David Pirie Webster,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Born: September 18, 1928) is a Scottish author, historian, and sports promoter currently living in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

who received an OBE for his services to sport. David has also been the organizer of the Highland Games in

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

for over 50 years.

Life and career

David Webster was born in 1928. He completed a degree in physical education at Teachers Training College, in Aberdeen, and as a public school teacher before turning to community recreation and sports promotion work in Scotland. As an author, Webster has published hundreds of articles in a wide variety of academic and popular journals. Webster is currently the Scottish Weightlifting Chairman and served as the Scottish weightlifting national coach, as well as referee, and competitor in that sport. He attended the 1960, 1968, and 1972 Olympics as part of the Scottish delegation and worked at the World & European Championships in 1961, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 as either a technical official, referee, or coach. Webster was coach of the British team at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Malta in 1983, and he also served for many years as Scottish National Weightlifting Coach. Webster also competed in weightlifting and in the sport of

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

. Webster has also been an official in bodybuilding, and was a founding member of the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association (NABBA).

Highland Games and World Highland Games Heavy Events Championships

In the 1960s, Webster began promoting the Highland games internationally as a way to bring tourists to Scotland and helped to revive some of the traditional Scottish sports such as stone-lifting and caber-tossing. He founded the World Highland Games Heavy Events Championships in 1980. The Championships has now been held in New Zealand, Canada, USA, Finland, Australia, Nigeria, and Scotland. The 2009 Championships, held in Scotland, was attended by 47,000 people including Charles, Duke of Rothesay, Camilla, Duchess of Rothesay, and many civic leaders. In 2013, Webster was invited to California at the request of former governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

for the commencement of Arnold Highland Games as part of the Arnold Classic.

Strongman

Webster promoted the first televised strongman contest in 1955, which consisted of stone-lifting and

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

, and was later asked by Trans World International to serve as a consultant as they formed their

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

television show in the late 1970s. Webster was also invited by Terry Todd to be part of the creation of the Arnold Strongman Classic, held annually as part of the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus Ohio. He served as head official at that event for 14 years.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Iron Game: An Illustrated History of Weightlifting'' (1976) * ''Scottish Highland Games'' (1959) * ''Complete Physique Book'' (1963) * ''Lifting Illustrated'' (1966) * ''The Development of the Clean And Jerk'' (1967) * ''The Iron Game: An Illustrated History of Weightlifting'' (1976) * ''Bodybuilding--An Illustrated History'' (1982) * ''Donald Dinnie: The First Sporting Superstar'' (1999) * ''World History of Highland Games'' (2011)

References

External links

World Heavy Events Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, David P. Scottish non-fiction writers World's Strongest Man Living people Highland games Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1928 births