Burnett to compete in games at McPherson Scottish Festival
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Laynne Burnett of Peabody will join other athletes from around the world in competing in the 2007 Masters World Championship Sept. 21 in McPherson.
The event will be hosted by the McPherson Scottish Festival and will feature Highland heavy athletes age 40 and over.
In 2006, the competition took place at Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. This year it will be at Lakeside Park in McPherson.
From 80 to 100 athletes from the U.S., Canada, and Europe are expected to compete for nine world championships for both men and women in various age groups.
Competitors wear Scottish style kilts and boots.
"We expect people from all across America to watch," said festival chairman John Ferrell. "It'll be a big drawing card."
Of Scottish descent, Burnett, a 47-year-old technical writer at Cessna, witnessed the games for the first time in 2000 at McPherson.
"I thought, 'I can do that,'" he said. "And the next year I entered."
In his first competition at McPherson, he took first place in the novice division, and has placed in several other competitions since then.
He attends competitions every year in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
Burnett trains year-round. He lifts weights, practices throwing, and jumps rope to stay in top physical shape.
At McPherson, he will compete in stone-throwing, weight-tossing, hammer-throwing, caber-turning, and sheaf tossing.
The stones in the stone throw weigh 16 pounds and 22 pounds. They are thought to be the precursor to the shotput event in track and field, Burnett said.
The solid iron cylinders that are thrown for distance weigh 28 and 42 pounds and have a chain and holding ring attached.
The hammer throw features two hammers weighing 16 pounds and 22 pounds, each having a 50-inch handle. The hammers are spun around and released.
The caber is a pole at least 16 feet long weighing 75-135 pounds. The athlete holds it upright, runs a short distance, and flips it to the ground, trying to get it to fall as straight away from him as possible. Points are awarded based on its position from 9-12 on the clock. 12:00 is perfect.
In a weight-over-bar event, a 42-pound iron cylinder connected to a short chain and holding ring is tossed as high as possible over a raised bar.
A pitchfork is used to toss a "sheaf" over a bar. The modern sheaf is lightweight material stuffed in a burlap sack.
Each event requires its own technique, which Burnett seeks to perfect.
He said he enjoys the sport because of the camaraderie.
"It's not a dog-eat-dog competition," he said. "Everybody's there to help everybody else and to learn."
Burnett will not compete in the Sept. 22 Masters Scottish Strongman Nationals. Strongman events include carrying oxygen tanks, pressing logs overhead, and loading and throwing kegs. Both men and women will compete.
The festival is in its 14th year and runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Beside the athletes, it also features Celtic music and dance and demonstrations of many Scottish and Irish traditions.
Burnett's wife, Lisa, works at Peabody State Bank. They have five children: Ashlee, 22, in the Navy and stationed in San Diego; Jenna, 20, employed in Newton; Aaron, 18, attending Hutchinson Community College; Isaac, 15, a sophomore at Peabody, and Brandee, 12, a seventh grader.
