US competitor makes light work of inaugural heavy competition
Teacher triumphs after salmon farming sponsorship enables women's contest at Highland games
The first ever heavy event trophy for women at the Lochcarron Highland Games, sponsored by salmon farmer Bakkafrost Scotland, has been won by a competitor from California.
Rachel Tice, 33, from Yuba City, took first place, throwing the hammer 80 feet. Claire Wallace, 52, from Tain, came in second, while Tice’s friend Heather Paddock, also from California, took third place.
“I’ve wanted to visit Scotland for a number of years and thought what an amazing bucket list thing it would be to take part in the games,” said primary school teacher Tice, who competes in women’s heavy events in the US.
“I felt uplifted by the community. The crowd was wonderful, cheering us on and being supportive. People were telling us the crowd loved seeing the women compete as well.”
Having competed in shot putt and wire hammer at university, Tice began taking part in Highland games in 2019, and competed in her first full season of five games in the US last year.
She paid tribute to the “tonnes of work” done by the Highland Heavies Squad who, along with Bakkafrost Scotland, were key in setting up the women’s heavy competition.
The new competition, held at the games last Saturday, was created following a skills demonstration by Claire Wallace and fellow squad members, Jackie Sears, 50, from Edderton, and Angie Grant-Omotosho, 55, from Dornoch, at last year’s games.
They founded the Highland Heavies Squad in 2024, with their initial training involving throwing boulders from the beach as makeshift shot putts and a broom with trousers tied around it and filled with weights as a stand-in hammer.
Wallace said the Heavies were delighted Bakkafrost had extended its sponsorship of the men’s events to cover women’s events, too, and that the women’s competition wouldn’t have happened with the salmon farmer’s support.
Equal prize money
Joanna Macpherson, chair of Lochcarron Highland Games Assocation, said the women’s events marked a “fabulous step forward”.
“Key for us was ensuring equal prize money for both the men’s and women’s heavy competitions, and we are enormously grateful to our headline sponsor, Bakkafrost Scotland, for making this possible – we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Bakkafrost Scotland area manager David Blair said: “It's clear to see the ladies and the crowd had a great time, with even the weather playing ball.
“As a local employer across the west coast of Scotland, we're proud of our longstanding headline sponsorship of the games, reflecting our commitment to supporting the communities where our employees live, work and thrive.”
