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Location | An Aird, Fort William, Highland, Scotland |
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Coordinates | 56°49′24″N5°06′07″W / 56.8233°N 5.1020°W Coordinates: 56°49′24″N5°06′07″W / 56.8233°N 5.1020°W |
Owner | Highland Council |
Operator | Highland Council |
Capacity | 400 |
Tenants | |
Fort William Shinty Club (Premier League) (1980s–present) |
An Aird is both an area of Fort William, Scotland, and also the largest dedicated shinty park in the town and is situated on the east bank of Loch Linnhe, near the centre of the town. It is located next to the Nevis Centre. An Aird regularly hosts both the Camanachd Cup Final and the Composite Rules Shinty/Hurling Internationals and is considered one of the finest parks in shinty. It is home to Fort William Shinty Club's various squads who have played there since moving from Claggan Park in the 1980s.
The capacity of the stadium is 5000, comprising a small stand which seats 400 and standing. It also has Fort William's clubhouse on the premises.
Despite shinty's profile in the town, efforts are afoot to evict Fort William Shinty Club from An Aird, in order to build a supermarket. The local authority, Highland Council, have come under fire for their care of the park, especially after the playing surface was stripped bare by rabbits. The company behind the planned development of a new supermarket were unequivocal in stating in April 2007 that there would be no development upon the An Aird pitch. . In March 2008, Highland Council again came under fire for their negligence of the An Aird surface, which almost resulted in the loss of An Aird's prestigious status as a Camanachd Cup Final host stadium. [ permanent dead link ] In February 2009 the stadium was attacked by vandals causing thousands of pounds of damage.
The shinty club will be forced to move to the Black Park in Fort William in season 2010 in order for renovation work to be done on the pitch at An Aird.
The area was again marked for development in late 2010 with plans being made by an Edinburgh-based company to develop the site for a supermarket. This would involve moving the shinty club to a new location within the town. Uncertainty over the availability of An Aird led to it losing the 2011 Camanachd Cup Final. The club used Black Parks, near Inverlochy, for most of 2012.
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, and was even played for a considerable time in northern England and other areas in the world where Scottish Highlanders migrated.
Lochgilphead is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. The village lies at the end of Loch Gilp and lies on the banks of the Crinan Canal. Lochgilphead sits on the A83, with Ardrishaig 2 miles to the south and Inveraray 24 miles (39 km) to the north-east; Oban lies 37 miles (60 km) north on the A816.
The Camanachd Association is the world governing body of the Scottish sport of shinty. The body is based in Inverness, Highland, and is in charge of the rules of the game. Its main competitions are the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup and the Mowi Premiership and the Mowi Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup.
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Inverness Shinty Club is a shinty club from Inverness, Scotland. The first team competes in North Division One and the second team in North Division Three. Founded in 1887 as Inverness Town and County Shinty Club to distinguish from other clubs in Inverness such as Clachnacuddin, Inverness moved to the Bught Park in 1934. Inverness won the Camanachd Cup in 1952. The club struggles to compete for players with the wide proliferation of football clubs in Inverness, in particular Inverness Caledonian Thistle but still manages to put out two teams.
Fort William Shinty Club is a shinty club from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. The club has two sides in the Shinty league system, a first team which was relegated from the Premiership in 2013 and a reserve side in North Division Two. The first team were Camanachd Cup holders four times in succession, between 2007 and 2010, but were knocked out in the second round in 2011. The club also has a vibrant youth system.
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Gary Innes is a Scottish musician, a former shinty player and a broadcaster from Spean Bridge, Lochaber, Scotland.
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The Valerie Fraser Camanachd Cup also known as the Valerie Fraser Trophy or the Women's Camanachd Cup is the premier trophy in Women's shinty and is currently sponsored by Peter Gow. It is played on a knock-out basis by the teams in the National Division 1 League and is administered by the Women's Camanachd Association. The current holders are Badenoch & Strathspey.
Drew MacNeil is a former shinty player and current manager of the Scotland national shinty team. He was appointed Glenurquhart manager in October 2011.
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Dunoon Camanachd is a shinty club, from Dunoon, Scotland. The team competed from 2016 to 2017 in South Division Two but its senior side went into abeyance in 2018.