October 11th, 2025Heavy lifting at Daylesford Highland Games

Fran Fitzpatrick is the president of the Highland Games Heavy Events which are traditional feats of strength including the caber toss, hammer throw, stone put and weight for distance. She is looking forward to this year’s Daylesford Highland Gathering on November 6 with about 20 athletes taking part in those events, including some from interstate. Fran, pictured, talked with Kyle Barnes.

Kyle: How did you get involved in the heavy events?
Fran: The heavy events have been around for a hundred years but we didn’t have a women’s division until 2018, so I was always involved because my boyfriend as a teenager used to do the gathering, used to do the heavy events in the off-season of athletics. Once Nick Weaver and the Maryborough Highland Society decided to include women with equal prize money I trained exclusively for the heavy games.

Kyle: I hear you have won quite a few championships.
Fran: I was the Australian Women’s Champion from 2018 to 2023 and then I decided to concentrate on getting myself to the World Championships in Florida for 2024. I trained about 20 hours a week and a lot of that was in the dark out the front of my shed under a spotlight. I got there and won seven out of nine events and was 2nd place in the other two events, along with six world records.

Kyle: Can you describe the events?
Fran: The events in the heavy games are a stone put, which is similar to a shot put, and then there’s what they call a brain mass stone, which is a shot put again but it’s an extremely heavy stone. Then we do what’s called a weight for distance, which is a light weight of 14lbs and a heavy weight of 28lbs. Then we do the two hammer throws, a light hammer and a heavy hammer. Then we do a caber toss and then a weight over the bar which for women is 28lbs and we start at 9-feet, so you’ve got to do a vertical throw and hope it goes over the bar. In 2024 I won both the shot puts, the light weight for distance, the weight over the bar, and both the hammers.
I’d spent a lot of time getting ready so it was quite rewarding when it all came through. It’s amazing the Scottish, they have such an affinity with throwing things, don’t they? I think it’s all weapons of war, it all comes from being able to throw stuff at your enemies, I guess. Here’s a big log, take that!

Kyle: What is your involvement with the Daylesford Highland Gathering?
Fran: I am president of the Victorian Heavy Events and committee member Chris Sinclair asked me to see if the heavy games could come back to the Daylesford Gathering. Last year was fantastic but this year is even bigger and better. With the Victorian Highland heavy events we offer training days and backyard events which get everybody ready to do the competitions at the gatherings. That way everybody’s confident, everybody’s safe and the crowd are all safe also, we’re not going to throw something towards the crowd because everyone’s done their training. We have coaching by some very experienced people.

Kyle: Can anyone have a go?
Fran: We take all fitness levels and all skill levels although you must do a training day before you can come and compete at a competition. If someone sees what’s going on with the heavy events at the Daylesford Highland Gathering, they can come and talk to us any time. We also have some corflute signs around the perimeter of our throwing area and that directs people to our website and we also have a merchandise stall.

Kyle: Are you competing on the day?
Fran: Definitely. I’m going to try and do all of the events.

Kyle: Sounds like a great day. Anything else you would like to mention?
Fran: Just that the Daylesford Gathering is probably the best in Australia at the moment. The chieftain of the entire event was our original coordinator, Billy Binks, so it was just a wonderful gesture that the Daylesford Committee offered Mr Binks to be the chieftain and we were very proud that he was our former coordinator. He kept the Highland Games alive in Australia, so that was very nice. The Daylesford event was quiet for a few years, but it’s come back and it’s come back big and it’s just going to get even bigger, so we’re very proud to be involved.

Link: www.daylesfordhighland.com/
Image: Contributed

The Local is proud to be a media partner with the Daylesford Highland Gathering.