It may be staged on one of Scotland’s smallest islands, but last year’s World Stone-Skimming Championships sent ripples far beyond Easdale after allegations of sly tactics and altered stones drew global attention.
Twelve months on from the controversy, which saw several competitors disqualified over claims they had tampered with their throwing stones, the quirky sporting contest returned with organisers keeping a much closer eye on proceedings.
Under the championship rules, every entrant must use a stone found on Easdale itself, and it must be “naturally formed” rather than shaped, modified or prepared in advance.
That principle was tested last year when a handful of participants were found to have worked on their stones, reportedly smoothing them into more perfect circles. In some cases, competitors were even said to have added tiny grooves or notches in an apparent bid to improve performance.
As hundreds of spectators and competitors returned today to the Firth of Lorne in the Inner Hebrides, organisers introduced a series of tighter checks designed to stop any repeat of the stone-tampering scandal.
Most notably was the involvement of top geologist Luisa Hendry.
Ms Hendry, from Largs in Ayrshire, boasts an impressive 600,000 followers across her combined social media platforms under the title the Scottish Geologist.
Toss Master Kyle Matthews, co-organiser of the event, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘After last year, we thought we’d bring an expert on hand if there were any queries that we needed, we could double-check with her.
Participants in the World Stone Skimming Championships in 2023
‘If there’s any doubts, we can go to an absolute expert, and she’s also running educational tours on the day.’
He added: ‘We will be doing extra checks this year that we’re keeping up our sleeves just to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
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Quizzed on whether last year’s controversy had brought more attention to the quirky contest, he said: ‘Absolutely. The event was growing in publicity anyway and 100 per cent last year’s event absolutely brought it to a whole new thing, and that only brings positivity and more eyes on this incredible sport.’
The contest, which has been supported by Allica Bank for the last three years, began life in 1983 and has taken place each year since 1997, save for an interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today’s competition saw some 200 qualifiers from last year’s event and others around the world compete along with 200 challengers, selected by ballot because the contest is so oversubscribed.
There were also an estimated 2,000 spectators who were ferried across the short stretch of water to the island which normally has a population of about 60.
Those who turned up had to endure rain, wind and waves, which was said to have affected the performance of competitors.
The ‘Ring of Truth’ device used to measure participants’ stones during the event
By the end, just one contestant had hit the ‘wall’ at a distance of 63m. In comparison, 16 managed the feat last year.
Liam Knight of the United States emerged as the male world champion this year while the women’s title went to the reigning New Zealand champion, Abby MacDonald.
Set in the former slate quarry at the heart of Easdale Island, the contest sees ‘rock stars’ put their technique, style and stone-selection skills to the test, with the aim of sending a perfectly flat stone bouncing as far as possible across the water. To make the scoreboard, competitors need to achieve at least three skips.
Their armoury has to be less than three inches (7.6cm) in diameter and to qualify, must pass through a circular measuring device, known as ‘The Ring of Truth’.
The growing global appeal of the event is also attracting attention from broadcasters. BBC Alba agreed to film this year’s championships, while a second film crew will attend as part of preparations for a potential future series or film exploring the sport.