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EMBRO, ON - July 1, 2004
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Mount Vernon Team From Wisconsin Wins 720K Division at
Zorra Highland Games
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Results the Co-Ed Division
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| Team |
Wins |
Losses |
Points |
Rank |
| Ingersoll D.C.I. |
4 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
| College Ave. |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Woodstock C.I. |
1 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
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Woodstock Collegiate Co-Ed Team
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Patriotic Fans Enjoying Canada Day
Celebrations
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This year's crowd, estimated to be nearly 4000, enjoyed the
pleasant weather and the traditional Celtic activities that
have been a part of this Canada Day celebration since 1937.
In addition to the largest tug-of-war competition at any
Highland Games in North America, the sounds of the
bagpipes and the Highland Dancing competitions together with
such popular Scottish athletic events as the caber toss,
farmers walk, and the annual runners’ road races provided
visitors with the kind of |
| unique experience that has made this
small town event famous. When I asked one elderly
gentleman how many years he had been attending, he replied
that he couldn't say exactly but pointed out that he had
attended as a boy with his parents in the 1940's in Matheson
Park and has missed only one or two events since then. He
sited the friendliness of the local people and the informal
atmosphere as the main reasons for coming back so often. |
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The Men's 720K class brought out five teams and provided an
excellent set of matches among the participants. The
most exciting however was the one between the hometown Zorra
team and the always powerful Bluewater team from
Dashwood. The first end was won by the latter in a
gruelling match lasting 2 minutes, 16 seconds, the longest
pull of the day. Zorra came back and won the second end
in 44 seconds forcing a third end that Bluewater took in 30
seconds. |
Zorra Men do battle against Bluewater
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final standings were Mount Vernon (1st), Bluewater (2nd),
Ellice (3rd), South Easthope (4th), and Zorra (5th). |
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Mount Vernon Co-Ed Team
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The Co-Ed
Catchweight division was contested by 7 teams made up of 4 men
and 4 women. At the end of it all it was the U.S. team
from Mount Vernon that prevailed but not without a couple of
real battles with Nissouri and South Easthope who each spoiled
the Americans' opportunity for a perfect score by taking one
end in their respective matches. The final
standings were (1st to 7th); Mount Vernon, South Easthope,
Bluewater, Nissouri, Toronto Highlanders, Zorra and Peel
Regional Police. |
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The "Women's Invitational" division was won by
Nissouri Ladies, a team from Thorndale, a community near
London, Ontario. This was the first time that the team
had won this division at Embro and they achieved it in
spectacular fashion without a defeat by any of their
competitors including the Wisconsin team, "Girls Love
Dirt" who came into the tournament favoured to win.
The final standings were (first
to last):
Nissouri, Girls Love Dirt, South Easthope, Toronto Highlanders
and Zorra. |
Nissouri Ladies win Women's Invitational
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Peel Regional Police Win Catchweight
Division
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The "Main Event" in tug-of-war at the Embro Games is
the Catchweight Division. 8 teams entered the contest in
what proved to be a hard fought battle for the day's
prize. In all there were 60 pulls in this division, four
of which were third end pulls made necessary by ties in the
first two ends.
Although there was excellent
competition by all clubs throughout the program, the dominant
players in this tournament were the Peel Regional Police from
Mississauga and the Mount Vernon team from
Wisconsin. |
| Both
teams were undefeated up to their last match of the day.
Tension was high when the teams came on the field to begin a
contest that would be deciding the champions of tournament but
it was soon evident that the 2003 Ontario League champions
from Peel would have little trouble with their
opponents. The first end lasted 40 seconds and the
second, 23 assuring Peel of the championship and making Mount
Vernon settle for second place. Finishing third to eight
were South Easthope, Bluewater, Ellice, Zorra, Nissouri and
the Toronto Highlanders. |
| Click
here for
complete results for all of the divisions. Click on the photos
for an enlargement. |
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