Rock stars gather on tiny island for Scotland's quirkiest sporting challenge

Contenders from around the world are converging on a tiny Scottish island for one of the country's most unlikely international sporting events - the world stone skimming championships.

The annual contest on the isle of Easdale, in the Inner Hebrides, has attracted a record number of international entries, representing more than 30 nations, with some flying in from New Zealand and Canada.

Last year's competition was rocked by a cheating scandal after some contestants were accused of stone tampering.

Toss Master Kyle Mathews, co-organiser of the event, said an official tournament geologist had been appointed this year, leaving no stone unturned in keeping the 400 challengers in order.

The contest was first held in 1983, inspired by an alcohol-fuelled conversation in a pub, and has been held every year since 1997 apart from an interlude during Covid.

Traditionally a male-dominated sport, efforts have been made to make it more inclusive, with this year's event attracting a record number of women and under-16s.

Some 200 qualifiers from last year's Easdale event and others around the world will compete along with 200 challengers, selected by ballot because the contest is so oversubscribed.

Around 2,000 spectators are also expected to be ferried across a short stretch of water to the island which normally has a population of about 60.

The contest has strict rules and traditions. Stones must come from Easdale, which is one of the four Slate Islands, and must be less than three inches (7.6cm) in diameter.

They are tested by being passed through the Ring of Truth.

Last year the contest was mired in scandal after it was noticed that some contestants' stones were suspiciously circular.

When quizzed by the organisers, the miscreants confessed that they had sanded them into a better shape - and were duly disqualified.

"It was a bit of a shocker," said Mathews, a community doctor who is originally from Ireland.

"But if anything it was quite flattering. It goes to show how much some people want to win the tournament."

This year former engineer turned social media geologist Luisa Hendry will be on hand to study the stones and, if necessary, settle disputes.

Known as the Scottish Geologist, she has amassed thousands of followers with her short videos, and she will also be offering tours explaining how the island's rock formations make it the ideal venue for the championships.

At one time 500 people lived on the island that "roofed the world", with public buildings across Scotland - and as far away as Canada and Australia - made rain-tight with Easdale slate.

While exports continued well into the 20th Century, the industry was dealt a devastating blow in 1881 by a huge wave that flooded the seven quarries, including the venue for the skimming contest.

Contestants in the world championships get three skims, launched from a large flat rock known as the Skim of Destiny. The stone must stay within a marked lane and hit the water at least three times.

The distances are added up, although some of the most proficient skimmers will hit the back wall of the quarry, a distance of 207ft or 63m.

The highest scorers make it through to a grand final, called the Toss Off, which decides who carries away the trophies.

This year's defending champions are Jonathan Jennings from Kentucky, the first men's winner from the USA, and the formidable Lucy Wood from Sheffield who will be hoping for her seventh women's title.

There are also team trophies and awards for both younger contestants and over-60s, who can compete in the "Old Tossers" category.

Aside from being a fun family day out and a fertile source of schoolboy humour, the tournament has a serious benefit, raising about £15,000 for community charities and boosting the local economy by many thousands more.

Last year about a third of visitors came from outside Scotland, and most of them spent at least two nights in accommodation in Argyll and Bute.

Asked what makes the tournament so popular, Mathews said he felt it was a primeval connection with rock and water, coupled with misty-eyed childhood memories.

"Whenever you mention stone skimming, it immediately brings up nostalgic memories of doing it with their family - parents or grandparents teaching them how to do it," he explained.

The Toss Master also has a third theory about the attraction of skipping stones across water.

"Because you only do it with your family and if you're better than your brother or dad, you think you're good at it," he said.

"In every other sport, like tennis or football, you quickly come up against people who are better."

The current world distance record is held by Dougie Isaacs, a Scot who managed to skim a stone nearly 400ft (122m) in a contest in Wales in 2018.

"A lot of people are in for a shock when they see just how good the real competitors are," Mathews cautioned.