Plans in hand for Caithness baton relay events
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Special events are being held in Thurso, Wick and John O’Groats, while a team of runners carry the baton on the most northerly mainland leg of its marathon tour around the UK.
Highland Council officials met in Wick on Monday evening with representatives of sports and community organisations to finalise the programme while the baton is in Caithness. It is due to arrive in Thurso on Wednesday, July 9 before heading to Orkney on Thursday, July 10 and the following day being taken back across the Pentland Firth to Gills Bay and then on to Groats and Wick.
The recently formed Thurso Community Sports Hub will be organising a come-and-try event at Millbank, while the council will be holding an event at the town’s Gillock Park playing fields, beside the caravan site, to give people the chance to hold the baton.
Hub spokeswoman Shona Kirk yesterday said they wanted to make the arrival of the baton a memorable one for everyone in and around Thurso.
“At Millbank, we will be holding come-and-try sessions when 14 clubs will be giving children the opportunity to try new sports,” she said.
“The baton will then arrive where people will have the chance to hold it and get their photo taken with it.
“The runners will then take the baton to Gillock Park for another event which is taking place but plans are still at an early stage.”
After its stint in Orkney, when the baton returns to Caithness a team of runners will take it from Gills Bay to Groats where Natural Retreats is planning a welcoming ceremony.
Afterwards it will travel on to Wick where a special event is being organised by Wick Youth Club at the Rosebank playing fields before heading to Bignold Park where a photoshoot will take place for people to get up close with the baton.
The council’s assistant Caithness ward manager, Alex Macmanus, yesterday said that plans to welcome the baton to Wick are progressing smoothly.
“The youth club are well advanced in their plans for the event at Rosebank playing fields and the baton’s visit to Bignold Park will coincide with a football training day.”
The tour will then continue south for a stop-off in Brora en route to its final destination at Celtic Park in Glasgow for the opening ceremony on Wednesday, July 23.
The games will feature 261 events in 17 sports across 11 days before the closing ceremony at Hampden Park on Sunday, August 3.
