Caber toss
A caber being tossed at the 2000 New Hampshire Highland Games | |
| Presence | |
|---|---|
| Country or region | Scotland |
| Olympic | No |
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/), normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games.
The term "caber" derives from the Gaelic word cabar, which refers to a wooden beam, and the person tossing the caber is called a "tosser" or a "thrower". 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).
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.