Caber toss
The caber toss (Scottish Gaelic: tilgeil a' chabair) is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a larch tree, and it can be between 16–20 feet (5–6 metres) tall and weigh 90–150 pounds (40–70 kilograms). The term "caber" derives from the Gaelic word cabar, which refers to a wooden beam.
A caber being tossed at the 2000 New Hampshire Highland Games | |
| Presence | |
|---|---|
| Country or region | Scotland |
| Olympic | No |
The person tossing the caber is called a "tosser" or a "thrower".
Although the sport is primarily associated with Scotland, a similar exercise, "casting the bar", was popular in England in the 16th century, and similar sports exist around the world, such as stångstörtning in Sweden.
The record for most caber tosses in three minutes is currently held by the Canadian Danny Frame. He managed to perform 16 successful caber tosses on 20 July 2018 at the Heart of the Valley Festival in Middleton, Nova Scotia, Canada.