Inverness Highland Games gets record breaking thumbs up ahead of Saturday’s Gathering in Northern Meeting Park.

The Director of USA based Scottish Masters Athletics International Kevin Rogers has announced just 72 hours after entries for September 2014’s Masters World Championships in the Highland Capital were opened on line, a world record breaking 190 Heavies had applied to take part; and his Board have taken the decision to suspend entries and open a waiting list for the first time ever.

Rogers said: “Our records show that 105 Heavies competed when the MWC was staged at Highland Ranch in Colorado in 2010; and we know that a new world record was set when 119 Heavies took to the field at the ScotsFest event in Costa Mesa in California in 2012. However the demand for places at the Highland Homecoming Games in Inverness next year has been unlike anything that has ever happened before. We have asked the Inverness Highland Games Committee to explore allowing us to bring even more competitors to the Highlands once they catch their breath after this year’s Games on Saturday.”

While the Inverness Highland Games Committee’s attention is firmly focused on delivering this Saturday’s event in Bught Park; the news of an unprecedented demand to be part of next September’s Masters World Championships has been well received.

Games Committee Chairman Angus Dick said: “The news from the USA over the weekend is really exciting. The Games Committee will be starting work on redesigning the 2014 Masters early next week with the Highland Council and the Homecoming 2014 team at EventScotland. We knew that the eyes of the Highland Games world were going to be on Inverness as we celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the opening of Northern Meeting Park; we just could not have imagined so many folk from overseas would be so keen to attend.”

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