To celebrate International Women’s Day, we sat down with former RBS Shinty Ambassador, current Inverness player and budding referee – Caitlin Mutch.

Caitlin, how are you getting on – just how excited are you that shinty is back in a full season?

I’m doing well, I am very excited to see how this season goes and am looking forward to see what the season ahead will go.

Can you tell us a little bit about your time as a shinty ambassador, what did you gain from that experience?

Being a shinty ambassador really helped me develop my leadership, communication and willingness to learn,  this has all really helped me going forward in my education and I feel is one of the reasons I have been given as many opportunities that I have been offered.

This Saturday you made another milestone in your shinty career by refereeing Caberfeidh vs Kingussie in MOWI North Division 1 – how did you find that?

Refereeing a senior shinty match was definitely a bit intimidating,  I have refereed before but not at this level but it was definitely something that made me proud by the end of the match.  Refereeing definitely allows you to gain a bit more respect for those that have been doing it for years.

On Sunday to top off a shinty filled weekend you played for Inverness against Skye in MOWI WCA National Division. How did the game go, what did you make of the step up to the National?

The game against Skye was a good one,  they are a very well established side in the National league so for us to come away with a 2-0 loss at the start of the season was a good result.  However the girls did come away thinking we could have done more which to me shows the determination we have as a team.  I think for Inverness to make that step is definitely a big one but one that needed to happen,  it allows us to have a team in the North league and allows the girls that deserve game time and a chance to play at a high and competitive level a chance and allows for the some of our girls to take a leading roles in a team which should allow them to progress.

What are your goals for the rest of the season in terms of playing?

My goals for playing this season is to try to play as many games as possible and try to make improvements in my own game by playing against the best.  I want to progress my game in goals and we are really aiming to get positive results out of every-game we play.  I also want to help develop the players around me and become a strong unit.

What would you say to anyone who was considering refereeing?

I would say if you have the bravery to pick up a stick, you should also be brave enough to pick up a whistle.  I think everyone should try to referee at some point,  it shows how much respect we should be giving to officials of the game.  I would say if you want to try it definitely get involved somehow, referees are needed at every level of the game so starting out with youth games allows you to get a grips with it.