Aberdeen   Aberlour Strathspey   Aboyne   Airth   Alva   Argyllshire (Oban)   Assynt   Atholl & Breadalbane (Aberfeldy)   Ballater    Birnam   Blackford   Blair Atholl   Blairgowrie   Bowhill   Braemar & Braemar Junior   Bressuire (France)   Bridge of Allan   Brodick   Bundanoon (Australia)   Burntisland   Castle of Mey   Ceres   Cornhill   Crieff   Delaware (US)   Dornoch   Drumtochty   Dufftown   Durness   Fergus (Canada)   Glengarry   Glenurquhart   Gordon Castle   Gourock   Halkirk   Hawaii (US)   Helensburgh   Helmsdale   Inveraray   Inverkeithing   Isle of Skye   Kenmore   Killin   Lesmahagow   Lochcarron  Lochearnhead   Lonach   Luss   Markinch   Mull   Newtonmore   Oldmeldrum   Perth   Pitlochry   St Andrews   Stirling   Stonehaven   Strathardle   Strathmore   Strathpeffer   Tain   Tomintoul   Trebsen (Germany)
 

Patron: HM The King

Who are we:

  •  RSHGA is the officially recognised UK sports governing body for Highland games
  • We have over 50 high quality member events with over 1,000 competitions
  • We maintain and develop a legacy of Highland games traditions that date back a thousand years
  • Around 500 athletes compete at our events each year
  • Our members provide quality entertainment for over 300,000 spectators annually
  • Our members’ events pay out prize funds in excess of £250,000 each year
  • We service over a hundred thousand visits to our website every year
  • Highland games contribute tens of millions of pounds to local economies annually
  • We print the RSHGA Yearbook, the Highland games almanac
  • We make sure Scotland’s Highland games are not just surviving, but thriving

How we champion Highland games to a wider audience

  • Represent Highland games at national government level, emphasising the key role of games as part of Scottish sporting life and cultural heritage
  • Get more children involved through Active Schools and mini Highland games
  • Liaise with Highland games bodies overseas to explore links for mutual benefit
  • Raise awareness and discussion at national level about games events, including articles and interviews in national & local press and radio
  • Lobby for Highland games at top level – including meetings with the Executive, Scottish Government, and their agencies
  • Link with VisitScotland, including channelling interest in the film Brave
  • Work with UK Forces (Army, Navy & RAF) to encourage participation at member events
  • Provide the ‘Home Highland Games’ guide for children to play in parks and gardens
  • Have presentation packs for each aspect of games, ideal for sharing with schools and clubs

What we do for our members

  • Administer our system of national and international championships, allowing members to attract sponsors, competitors and crowds
  • Use our online presence to cover details of member events with links to their sites, plus run our prompt online results service, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for information covering all members
  • RSHGA Representatives attend events, ensuring consistency, observation of the rules, good sportsmanship and confirmation of any records set
  • Respond to governmental policy reviews on wide-ranging topics including sports, heritage and tourism policy
  • Co-ordinate with specialist sports insurance underwriters to provide employer and public liability indemnity cover for members at significantly discounted rates
  • Provide a consolidated professional approach to national tourist organisations, with listings to gain greater visibility for Highland games
  • Continue our commitment to clean sport by providing the only Highland games drug testing service in the UK and education for athletes, all free to members
  • Keep members updated with essential compliance information on aspects of legislation that impact Highland games e.g. Data Protection, Safeguarding & PVG  
  • Provide members with guidelines on how to run safe events and manage risk, including model risk-assessments to help members create quality documents
  • Give members practical advice on keeping safe online, data storage and cyber security to reduce the risk and impact to games from online threats
  • Share best practice for event management, with checklists and other information
  • Provide members with useful guidance on marketing and media, including how to write press releases, incl. practical examples and details of over 100 media contacts Signpost funding opportunities to members and share tips on good applications
  • Provide a free legal helpline for members, giving access to specialist sports lawyers who can help assess and guide members on any legal problems
  • Give members free access to our archive of over 50,000 photographs taken at Highland games across Scotland in the last 20 years
  • Provide certificates of appreciation to long-serving volunteers at member games 
  • Give members advice and formats for running fair competition especially towards equality and encouraging female competitors
  • Help members get the benefits of increased volunteering support through guidance and links to Volunteer Scotland
  • Undertake analysis of different suppliers to make it easier for members to get the best deal for services like advance ticketing and card payments
  • Work with members to identify and share good suppliers of services used by games
  • Pass on to members benefits that RSHGA receives, such as referral fees
  • Use scale to help provide technological benefits, which would be beyond the means of individual games
  • Provide members with a free online event entry booking system for their events

What we do for competitors and participants

  • Run sets of leagues throughout the season covering athletic disciplines, encouraging excellence in athletes and greater participation at member events
  • Host our successful and popular end-of-season presentation awards, encouraging athletes and recognizing those who excelled during the season with medals and prize funds
  • Work with regional games associations and members to encourage training opportunities for athletes
  • Target specific athletic clubs and associated bodies to boost participation
  • Champion athlete welfare by providing free personal injury insurance to fully-registered athletes
  • Keep athletes informed through news articles, website & social media
  • Provide athletes with access to discounts and offers at 300+ retailers and brands 
  • Protect athletes through comprehensive welfare and safeguarding policies as well as clear rules of competition and disciplinary procedures
  • Free-loan racing-standard bikes to youth athletes who don’t have a suitable cycle but want to participate in competitive cycling

How we work with key partners to make a difference

  • Liaise with our patron HM King Charles III in raising awareness of Highland games
  • Work with UKSport on a professional clean sport education and testing programme for our athletes and members
  • Partner with VisitScotland to get links from their internationally-facing websites through to ours, giving our members access to an audience of millions
  • With the Scottish Sports Association, we ensure Highland games are included in sports consultations and share best practice
  • Work with SportScotland on behalf of our members, advocating the benefit of Highland games as community and sporting events in a national context
  • Work with Scottish Student Sport to bring information about Highland games to 250,000 students, increasing youth participation
  • Work with organizations such as Wounded Highlanders to get athletes participating in adaptive competitions e.g. seated throwing events
  • Liaise with Scottish Athletics to make more athletes aware of opportunities to compete at Highland games

Building better games…

Building on all the work done to date, continuing with the core tasks, keeping the focus on improvements and stretching to meet the expectations of our members

Achieving more with partners

  • Developing the relationship with national tourism bodies to promote our members’ events
  • Working closely with our members to deliver practical benefits  – helping make event management easier and more professional
  • Developing relationships with broadcasting organisations, helping get more television and radio coverage for Highland games
  • Strengthening relationships with sponsors for mutual benefit

Working more effectively and efficiently

  • Working with member event organisers to ensure excellence in delivering the best games for the public and athletes
  • Reinforcing and broadening our strong position on clean sport 
  • Improving our league structure and prize fund to encourage greater participation: more athletes at more events

Growing and developing the organization

  • Providing funding support and coaching opportunities for heavy event athletes
  • Extending our existing advertising of members’ events
  • Seeking additional sponsorship opportunities
  • Proactively engaging with both national and social media to increase coverage for Highland games
  • Building our membership base – becoming a stronger voice for all games
  • Looking to broaden Associate Member categories into traditional sports and heritage areas, increasing influence and opportunities for our members

The Royal Scottish Highland Games Association is a Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered in Scotland SC178568.