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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Patrick Greenfield

Mind games and a ‘toss master’: world stone skimming contest returns to Scotland after cheating scandal

A man throws a stone into water at the World Stone Skimming Championships, crowd watching from cliffs above
Easdale is home to stone skimming’s colosseum: a former slate mine flooded by a ferocious Atlantic storm in 1881. Photograph: Patrick Greenfield

“Want to touch it?” Jonny Jennings asked, clutching the World Stone Skimming Championship trophy in his arms as he waited for the ferry. The mind games from the 2025 men’s champion had started hours before this year’s competition had even begun. The 38-year-old had travelled from Kentucky to Easdale island just off the west coast of Scotland to defend his title. He was not giving it up without a fight.

On Saturday, more than 400 of the world’s best stone skimmers descended on the tiny island in the Inner Hebrides, normally home to just 60 residents. From Argentina to India, Hong Kong to Jamaica, more than 30 countries were represented, ferried over in groups of 10 from the mainland.

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