SHINTY is headed for a bright future according to the Camanachd Association, with the traditional centre of power in Badenoch being challenged from the west and the south.
Kinlochshiel’s league win was made them only the second side to take the trophy from Speyside joining Fort William who won the title in 2016.
Nor is the competition confined to the sport’s northern region with Tighnabruich’s Kyles Athletics having claimed two trophies in the course of the season, one of them the Macaulay Cup in which they beat Newtonmore 7-4 in the final.
“Looking ahead to next year already, it’s going to be so competitive,” said Derek Keir, the Association’s chief executive. “With Newtonmore in three cup finals this year, they’ll be back strong along with a number of other teams. Kingussie have a lot of players coming through, Kinlochshiel will be looking to retain the title and Kyles will be contending too.
“There are teams coming into the league that are on a bit of a winning streak, so all way through the league teams will be gathering momentum.”
Keir was speaking after it was announced that Marine Harvest had agreed to continue its sponsorship of the game for a further three years.
“You don’t get by as a small governing body without the support of your sponsors. This will take our association with Marine Harvest up to 33 years. That consistent support allows you to plan ahead,” he said.
He believes that will allow the sport to continue its development programmes while reclaiming its proper place in wider awareness.
“We see shinty as an iconic Scottish sport,” said Keir. “The skill and technique required is understated and that’s something we need moving forward. Everything is heading in the right direction. Looking ahead to the next three to five years developing the women’s game alongside the men’s game is hugely important for us and we’re looking to continue the trends that are there.
“With increased participation there are also challenges in the smaller communities so we need to support them to retain their members and identify opportunities to get new people involved when it’s required because some of the most rural places in Scotland are putting out one or two shinty teams. That’s a strength shinty has that a lot of other sports would like to have in being able to reach out into the communities we’re reaching.”
The announcement of the new deal came just a couple of days after Kinlochshiel won the Marine Harvest League Premier League.
That the Badenoch teams remain a force had been demonstrated the previous week when Newtonmore, league champions of the previous seven seasons, retained the Camanachd Cup while, after a difficult few seasons, Kingussie showed signs of re-emerging as a major force under the new management of Dallas ‘Wild Thing’ Young, finishing in the top half of the table.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel