2025-12-31-accounts

Nairn Highland Games Committee Trustees’ Annual Report April 2[nd] 2025 to February 23[rd] 2026

Charity contact information

Nairn Highland Games Committee

Scottish Charity Number: SC054108

07743 473081

[e-mail]

www.nairnhighlandgames.com Facebook – Nairn Highland Games

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Charity Trustees

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Objectives and activities

The first recorded Nairn Highland Games was held in 1865. In common with other similar events elsewhere, it grew from beginnings as an event to test the young people of the villages who would have gathered annually on their only holiday. There they would test their strength and abilities against each other, using the “tools” of their trades. This gives us the core of our modern event today. It encapsulates the traditional music and dance in solo piping competitions and highland dancing. The heavy events developed from the early days when young villagers hurled river stones, farm weights and even roofing timbers around. The track and field events promoted speed and agility, the same holding true today.

All of the above is why we strive to keep Nairn Highland Games alive and well, into the 21[st] century; heritage, tradition, participation in sport and a rallying

Our stated purposes are two in number -

1 - To preserve the best of Highland culture in sports, piping and dancing, by convening an annual Highland Games in Nairn, showcasing these elements in a traditional format to the widest possible audience, through the demonstration and promotion of best practice, and thus advancing a sense of place and identity for the Nairnshire community.

2 - The advancement of public participation in sport, by providing an annual Games meeting to include young people from the North of Scotland.

We see large numbers of contributors eager to take part in our iconic event. The Massed Pipe Bands Parade in 2025 had eleven bands marching through the town, and the Half Marathon, too, was very quickly fully subscribed in 2025.

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Structure, governance and management

Type of governing document

Nairn Highland Games Committee is governed by a constitution. It has been registered as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO).

The structure of the Organisation comprises the members (having the right to attend GM’s, appoint the Board, and take decisions on changes to the constitution); and the Board (the Charity Trustees) who are responsible for setting policy & strategy, financial monitoring and day-to-day management. The trustees ensure that the charity complies with its governing document and the SCIO has the power to do anything which is calculated to further its Purposes or is conducive or incidental to doing so.

Trustee recruitment and appointment

Nairn Highland Games Committee was recognised as a SCIO on 2[nd] April 2025. As a pre-existing organisation there were a full quota of members at that time. These members had been recruited over time by direct approach, by website and by Facebook appeals seeking interested parties with the right skills to best deliver our purposes.

These members were fully informed of all new structures, roles and responsibilities arising from becoming recognised as a SCIO. At the first General Meeting after 2[nd] April 2025 the members discussed and endorsed twelve of their number as being elected as Charity Trustees (the Board). These individuals were all eligible and had agreed to stand for election. Together they brought the right mix of skills and experience to boost our charity’s ability to meet its aims.

External organisations are not allowed to appoint charity trustees.

Our 2026 AGM was held on 23[rd] February, and the business covered was that as laid out at paragraph 32 in our constitution, including the election of charity Trustees for the following year.

Trustee Duties and Code of Practice Training

Nairn Highland Games Committee Convenor attended an online training session on 26[th] November 2025 delivered by the Highland Third Sector Interface. This training has, since, been cascaded to all Trustees of Nairn Highland Games Committee, and any new Trustees will receive the same.

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Achievements and performance

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Nairn Highland Games 2025 was reported by the local community as being one of the best in living memory. This was very gratifying to the committee as it was the first Games in over fifty years that was marked-out and set-up by Trustees, members and volunteers – the local authority having pulled out of this role due to lack of manpower and budgetary restrictions.

The financial review shows that this was achieved within the set budget. The fine weather on the day of the event undoubtedly helped. Nairn BID reported that the company they use to estimate numbers attending outdoor events stated there were 15,950 phones at Nairn Highland Games 2025.

The committee also work throughout the year developing mutually beneficial partnerships with other organisations such as Nairn Community Centre, the Community Newspaper, the Nairnshire Farming Society, High Life Highland, Nairn Area Amateur Athletics Club and Nairn County Football Club

The Convenor of the Games has undertaken talks to various local groups throughout the winter on the history and development of Nairn Highland Games. This has helped spread the community benefit that the event brings, both geographically and chronologically.

We are trialling a programme of volunteer development which includes feedback opportunities, thus hopefully fostering continuous improvements in both our volunteer management and in the delivery of the event itself.

We have also introduced the equal opportunities sponsorships, where those businesses and individuals who sponsor prizes for the junior athletic events are told that the policy is that 50% of the support funnels into boys’ prizes and 50% into girls’ prizes

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Financial review

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Nairn Highland Games 2025
Income = £48,644.71
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£25,000.00
£20,575.00
£20,000.00
£17,000.00
£15,000.00
£10,000.00 £8,363.83
£5,000.00 £2,705.88
Sponsorship/Donations Fundraising Grants Entries/Other Income
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Nairn Highland Games 2025
Expenditure = £36,905.91
£14,000.00 £13,165.14
£12,000.00 £11,605.90
£10,000.00
£8,000.00
£6,000.00 £3,821.60 £3,938.08
£4,000.00 ~—¢7°530.03
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Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

Being an overwhelmingly free Games there is little defined income stream by way of gate income. Most monies are received from generosity of local businesses and the Nairn/Nairnshire community.

That leads to income vulnerability should local businesses have a downturn in finances and be no longer able to contribute to events sponsorship or corporate sponsorship. It is also possible that donations from the general public could reduce due to financial pressures and national austerity.

On-the-day fundraising is heavily dependent on footfall through into the ringside arena area (for which there is a small charge), and bucket collections around the Links area. In broad terms, event finances are characterised by about 50% of expenditure being incurred long prior to the event, but being generally met by sponsorship and donation income. Close to 50% of the event cost is incurred on the day, and balanced by ringside tickets and bucket collections. Should the Games be held on a day with adverse weather conditions, this would greatly affect the amount donated.

To ensure the Games will run and that incurred costs can be met, Nairn Highland Games Committee currently holds reserves of £30,000 (enough to survive two lean years). This is reviewed annually, once Highland Council/ Nairn Common Good Fund confirm their level of fiscal support for the event

Details of any deficit

Due to the overwhelming generosity of local businesses in 2025, the Games made a sizeable profit in 2025. There is no room for complacency, though. We are aware that £9,000 of our sponsorship in 2025 were a couple of “one-off” sponsorships. In addition, Highland Council/Nairn Common Good Fund have indicated that they may not, in 2026, be able to contribute to the Nairn Highland Games Committee’s income at the same level as previously.

Donated facilities and services

In regards to the layout of the arena the Games has benefited from knowledge & support, and also materials, from the other local organisations identified as our partners, earlier in this report.

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Future plans

Nairn Highland Games Committee are delighted to announce that, this year, everyone can attend the 149[th] Nairn Highland Games, on 15[th] August 2026.

We’d like to introduce women’s’ heavy events into our Games in 2026. We know this has been introduced at one or two other Highland Games and we have agreed that it will fit well with the approach that we have already developed ensuring equal sponsorship for both the female and male events. However, if the level of Highland Council or Common Good funding drops, (as has been suggested), it will impede our ability to introduce new events, and existing elements of the Games (like the Massed Pipe Bands) will also be under threat unless alternative funding sources can be accessed.

Ending on a positive note, one year farther on, the Nairn Highland Games in August 2027 … well, that will be our 150[th] .

Additional information

All Highland Games around the world make a valuable contribution to their local community – in terms of enhancing cultural identity and heritage while encouraging participation in sport and providing colour and spectacle. Nairn Highland Games, too, provide these contributions. However, Nairn Games are further enhanced by a uniqueness imparted by 4 other aspects:

Firstly; Location – a geographically enviable setting, nestled on Nairn Links the backdrop consisting of the beach, the Moray Firth & the vistas beyond.

Secondly; The Fairground – known locally as “the Showies”. The shows have been attending Nairn Games since the 1920’s. Many of the showmen’s families have been occupying the same pitches since that time, and officials from the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain are on record as saying that the Nairn Games Shows are the largest in the north of Scotland.

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Thirdly; Accessibility: These are the last free Highland Games in the Highlands. That is partly due to historical custom and practice, and an important upholding of local tradition – but is additionally due to the event taking place on common good lands. There would also be considerable logistical (and costly) difficulties in even trying to enclose the area.

Lastly; Community importance – for Nairn, the Games is like the town’s New Year. It is the one big event in the year where everyone tries to come home. It is also the time of the school reunions. Because of its importance to the community then that same community rallies round to support the Games every year with both financial and physical help. The Games is for the people and the people make the Games.

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Declaration
Signed on behalf of the charity trustees:
Designation | KEASYU KEK//RUS TEE
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Nairn Highland Games Committee

Statement of	Statement of	Balances	Balances	Balances	Balances	at	31	December	December	December	2025	2025							2024		025
Bank and cash			in	hand		-	Payment			Account							f			£
	Balances- Insert						amount a				rst	d		of	reporting	pert		7,23	7		31,806.75
Donatic	iro			\TS				u		i
P	of	Assets		from			NATS		Donatiot
Reserves
	Jalance																	44.913.38			56.266.0
Assets																	f			f
)	Ba			f	Equi			=	at	pore			:
App							I			n		their		behalf
RED

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