Shinty Winter Newsletter

Les Kinvig - Argyll and Bute

Ambitious plans are afoot in Argyll to galvanise participation in youth shinty through a collaborative approach between clubs and the association to develop the game. The rural nature of many clubs mean it is more important than ever to work together to celebrate and sustain participation whilst at the same time maintaining the shinty tradition of representing your local community.

PS Shinty

Les has conducted taster sessions with St Columbus Primary in Oban and following on from that will be delivering further sessions in Appin and Dunbeg this month with more schools to follow in the coming months.

School of Shinty & Beyond

Working continues with secondary schools in the region to set up a mini school league to provide an increase in playing opportunities.

Les is also currently working on re-establishing primary age development groups in his area through the schools network that will provide playing opportunities and a clear player pathway from primary through to secondary school.

Katie Drain - Highland (North Regional Development Officer)

Working with Charleston Academy who are a school of shinty through December 2021 we qualified 13 shinty referees and then arranged a 6 aside festival for S1/2’s with 11 teams in attendance from 9 schools. A number of new Shinty Ambassadors coached their respective school teams on the day.

Coaching

6 new shinty coaches are qualified on Skye as a result of a coaching course which was delivered in December. Working with active schools these new coaches were identified and will be encouraged to coach in local primary schools when regulations permit. A productive partnership meeting also took place the same day between Portree HS, Skye Camanachd, Active School and the Shinty Ambassadors.

Women's Shinty

The Donella Crawford Cup took place in November for high school girls. 12 teams were in attendance in Ardnamurchan and all showed some excellent skills and determination. It was great to have school coemption back after such a long wait. Culloden came away with the win for 2021 with Ardnamurchan A, securing the runners up spot.

Youth Competitions

The National 1^st Shinty Finals day is scheduled for Saturday 26^th February in Fort William for P7 & P5&under.

The Ferguson Transport National 1^st Shinty P5 & P7 Finals Day - are scheduled for Saturday 26^th February 2022 in Fort William.

The National Player Development Camp - will take place at Strathallan School, Perth-Shire commencing Sunday 17^th July to Thursday 21^st July 2022.

Please see and complete the youth competition forms.

Schools Competition Entry Form

Youth Competition Entry Form 2022

Paul MacArthur - Central (Central Regional Development Officer)

Bishopbriggs Academy partnership – Work ongoing to re-establish Shinty at Bishopbriggs Academy. Teacher CPD, with view to introducing Shinty to the curriculum. Coaching course for pupils. Working towards becoming the next School of Shinty.

Coaching

Foundation Coaches - 14 participants currently working towards their foundation coaching certificate, online using the brightspace learning portal.

Officials

Officials course - In partnership with UHI, 9 participants completed a foundation referee's course. Another date TBC early Feb will see 5 of these new official's complete the next stage of their training.

Ronald Ross - Regional Development Manager

As Regional Development Manager for the East Region and the Highland Region from Badenoch across to Fort William our staff have a wide portfolio of clubs to support. A Foundation Coaching Course took place at An-Aird Fort William. 10 coaches attended the 6 hour course. The morning part of the course was theory based where the candidates learnt about the planning and structuring process. The afternoon focussed on the practical element of the “how to Coach and “what to Coach” skills of the game.

Kilchuimen Academy Becomes Eighth School of Shinty

Following a hugely successful 4 hour curriculum shinty session Kilchiumin Academy became the Eighth School to sign up to the School of Shinty programme. Glengarry Shinty Club sourced funding to supply the school with 20 Helmets,20 camans,36 balls and a set of portable shinty goals. Coach Elaine Cameron who was instrumental in getting the project off the ground said: “It is vital to the Clubs future that we engage with the School children and by delivering shinty in school, it becomes accessible to all, especially those who cannot attend after school activities. I would like of thank the Staff at Kilchuimen Academy, in particular, PE Teacher Rebecca Masson, our sponsors and Ronald Ross of the Camanachd Association for all their support.

Strathspey Camanachd – Club Development Officer

Mathew Davies has been appointed as Strathspey Camanachd’s new part-time Club Development Officer on a 4 year contract. Mathew started in his new role in November with the aim to grow participation in the sport, in collaboration with local schools and the community. The aim is to put in place a coaching infrastructure, develop sustainable partnerships and help to progress the aims of the club’s development plan. The Club aims to create new player pathways with an inclusive approach for girls and boys, including those with learning and physical disabilities, those in SIMD areas and in rural poverty. Strathspey Camanachd Club has become the second Shinty Club to receive funding support from Sportscotland Direct Club Investment programme to employ a part-time Club Development Officer.

Membership

Registration for season 2022 is now live! You can find documents, support and tutorial videos at https://shinty.com/membership/.

Please ensure participants are registered for 2022 prior to any training or friendly matches commencing.

Looking for membership support?

If you are still looking for support after consulting the tutorial videos please do not hesitate to contact deborah.macpherson@shinty.com.

Register your club - Due now!

The club registration forms were sent out to clubs in 2021. Please make sure your club return their registered form for 2022:

2022-Club-Association-Registration-Form-Template