The day dawned bright and sunny on Saturday 23rd of June……….. well that was the wish; the reality was dreich, drizzly, cold and blustery, it must be June, it must be Orkney and worse than that it must be sports day or more accurately The South Ronaldsay and Burray Sports Festival. That is where the Orcadian spirit comes to the fore after all rain can’t hurt you.

The weather might have been minging but this did not stop the good folks of South Ronaldsay and Burray from turning up and entering into the spirit of the day. From toddlers, to primary age, from teenagers to adults they all lined up to compete, whether it was in the egg and spoon, the long jump or the much rivaled tug o war, the competitors gave their all, however I don’t think I’ve ever watched athletes taking to the track clad in woolie bunnets and gloves before.

It was exciting to watch and I for one came away with a feeling of having witnessed a great community get together, that was in no way going to allow a little bit of bad weather stop them from competing with gusto, in their annual sports festival. A great day was had by all, with much friendly banter and joshing between the adults and the children’s happy rosy cheeks told their own story. Well that was in the faces of the children that had not paid a visit to the face painting trailer, those that had could be easily mistaken for any manner of wild animals.

The results of the main events are as follows:

The sportsmanship shield was awarded to Hamish Fleet. This award is given to one of the bairns that showed the best sportsmanship behaviour in the bairns races.

The athletics comprised of 100 metres, long jump and shot putt with amalgamated ponits giving the over all winners. The shields and prizes were presented by Julie Shearer.

In the athletics: Junior (p5-p7) – Erin Scott & Alex Thomson

Intermediate (S1-18yrs) – Kayleigh Scott and Malcolm Mackenzie

Adult (18yrs+) – Judith Scott and Ross McEwen

There was only a ladies Tug O’ War this year between great rivals; South Ronaldsay and Burray with Burray being the victors, winning both ends. No doubt this shall lead to much debate over strategy and how they can turn things around for next year.

Sadly there was not enough men this year to compete, so I think a wee bit of encouragement is needed. Come on boys get the challenge out, the reputations of South Ronaldsay and Burray are on the line here.

Here is a short film of the days athletics.

A slide show of everyone that took part.

Reported on and Photographs/Videos

By Helen and Kenny Armet