a highly publicized sport in the United States, curling has a large following in a number of countries, including the United States. In Canada, it is estimated that there are a million curlers. The sport is played on the ice and involves moving a polished stone made of granite on an iced lane aiming towards the house or target. There are two sweepers who use brooms to help the stone reach its best placement by sweeping the ice path. It is an odd looking sport but takes precision and timing to play. The sport is believed to have begun in Scotland as far back as the 1500’s.

Basketball

Dr. James Naismith is the inventor of basketball. The talented man went on to become a clergyman, educator and a physician. Naismith was Canadian born , coming from Ontario originally and lived in both Canada and the United States. It was while he was living in Massachusetts and working for a YMCA training center in 1891, that Naismith invented the indoor game of basket ball using two wooden peach baskets put on the walls, and a ball to play the game.The first professional basketball league was formed in 1898. The sport made its first appearance in the Olympics in 1936, in Berlin.Naismith was the son of Scottish immigrants to Canada.

Cycling

Although there are arguments over who invented the first pedal driven bicycle, many give credit to
Kirkpatrick McMillan a Glasgow, Scotland resident. He reportedly built a bicycle in 1839 with wooden wheels with iron rims, a smaller wheel in the front and a larger one in the back. Luckily technology has improved since then.

 Golf

The sport of golf may have evolved from stick and ball games played in Europe and the U.K, but the game known as golf now, was created by the Scottish. They made it a new sport by adding the hole in the ground as the target to aim for. In the 1400’s the game of golf was considered a criminal activity of sorts. The ruling kings banned the sport, but somehow the stubborn Scots kept it alive and passed it down through the centuries.

Hockey

There are differing stories about how hockey actually started. It has similarities to a number of sports and many people lay claim to it.One belief is Shinty is a predecessor of hockey. Shinty is played with a ball and a stick. Scottish immigrants to Nova Scotia, in Canada, adapted the game to fit the weather and terrain of their new country. They played it on ice.

 Caber Toss

This very unique sport involves tossing what is in essence a long tapered tree trunk head over heal in the most accurate toss possible. The competitor runs forward and tosses the caber, flipping it over as close to the 12 o’clock position in relation to where it was thrown from. This is no sport for lightweights. Think about tossing what looks like a telephone pole and throwing it with any accuracy.

Weight Over the Bar

Otherwise known as weight for height, this sport involves tossing a handled lead or steel weight ranging from 28 to 56 pounds depending on the competition class, over a bar above the competitors head, not unlike a pole vault bar. The bar is raised with each successful throw. The competitor gets three tries to successfully clear the bar. To put those weights in more understandable weight terms, this would be the equivalent of throwing a child from toddler to elementary school age over a bar above your head.

 Next time you watch or play one of these sports, thank, or blame, a Scot for these contributions to the world of sports.

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