Shinty’s Yearbooks are to be digitised in a unique collaboration between Shinty Memories Scotland (SMS), The Camanachd Association (CA) and Sporting Heritage UK.  The search is now beginning for an individual who will undertake this task which it is hoped will be completed by Christmas.

The Shinty Yearbook was first published in 1971 and has been published annually since then. It is the single most important repository of the modern history game of shinty, and the “go-to” source for matters of record and also a huge collection of articles about the sport – personalities, changes in the game, opinions and very specially, photographic images. It has always been produced on a voluntary basis and has helped sustain the interest of the shinty-playing community in the culture and heritage of the sport, as well as providing a platform for the promotion of the game and dissemination of information. Full sets of copies the Shinty Yearbook are a rarity and this digitisation project, which would lead to an accessible on-line version of the contents has long been an aspiration of the shinty community.

Now, with financial assistance from Sporting Heritage UK, SMS and the CA, the opportunity has arisen to digitise the volumes and make the content accessible to everyone, The project will be undertaken on a paid basis with one of the outcomes being an online talk “An intriguing web with wayward strands – the foundations of the Shinty Yearbooks” – on September 30, Sporting Heritage Day an annual event to celebrate sporting heritage.

David MacMaster, Chair of Shinty Memories Scotland said: “The Yearbooks are a vital resource for Shinty Memories Scotland which exists to help people living with mental health issues such as dementia and also living in situations involving remoteness and isolation.  The opportunity to make such a rare and valuable source digital will be transformative, in addition to the benefits for Shinty Memories, allowing schools to make use of the resource, communities to tap into their modern history, and beyond, and to help the Governing Body source material which would be increasingly valuable in promoting the culture and heritage of the sport.

Camanachd Association President Steven MacKenzie has welcomed the project. He said : “The Yearbooks reflect the history of individual clubs, their challenges and their triumphs  and are a record of the most significant changes in the sport of the last quarter of the 20th century.

The digitisation of the material will enable a level of accessibility which will be transformative in opening-up the history of the game over a crucial quarter of a century which saw massive change in the way the game was administered and played. The material will be useful in education for schools, will be converted into a vital resource for the various Shinty Memories groups across Scotland, and will be a major contribution to the content of the new shinty exhibition space currently being developed for the Bught Park in Inverness as part of a Levelling up-funded project.  The material will also be extremely useful to the many shinty clubs who are interested in their own history and heritage and developing archival and other projects.

Applications are now being invited from interested individuals who would like to be considered for the role facilitating the digitisation process.  The closing date for applications is 5pm, August 4.  Applications (no more than 200 words) should be submitted, in confidence) to Hugh Dan MacLennan (hughdan1@hotmail.co.uk) from whom further information is available.

The key requirements are that applicants should be familiar with the process of digitising documents, have access to a suitable printer/scanner and have a reasonable level of organisational skills to enable a plan to be produced for the success full completion of the project. The financial details of the project (remuneration etc) will be made available to interested parties.

It is anticipated that short online interviews may be held in the closing weeks of August.