HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Sara Clatterbuck is the "mother goose" of the Knoxville Pipes and Drums, a team that came to the Middle Tennessee Highland Games to compete in the pipe band competition. She is known as the pipe major.
"The joke is that the pipe major is always right," Alex Lumsden, lead tip (or lead drum), said. "She's the source of truth."
There are four judges in the pipe band competition at the Highland games: two piping, one drumming and one ensemble. The goal of the band is to sound like one pipe. They march into a white circle and then begin their tunes, a march and two dances called a strathspey and a reel.
The Middle Tennessee Highland Games took place at Sanders Ferry Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 9 and 10. There are 60 different clans and families lined on the outskirts of the events with their history on display. Boars heads, red and green kilts, braided beards and fun stamps for kids to take in their clan book line the tents.
If you're not listening to the pipers compete, you can watch the athletes as they take on a stone put, caber toss, hammer throw and sheaf toss, just to name a few.
The sheaf toss, shown above, is a traditional Scottish agricultural sport.
"We like it here in America so we kept it," the announcer said.
Each athlete gets three chances to throw their burlap bag over the wire using a pitchfork. Once each person throws three times, the bar is raised. This continues until all but one athlete are eliminated. The athletic director chooses how high to raise the bar each time, and at this event, it was raised three feet after every round.
When NewsChannel 5 stopped by the event around 2:00, the athletes had already been competing since 9 a.m. in the 80 degree heat.
"A perfect day for the games, but our athletes are getting a little tired," the announcer said.
They held an awards ceremony after every competitor finished.
There were also food trucks with traditional Scottish haggis, shepherd's pie and Scottish BBQ and several live music stations. The Wing Blade Falconry brought some fun birds to show off — an owl and a few falcons. The Highland Games festivities are an opportunity for people to learn about their Scottish heritage and keep it alive.
We asked Clatterbuck and Lamsden how they fared in competition for the day, and they said for them, it's about having fun.
"It's just the enjoyment of the music," Clatterbuck said. "We're having fun."
Lamsden said it's cool to see so many other bands competing, because that's not something that is common.
The games continue Sunday until 4:00 p.m., if you want to join in on the fun.
