| | Home | Games Activities | Highland Dancing | Celtic Harp | Irish and Scottish Fiddling | Athletics | |
Sheaf Toss
The Sheaf Toss uses a horizontal bar similar to a pole vault
bar only much higher. Now days the standard holding the bar is made of aluminum extension ladders. The bar will start at a height of 16 feet or greater. The sheaf is a bag made of burlap or woven
plastic stuffed with either baling twine or straw; it weighs between 15 and 20 pounds. The athlete uses a three-tined pitch fork with tines sharpened and sanded to toss the sheaf over the bar. He will stand under the bar with his back to it and stab the pitch fork into the bag several times (to get a good grip and balance on it). Then he will lift the sheaf slightly off the ground and swing it back and forth between his legs several times, building momentum. Suddenly he will pitch the sheaf upwards and, hopefully, over the bar. If the sheaf knocks the bar off the standard then the toss is a failure. Each athlete is given three tries at each height to get the sheaf over the bar before being disqualified. After each round the bar is raised an additional 1 to 3 feet. Points are awarded for the highest bar height and fewest tosses. Competition goes on, with the bar being raised, until there is only one competitor, the winner, left.