Waipu Games to feature battle between Norsemen and Scots on New Year's day

Craig Manson, from Auckland, hurling the 22-pound stone at this year's Waipu Highland Games. The games are back for a 147th time on New Year's Day.

New Zealand's longest-running Scottish games competition — the Waipu Highland Games — will go back in time on New Year's Day when a band of marauding Norsemen will battle it out in a skirmish against a band of Scots.

Now in its 147th consecutive year, thousands of people are expected to flock to the Waipu Caledonian grounds on January 1 for the games, which sees all things Scottish celebrated with stalls, fiddling, highland piping and dancing, athletics and, of course, the traditional highland games, which include tossing the caber, throwing the sheath and hammer throw.

Organiser Pat Hadlee said the games would be opened by Greg Wilson, in recognition of him winning more gold medals in piping than anyone. He recently won gold at Oban, Inverness and Braemar in Scotland.

''We have the Norsemen setting up camp at the grounds to battle it out in a skirmish against a band of Scots. The Scots will of course win,'' Ms Hadlee said.

The Vikings first went to Scotland to raid and settle in the 9th century.

She said the games promise to be a colourful and exciting event, with a full contingent of Clans in attendance. People will also be able to check out their Scottish ancestry on site.

The children will be well looked after with running races, Have A Go competitions as well as Trailblazers to keep them amused and busy. And their entry is free, she said.

The Norsemen will battle the Scots in the main arena at lunchtime when the mass bands accompany all the Scottish dancers and play the anthem The Flower of Scotland.

The annual heavy weight competition is one of the most vigorously fought over with one entrant coming all the way from Scotland.

Robert Wallace, a Scottish piping judge of world renown, will be there to evaluate New Zealand pipers competing in their various grades. He has judged piping all over the world - the United States Piping Foundation, the RU Brown Gold Medal in Australia, the 100 Guineas in South Africa plus the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting in Scotland.

If people want to see piping Mrs Hadlee said it's best to attend The Helen McGregor Memorial in the Caledonian Barn on New Year's Eve when New Zealand and overseas top pipers compete in a free style "flairing their fingers" as Helen had wanted.

She said the family of one of the dancing judges, Rosemary Armstrong from Christchurch, has been associated with the Waipu Highland Games since 1906 when her grandfather, Ronald Fraser, won the prize for the most points in pipe music. She will be wearing his medallion while at Waipu.