Hopes Highland games can go ahead
Organisers of the Blairgowrie and Rattray Highland Games have said they are keeping an open mind about whether the popular event will be able to go ahead this year.
And if the games do go ahead, it is likely there will be significant changes to the format to ensure guidelines surrounding COVID-19 are adhered to.
The traditional showpiece was one of thousands of events up and down the country to be cancelled last year due to restrictions imposed as part of efforts to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic.
Should it go ahead in 2021, the games is currently scheduled to take place on the first Sunday in September at Bogle’s Field on Essendy Road on the outskirts of the town.
The volunteer committee that runs the games met online last month and a number of issues around the safety implications of holding the event were raised.
These included the sharing of equipment such as the apparatus used by the heavyweights, and the timescales involved with securing the appropriate permits required to hold such events when many local authority staff have been redeployed to deal with the day-to-day impact of the outbreak.
Restrictions on travel could also affect the number of entrants and spectators, many of whom come from abroad.
And the logistics and costs involved in ensuring there are additional staff to check vaccination cards as people enter then games – as well as the need to enforce social distancing measures – also need to be taken into consideration.
Blairgowrie and Rattray Highland Games chair Ally Donald said:“The games are a very popular event in the Blairgowrie and Rattray calendar and we know that, while everyone understands why events like these can’t take place at the moment, people are still missing them.
“However, there are lots of different factors that need to be taken into consideration before we can proceed with holding the games this year, and if the games do go ahead they are likely to look a bit different to previous events.
“It could be that the games do go ahead but with restricted numbers, and without some of the events – such as the community tug o’war or the heavyweight events, for example – taking place.
“We are looking at lots of different options but much depends on what happens in the coming months.”