170 Athletes 19 Classes
The 2026 Masters World Championship Is Set
This September, Driewegen, Netherlands will host the biggest gathering of Masters Highland Games athletes in the sport's history. The 2026 Masters World Championship (MWC) takes place September 4–6 and has drawn an incredible 170 registered athletes across 19 classes, all converging on this small Zeeland village for three days of world-class heavy athletics.
Below is a preview of what's confirmed so far, including the invitation process, the weekend schedule, and a few rules highlights worth knowing. For the complete, continuously updated reference, athletes and fans should bookmark the working document linked at the bottom of this post, it's the single source of truth as details get finalized.
How Athletes Got Here
Field sizes for MWC are capped at 12 athletes per class, filled through a structured, fair invitation process:
Round 1 goes out to the top-ranked athletes in each class (with a guaranteed spot for the reigning champion if they're outside the initial top 12). Athletes get 7 days to accept by payment.
Subsequent rounds move faster, just 5 days to confirm, and continue until a class fills to 12, the eligible list is exhausted, or three rounds are completed.
After three rounds, one final invite goes out to anyone who hasn't responded, giving them one last 5-day window.
This is why you may have seen the athlete list shift over the past several months. It's all part of a deliberate process designed to fill every class fairly while giving athletes a real shot to commit.
The Weekend at a Glance
Friday, September 4
Weigh-ins for Lightweight classes
Banquet in the evening: doors open at 5pm, dinner (buffet chicken piches, salads, bread) served starting at 6pm, with opening remarks to kick things off
Saturday, September 5
Opening ceremony at 8:15am, with remarks from the Mayor, Minister of Sports, Director Hans Willemstein, and former Highland Games champion Wout Zijlstra
Pipe band leads athletes onto the field at 8:30am
Morning session throws begin at 9:30am, lunch to follow
Afternoon session throws begin at 1:30pm, dinner to follow
Sunday, September 6
Morning session throws begin at 9:00am, lunch to follow
Afternoon session throws begin at 12:30pm, dinner to follow
Closing ceremony and awards immediately follow the final group of the day
Each day splits athletes into morning and afternoon groups across 18 group rotations covering all 19 classes (with the 20th category slot reserved for a champion exception). Winged trigs will be used throughout, and the field is laid out across 11 numbered fields dedicated to Caber, Hammers, Sheaf, Weight Over Bar, Weight for Distance, and Stones.
A Few Rules Worth Knowing
Athletes who arrive late may still compete but will not get to make up any missed throws.
No more than 10 minutes is allowed between events, timed from the final throw of the previous event.
Light implements throw before heavy in every discipline (Open Stone before Braemar, Light before Heavy WFD, Light before Heavy Hammer).
The Caber for each group is set in advance by the jury, with the option to increase difficulty after round one if it proves too easy. Round one scores in that case only count for tiebreaking.
A dedicated assistant sports director will rotate the fields handling equipment repairs and group rotation logistics.
Withdrawal & Refunds, Know the Windows
For any athlete who needs to step back, refund timing is based on the UTC timestamp of your written withdrawal notice to SAI:
10+ weeks out (by June 25): 100% refund, no documentation needed
6–10 weeks out (June 24–July 23): 50% refund, no documentation needed
Under 6 weeks out (after July 24): No refund
Exception: A full refund is still possible at 6+ weeks out with documentation for a death in the immediate family, involuntary job loss, or required surgery
Stay Current
This schedule, the invitation status, and every rule above can change as we get closer to September, that's the nature of building a championship of this scale from scratch in a new venue. The living reference document is updated continuously and is the best place for athletes to check current status, full schedule details, group assignments, and travel and lodging information:
See you in Driewegen.
