This past Tuesday we watched as students and staff from Harwood Union High school competed in a series of Scottish team games. This was done to gain spirit points for their grades and hopefully take the lead in Harwood’s spirit week. We will cover how, why, and when the highlander games came to be. As well as give you a rundown on how each event went down, and who came out victorious. 

A few years ago, Mr Henchen, a teacher at Harwood High School proposed the idea of a spirit week event that incorporated some popular Scottish games and competitions and a group of students ran with it and helped create what we now know as the Highlander Games. Henchen wanted something for everyone and that was a tradition “Unique to Harwood.” These games are “Inclusive” to everyone with Rock toss, Tug of War, and the Relay which can show other aspects of strength and help school spirit grow. When asked about the diversity of the games for students he stated “The music kids have battle of the bands, the athletes have carnival day, the techy kids have the music video, and the artists have the mural” with students from other aspects having fun events for them as well. 

Mr. Mcleod, a teacher at Harwood was asked what he thought about the Highlander games, he stated “It’s necessary sometimes to have fun and not be all serious and all.” Mcleod is also an experienced helper with the Highlander Games. He helps with the Rock toss, saying “You have to work hard but you also have to work hard” when talking about the intensity of the Highlander games as a whole, including the Rock Toss event. 

“I wanted to help provide an opportunity for kids to show brute strength. They aren’t the varsity athletes but they are strong and deserve an event they are good at.”

Tuesday’s Highlander Games started with the rock toss. One after another four students per grade threw a rock as far as they could. Starting their throw at the point where their teammates rock landed. The Juniors quickly pulled into the lead and came out victorious in the first event! “We just did the rock toss and we absolutely crushed everyone,” exclaimed junior team member Adler Nedich. 

Following the rock toss was tug of war. In this event every grade has a team of people that try to pull the middle of a rope (marked with a red flag) over a white line drawn on the grass. Through a series of match ups, wins, and losses, the sophomore class quickly pulled ahead and won.

The last and newest event of the 2025 Highlander Games was the relay race. In this event four students from each grade lightened up at four points along the “track” marked by orange cones. The whistle blew and the 6 first racers, one per each grade (plus middle school and staff) started racing. The seniors quickly pulled ahead before passing to their teammates over and over. In the end maintaining their lead and winning the whole thing. “The relay because it’s new! I didn’t expect it to be so uneven. The seniors took off!” said math teacher Becky Allen. 

The Highlander Games, while still being fairly new to Harwood Spirit Week, are an amazing tradition that we can’t wait to watch continuously grow.