North Berwick Highland Games will be the first organised by the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association (RSHGA) to introduce a women’s heavyweight championships.

The games are set to take place on August 12 at Recreation Park with tickets already on sale to attend and compete.

It is hoped that the introduction of the championships will offer more opportunities for women to be involved in the games.

John Starr, president of North Berwick Highland Games, said: "We are delighted to be the first highland games to introduce a women's heavyweight championships.

"At North Berwick Highland Games we have had women competing for a while but this will be the first one recognised by the RSGHA.

"This is an historic moment for us and for the event as a whole. We can't wait to welcome women into the competition.

"We have already had people interested in taking part so we should fill slots easily enough.

"We are really looking forward to the games this year. We had a great attendance last year after returning from lockdown and we are hoping for even more this year.

"We'll have people from across the UK taking part and it should be a great event."

Traditionally, heavyweight championships consist of a number of challenging heavy lifting events that require both strength and skill.

From a shot put and hammer throw to the classic caber toss, the women’s and men’s heavyweight competitions are not for the faint of heart.

Ian Grieve, secretary at RSHGA, said: “We are trying to do what we can to broaden the range of who our games are accessible too.

“We want to include women as much as we can in our games and this is a big step forward in doing that.

“We have had bounced around the idea of a Women’s Heavyweight Championships for a while and decided that this year we would start by hosting it at North Berwick Highland Games.

“If it is successful, we will consider running it again next year with another location perhaps."

Ian explained he was hopeful that many women would sign up for the championships.

He said: “We are hopeful we will see lots of women sign up for it. We have already had some interest so we should be fine.

“The weights for each element of the event will be slightly less for the women but still incredibly challenging.

“It should be a fantastic event to watch.”

Entrance for each of the five events of the championship (Shot put, weight for distance throw, hammer throw, weight for height throw and caber toss) costs 50p per element (£2.50 total).

A prize of £50 (1st), £40 (2nd), £30 (3rd), £20 (4th) and £10 (5th) will be given for each individual event.

For the overall championship a prize of £100 (1st), £75 (2nd) and £50 (3rd) will be awarded.

Those looking to enter can do so by filling out a registration form on the North Berwick highland Games website.

Ian said that North Berwick Highland Games was the best place to introduce the championships due to its popularity.

He said: “There is always a great attendance at North Berwick and we are expecting something similar this time.

“There are a lot of great youth groups working across the UK to prepare younger competitors to compete too so I think the future is bright.”

Tickets for North Berwick Highland Games are on sale now. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for under 16s. Children under five are free.

Family tickets are also available on the North Berwick Highland Games website.