I am interested in organizing a highland games athletic competition within the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) here at Fort Drum, New York as part of our annual Mountain Fest that includes athletic events, airshow, fireworks, bands, displays, parades etc...(of note, this most likely will not be tied specifically to a scottish/celtic festival as a whole unless I can bring in some other types of talent such as pipers, dancers, agile dogs, whatever but will be a solely an athletic endeavor heavy on participation from Soldiers themselves).

The planning is in the initial stages as it is just an idea but initially I thought we would keep it simple by conducting an amateur games with open and military classes.  If I can convince my chain of command I may even be able to work through funding issues to expand that but I have to be able to sell the idea first.

What I am specifically interested in at this juncture is if anyone has some type of guide to running a games (how to manual, highland games A-Z, checklists, relative costs) so I can put something together to run through my commanders and spark some interest.  I will have a large infrastructure to piggy back off of to include fest tents, latrines, medics so what I really need is a detailed description of the mechanics of the athletics portion to include equipment, judging, associated costs etc...  

I would really appreciate it if those with experience could email me direct with your thoughts and advice at mailto:kenneth.luther1@us.army.mil - kenneth.luther1@us.army.mil and share their knowledge.

Thanks,

Ken Luther,

Major, US Army