MACTAVISH AND CELTIC CUP SEMI VENUES DECIDED

The toss of a coin has decided the venues for the semi-final ties in shinty's major regional cup competitions.
The Camanachd Association Annual General Meeting in Fort William on Friday evening saw club representatives claim heads or tails to decide the penultimate ties in this season's AJG Celtic Society Cup and Co-operative MacTavish Cup.

CUP QUARTERS AND A PREMIER CRACKER

Pic courtesy of DJ MacDonald

Some great games are in prospect today, with cup quarter-finals in the south and north.
The stand-out tie in this year's AJG Parcels Celtic Cup features Inveraray and Kyles Athletic at the home of the famous yellow and black.

DUNCAN MACKAY - AN APPRECIATION

We were sorry to hear of the passing of Duncan MacKay, Inveraray.
Duncan passed away after a long illness last Friday.

Duncan was a former player and committee member of Inveraray Shinty Club and will be remembered for helping to re-form the club in the early 80’s after a number of years when it was not in existence.

Personally, I remember Duncan MacKay as a veteran player (looking back, he was probably younger than I am now) in the very early 1980s, as Inveraray

WORST SHINTY VENUE?

Following on from Shintyfan's post earlier this month on the best shinty venue - let's turn the question on its head and ask:

WHERE IS THE WORST PLACE TO PLAY SHINTY?

Your suggestions don't need to be entirely serious, but give reasons for your selections please.

PREDICT THE SHINTY SCORES - APRIL 21

April 21 matches

Predict the scores- just a bit of fun...

Copy the fixtures and paste in the comments section below - then enter your scores in the brackets  - Shintyfan's predictions are in red 

Test your shinty knowledge.

CAMANACHD CUP - GLENORCHY v OBAN CAMANACHD

Click on the link below or go to Shintyfan's You Tube channel (known as shintytv)  to get a five-minute glimpse of the Camanachd Cup replay between Glenorchy and Oban Camanachd at Mart Park, Dalmally on Saturday April 14.

You will see Glenorchy's moment of hope as the home side equalises.

Go to this You Tube video link to see the Glenorchy equaliser.

Oban Camanachd went on to win the match 2-1 in extra time.

STOP *"!%~* SWEARING

I was at a shinty match recently with my young child.
As we left the game, an eight-year-old voice piped up from the back of the car: "They were saying a lot of swears today, dad, weren't they?".

PREDICT THE SHINTY RESULTS - APRIL 14

April 14 matches

Predict the scores- just a bit of fun...

Copy the fixtures and paste in the comments section below - then enter your scores in the brackets  - Shintyfan's predictions are in red 

Test your shinty knowledge.

NEWTONMORE - WHO CAN CHALLENGE?

Photo - John MacTavish

I'm just sitting here looking at the Orion Premiership fixtures for this weekend, and one thought keeps coming back...

- who can stop Newtonmore?

They are the most impressive team I have seen this season by a distance.

SHINTY CORRESPONDENTS WANTED

We are looking for correspondents to cover shinty news across Scotland, the rest of the UK and other parts of the world including the USA.

CAMANACHD FINAL BACK IN OBAN

The final was last at Mossfield in 2009

The Camanachd Association has announced that the 2012 Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final, which takes place on Saturday September 15, will be held at Mossfield Stadium, Oban.


Mossfield last hosted shinty’s premier event in 2009 where Fort William defeated Kyles Athletic with a dramatic last minute winner from Fort William’s James Clark.

AJG PARCELS CELTIC FINAL FOR STRACHUR

Celtic Society president Duncan Cameron with Douglas Currie and Willie Montgomery of Strachur Development Company beside Fraser MacLean from sponsor AJG Parcels

For the second successive year, the final of shinty’s oldest competition – and still one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport – is to be played in Argyll.
Following last year’s successful final held in Inveraray, the occasion is set to stay on the shores of Loch Fyne as  the Cowal village of Strachur hosts this year’s final tie, on Saturday June 23.

WHERE'S THE BEST SHINTY VENUE?

There is no doubt about it, gone are the days when the sheep and cattle were driven out of the shinty field as the pitch was lined with sawdust.

In those days of winter shinty, it was very difficult to keep pitches in good nick, and muddy battles between battle-hardened shinty warriors was the norm.

Nowadays, and with the advent of summer shinty, (slightly) better weather has made for players that are fleeter of foot, and playing surfaces have undoubtedly improved in tandem.

THE BEST SHINTY VENUE IN SCOTLAND?

With the new sports pitch at Strachur set to host the AJG Parcels Celtic Society Cup Final this weekend, why not come along and see the new facilities?

The day's events start on Saturday June 23 with the under-17 McQuiston Cup Final at 1pm, followed by the big final starting at 4.05pm between Inveraray and Taynuilt.

If you can't get there, have a wee look on BBC Alba during live coverage of the final.

CRACKING EASTER ACTION AS FORT MAKE PROGRESS

League positions rarely lie, so it should be no surprise that Kinlochshiel would beat the teams around them.

EASTER PARADE OF FANTASTIC SHINTY

Shinty fans are hopping with joy as they look forward to a egg-citing day of Easter weekend shinty.

The new pavilion at Strachur

Will premiership table-toppers Newtonmore have an easy afternoon as they take on bottom club Kilmallie at the Eilan?

Can Kinlochshiel crush Kyles?

...and it's Gaelic all the way on Skye, while one of the best new playing fields in Scotland is unveiled later today.

TOP WOMEN SHINTY PLAYERS ANNOUNCED

The Women’s Camanachd Association has announced the 2011 players of the year as voted by their fellow players in the women’s game. 

The winners from each division of women’s shinty - along with a few words from the respective clubs - are as follows:

EASTER GAMES AND RONALDO'S RETURN

Oban Celtic v Strachur - pic by John MacTavish

Last week was some week of shinty. 

Cup upsets, cracking games and the return of shinty's answer to Lionel Messi (alright, alright - perhaps more like Gary Lineker).

And there's more to look forward to this weekend.

Where do I start?

NEWTONMORE V KINGUSSIE - 1934 CAMANACHD CUP FILM

If you are in any way a fan of shinty, never mind the great Badenoch rivals of Newtonmore and Kingussie, you have to see this clip of a film shot, apparently, in 1934.

BRITISH AND IRISH JOIN FORCES IN COMBAT

The British army's very own shinty team is to take on the cream of the Irish Defence Force's hurlers in a special charity match later this month - in the first ever international of its kind between the two countries.

JOHN STICKS IT TO RIVALS

Check out the results of our who-should-get-a-statue poll to the left side of this page.

In a shocking development...