This year’s World Stone Skimming Championships was one to remember
A MARRIAGE proposal, a nine-man final and an international winner were all featured in the 21st annual World Stone Skimming Championships held on Easdale Island.
A man from Japan was crowned the overall winner and the event organiser got engaged in front of hundreds of people after the awards ceremony.
Keisieke Hashimoto decided to compete, and win, the world championships on Easdale after winning a competition in his home country.
He made the 5,689-mile trip and - with his ‘unusual technique’ - hit the back wall to advance through to the three-stone skim-off.
Eight other men skimmed their stones 61 metres to hit the back wall and to join Keisieke, including last year’s champion, Dougie Isaacs.
‘Everyone thought he [Dougie] was going to pull it off again,’ event organiser Donald Melville said. ‘But Keisieke Hashimoto won it. He was chuffed to bits.
‘He had an unusual technique, but he was good. ‘He is the champion over in Japan and said he came here to win and he did. I’m really pleased for him.’
Keisieke’s total of 169 metres, was enough to win him the title over stone skimming stalwart Dougie Isaacs, who reached a total of 158 metres.
The women’s event was won by Nina Luginbuhl from Switzerland with distance of 44 metres.
Nina’s home village of Ermatingen set up a stone skimming competition after it was regarded as ‘the most boring holiday resort in Switzerland’.
‘We have been in touch with them,’ Donald said. ‘Her home town was voted the most boring holiday resort, so to counter that they came up with an unusual event - stone skimming.’
Overall, Donald was happy with how the day went. ‘I think it went fantastically well despite the weather,’ he said.
‘Folk still seem to come and have a laugh even if it’s wet.
‘I think the numbers were slightly down because of the weather, but we still had a full entry - around 350 people.’
Speaking about proposing to his now-fiancee Maggie Young on stage after the awards ceremony,
Donald said: ‘It was just something I had been planning for a few weeks.
I decided this would be the perfect occasion to do it.
‘It got such a roar from the crowd and there were still [hundreds] of people in the hall.’
He had asked Maggie on to the stage. ‘Maggie thought I was going to give her a row and I got down on one knee.
‘I made a ring out of wood and put a bit of slate with fools’ gold in it. It’s more of a token. I didn’t want to get her one without her seeing it.
‘I asked her dad in the morning. He was happy. He seems to like me, which is good.
‘I really don’t know what I would have done if she had said no.’
Colin Dower from Belguim and Elizabeth Marshal from Scotland were the under-10s boy and girl winners with a distance of 28 metres and seven metres respectively.
Scotland’s Silvana Donaldson was the girls’ 10-15 years winner with 19 metres and Cameron Hunter from England won the boys’ category with a throw of 55 metres.
The old tosser categories for over-60s was won by Ron Long from Wales, who hit the back wall, and Irene Tulloch with a distance of 17 metres.
Ron has won the old tosser category for the past nine years in a row.
Neil Fraser won the Bertie for the furthest throw by an islander with a distance of 53 metres.
Maggie thought I was going to give her a row and I got down on one knee.” Donald Melville