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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2014
PAGE 7A
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's just like any summer sport." — Jacob Fast, on tossing the caber
FACT OF THE DAY
Probably the best toser of all time was the Victorian strongman Donald Dinnie. His career spanned 40 years (1850-1890), and he once took 20 prizes in a single day.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Which was the most fearsome caber of all time?
THE MORNING BREW
A: The 20 foot, 9.5 stone Braemar caber. It was first tossed in 1951.
Eliminating the caber toss is an abomination
It's time to take your kilt out of storage and start dusting off your mill weights - the annual Midwest Highland Games Championship is coming up in five short months.
But the Highland Games may never be the same again. The International Highland Games Association is looking to cut the most crucial event: the caber toss.
What most fans don't know is the
athletic finesse and skill the caber toss requires. These high caliber athletes must lift a tapered pole that is nearly 20 feet tall and attempt to toss it so that it turns over, away from the tosser. An unskilled tosser might not get any further than lifting the pole, as the top is weighted heavier than the bottom. This event is vital. To everything.
No, the caber toss is not simply just the essential event of the Highland Games. It is not simply just an athletic event that demands the competitors to toss a 175-pound tapered pole. And it is not simply just a time to watch an athlete risk his or her life. It is much more than that. It is an event that has
By Cadha Flanigan MacDuff sports@kansan.com
centuries worth of tradition standing behind it.
Legend has it that the event originated from the need to toss logs across narrow chasms in order to cross them. This is an athletic event that originated out of necessity, so it is a necessity that we keep it.
What is a world without the caber toss? It is a world without the ability to
toss a 20 foot pole — where else would one learn this skill? It is a world without the thrill of watching someone reach the "12 o'clock" position — my heart almost always skips a beat. It is a world without athletes that hold
themselves to the highest of esteems and are consistently improving — just last year, the chiefs at the Pitlochry Highland games in Scotland had to bring in a
new and heavier car because the tossers were turning it too easily. These are athletes whose strength
and skills are improving every competition.
This event seems easy enough to cut. But it just isn't. It is integral to the Highland Games, and cutting it is something that we cannot let happen.
This week in athletics
Tuesday
Stone put Wichita State 6 p.m. Lawrence
Wednesday
Scottish hammer throw
Wichita State
6 p.m.
Wichita
Thursday No events
Friday
Weight throw
Oklahoma
6:30 p.m.
Norman, Okla.
Weight over the bar
SMU
All day
Dallas
Sheaf toss
Stanford
All day
Palo Alto, Calif
Saturday
Maide Leisg Kansas State 6:30 p.m. Manhattan
Extreme ironing
Baylor
3:30 p.m.
Lawrence
Bo-taoshi
Irish Creek Collegiate
All day
Charlotte, N.C.
Cheese rolling
Oklahoma
2 p.m.
Norman, Okla.
Snow polo SMU All day Dallas
Underwater hockey
Stanford
All day
Palo Alto, Calif.
Bog snorkeling Kansas State 2 p.m. Manhattan
Cardboard tube dueling
Sunday
iowa
1 p.m.
Lawrence
Buzkashi SMU All day Dallas
Belly flopping Battle on the Bayou All day Baton Rouge, La.
Ferret legging Irish Creek Collegiate All Day Charlotte, N.C.
Toe wrestling
Oklahoma
Noon
Norman, Okla.
Mountain unicycling
Texas
Noon
Norman, Okla.
Kite tubing Kansas State 2 p.m. Manhattan
Shin kicking
UMKC
5 p.m.
Kansas City, Mn
Monday
Extreme couponing
lowa
6 p.m.
lowa City, lowa
CONSTRUCTION
SUNSHINE MAGEE/KANSAN
A candle-light vigil will be held for the historic Allen Fieldhouse on Stop Day, May 9, at 8 p.m preceding the building's destruction.
Allen Fieldhouse to be demolished
BUSCH SCHARTS
sports@kansan.com
The University of Kansas Athletics Board voted unanimously to demolish Allen Fieldhouse in order to make room for additional campus parking at a closed-door meeting last night.
Talks of this plan were first initiated right after the Jayhawks' recent loss against Stanford in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
"We thought long and hard about this matter" Athletics Board Director Mark Walberg said, "but we as a board believe that the space the Fieldhouse
currently occupies could be put to better use after seeing the performance our men's team put on two weeks ago."
Following the student body outcries, Walberg released a statement saying that despite people's personal attachment to the fieldhouse, Allen Field-house demolition plans would continue. For those who would
Many students and alumni have voiced their outrage with the Athletics Board's decision.
"This is the biggest crock of you-know-what to ever take place in the history of college basketball." Eymah Hogh said. "They can't take our basketball sanctuary away from us."
"I'm just shocked that this happened," the star freshman player said. "I should have left a long time ago."
like to pay their respects to the fieldhouse, there will be a candle-lighting ceremony on Stop Day, May 9, at 8 p.m.
Demolition crews will begin taking down Allen Fieldhouse this June, with hopes to have a solid parking garage foundation laid by August.
Walberg's statement also announced that a workshop would be set up to help the current Men's and Women's Basketball teams assimilate into regular student life. The workshop, titled "Leave No Hawk Behind," will be led by actor Jason Sudeikis.
Men's basketball coach Bill Self was unable to comment on the board's decision because he took a personal day to hunt for a new job.
Despite the workshop and many condolences from fans, one men's team player is still bitter about the board's decision.
"I was heartbroken when I first heard that' oll" Allen was
getting torn down," Sudeikis said. "I thought I could lend a bit of humor to the teams by leading the 'Leave No Hawk Behind' workshop."
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