World stone-skimming championships to return

The World Stone Skimming Championships are to take place for the first time since 2019.

The competition, first held on the tiny Hebridean isle of Easdale in 1983, was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

Small pieces of the island's slate are ideal for skimming over a distance across water.

Easdale is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn where stone was quarried for roofing slate from the 17th Century until the early 20th Century.

A flooded former quarry is used for the championships, which is run by volunteers.

September's competition has been restricted to 350 entrants.

Easdale is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn

The stone skimming championships were first held in the 1980s

Easdale, 17 miles (27km) from Oban, has a population of about 70 people.

The championships are a major fundraiser for the community, and take place around the end of its usual tourist season.

Dr Kyle Mathews, a member of the championships' organising council, said it was exciting to bring back a "fun and unique sporting event".

He said: "We're coming back reinvigorated and ready to skim better than ever before.

"We are most excited to show off this incredible island to people who have never seen it before through the manner of intense gladiatorial combat in the form of stone skimming."

The winner is the person who can skim a stone the furthest distance before it sinks

The championships are open to all ages and abilities, and in previous years has attracted entrants from all over the world.

Each competitor is allowed three skims, and their stones must bounce at least twice.

The winner is the person who can skim a stone the furthest distance before it sinks.