Entries close for World Stone Skimming Championships

The competition is held on the island of Easdale

Competitors from more than 20 countries are set to battle it out in the first World Stone Skimming Championships since 2019.

Entries closed this week for the event on the Hebridean isle of Easdale after all 350 spaces were claimed.

The competition, first held 40 years ago, 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.

• World stone-skimming championships to return

This year's championships are taking place on 24 September.

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

It 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.

The championships challenge entrants to skim a stone as far as they can across a flooded quarry

Pieces of Easdale slate are used in the contest

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

The event is a major fundraiser for the community, and takes place around the end of its usual tourist season.

It is 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.