Waipu Highland Games looking for successor

READY TO ROCK: Waipu Caledonian Society committee member Ted Hart (left) and chairman Don Ewen prepare for the Waipu Highland Games tomorrow. PHOTO/JOHN STONE

The 143rd annual Waipu Highland Games tomorrow will have keen interest in who picks up Pat Hellier's heavyweight crown.

Hellier, 42, retired after winning his 18th consecutive New Zealand Highland Heavyweight Games championship at the beginning of this year.

With the master of sheaf-tossing out of the mix, the battle will be on among Australian and southern athletes competing for the Scottish strongman title which Hellier held for so long.

The Highland Games will start at 9.30am with an official morning parade - a procession of the clans down the main street of Waipu. The clans will then march on to the Waipu Caledonian Park and the events will begin.

Along with the heavyweight events, attractions include the NZ Highland Dancing championships, featuring Highland and national dancing and the Scottish Official Board Highland dancing competitions, piping and drumming as well as fiddle-playing demonstrations.

The games end about 5pm and are followed by the annual Ceilidh (pronounced "Kaylee") dance in the Waipu Community Coronation Hall at 7pm.