Time for shinty to build on success

This has been a fantastic few months for UK sport. And after recent successes in our own game, shinty must cash in while the time is right.

Not so long ago people were talking about the super summer of sport, with Wimbledon, the Euro 2012 Football Championships, Tour de France, the Olympics and Paralympics - and more recently Andy Murray's US Open win in professional tennis.

The amateur sport of shinty might be small beer in comparison to these mighty professional and semi-professional events.

But I will guarantee that no single sport has experienced such an exciting season climax in comparison to shinty.

The raw drama, skill levels, speed and excitement in both the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup and women's Valerie Fraser finals have been truly exceptional.

I was at both events, and I have never before seen such shinty matches.

And we have exceptional young players coming through. Characters that the sport needs to capture the imagination of a new generation, both within and beyond the traditional shinty regions.

Roddy MacDonald scoring the goal that took Kyles to the Camanachd final

The flame-haired Roddy MacDonald of Kyles is the first and most obvious example. A kind of gangly player without much of the obvious finesse of other top shinty players, he is nonetheless explosive and exciting to watch. Others might look more streamlined, but Roddy gets the job done with flair - and a style of his very own.
His combative performance, four-goal contribution and man-of-the-match award in last weekend's Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final truly marks his appearance on the stage as a shinty star.

Think also about players like Danny MacRae of Newtonmore, Stuart MacIntosh from Glenurquhart, Lee Bain, Kingussie and Inveraray's Nicholas Crawford. All players who have what it takes.

In the women's game, there is no more impressive and skilful performer than Katy Smith of Aberdour. She has all the ability of any male player, plenty of style and the look of a star in the sporting firmament. Lochaber's youngster 'Missy' Cameron is not far behind.

We have witnessed two shinty sporting finals in recent weekends that were of unbelievable quality, and the sport has to keep up the momentum.

Player of the match Katy Smith after her team's win in the Valerie Fraser Cup final

I've just seen a number of football matches - league, international and European - and it's dull stuff. Have a look at Saturday's Camanachd Cup Final on the BBC iPlayer, and this is light years ahead in terms of excitement and drama. And not a dive in sight. Genuine, real sport.

There is an opportunity to turn on a number of kids to the sport as a new funding package from the Scottish Government is utilised during the October school holidays.

A £5,000 funding deal will allow up to 400 children to try out shinty across a dozen 12 sessions, targeted at 10 -14 year olds, across the Highlands, Argyll and Bute, the Western Isles, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Torquil MacLeod, Chief Operating Officer at the Camanachd Association, said: "We are delighted with the support we are receiving from the Scottish Government and see this as an important initiative for shinty which will facilitate links between local clubs and schools, to engage larger numbers of young participants in a sustainable pathway for the ongoing development of the sport.
"This funding has allowed us to pilot the initiative in 2012 with the intention that it is developed further in 2013 and beyond on a self-sustaining basis."

Torquil is ticking all the boxes with his key messages and phrases, but the bottom line is that shinty is currently riding the crest of a popularity wave, the like of which hasn't been witnesses since it was the unchallenged pastime of thousands of kids across the west and north of Scotland.

We all need to get out and let players play, enjoy the sport and thereby boost the number of people taking part in and supporting shinty - which is, after all, the best sport in the world.