David "Tarzan" Ritchie

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David "Tarzan" Ritchie (born 1945) is a former shinty player from Newtonmore, Scotland. He is notable for having won 12 Camanachd Cup medals, a record he held alongside fellow Newtonmore player Hugh Chisholm for many years. [1]

Shinty Team game with ball and sticks

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.

Newtonmore town

Newtonmore is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of about 1650. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre of Scotland. Newtonmore railway station is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is on the Highland Main Line. Newtonmore has been bypassed by the A9 since 1979.

Scotland Country in Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Contents

Playing career

"Tarzan" played his entire career for Newtonmore and was a legendary part of their success throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He won his first Camanachd Cup in 1967. He won the Albert Smith Medal in 1979 and was Captain when Newtonmore won the cup in 1981. [2] He was still playing Full-Forward in Newtonmore's defeat against Skye Camanachd in 1990. [3]

The Camanachd Association Challenge Cup known as the Camanachd Cup is the premier competition in the sport of shinty. It is one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam in the sport of shinty.

Albert Smith Medal

The Albert Smith Memorial Medal is the award given to the Man of the Match in the final of the Camanachd Cup, the blue riband trophy of the sport of shinty. It has been presented every year since 1972 by the Smith family of Fort William in honour of Albert Smith Sr. The widow of his only son, Albert Smith Jr. currently presents the medal. Albert Sr.'s grandson, Victor Smith is a former player for Fort William Shinty Club but never won the medal despite featuring as a key player in several Fort William wins.

Skye Camanachd is a shinty team from the Isle of Skye, Highland, Scotland. It plays in the Premier Division and has a reserve team in North Division One, as well as a Ladies team in the WCA National Division One and a Ladies reserve team in the WCA Development League. The club is based at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree.u

"Tarzan" also won several MacGillvary Leagues, MacAulay Cups and MacTavish Cups.

MacTavish Cup

The MacTavish Cup is a knock-out cup competition in the sport of shinty. It is competed for by senior teams from the North of Scotland district. It is one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam in the sport of shinty. The current holders are Newtonmore. The competition is currently sponsored by cottages.com.

He was a bricklayer in his day job and was renowned for his strength, tenacity and speed. His son Michael is the Goalkeeper for Newtonmore. [4]

Bricklayer A craftsman who lays bricks

A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie". A stone mason is one who lays any combination of stones, cinder blocks, and bricks in construction of building walls and other works. The main difference between a bricklayer and a true mason is skill level: bricklaying is a part of masonry and considered to be a "lower" form of masonry, whereas stonemasonry is a specialist occupation involved in the cutting and shaping of stones and stonework.

Michael Ritchie is a shinty player for Newtonmore Camanachd Club. He is a goalkeeper and is the son of the legendary David "Tarzan" Ritchie.

There are two iconic images associated with Ritchie - both taken by Inverness photographer Ewen Weatherspoon [5] - one of him raising the Camanachd Cup at the 1981 Camanachd Cup Final in Glasgow and the other with a bandaged head with a massive Union Flag in the background at the 1982 Camanachd Cup final in Inverness. [6]

Related Research Articles

Camanachd Association organization

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.

Oban Camanachd

Oban Camanachd are a shinty team based in Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland who currently play in the Marine Harvest Premiership. One of the oldest Camanachd clubs they were founded in 1889.

Inveraray Shinty Club is a shinty club from Inveraray, Argyll, Scotland. After relegation from the Premier Division in 2015, they will play in the National Division One in 2016. There is also a reserve team.

Newtonmore Camanachd Club

Newtonmore Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Newtonmore, Badenoch, Scotland. It is historically the game's most successful side, having won the Camanachd Cup a record 33 times and are present holders. They won the Marine Harvest Premier Division seven years in a row beginning in 2010.

Inverness Shinty Club

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.

Ballachulish Camanachd Club is a shinty team from Ballachulish, Lochaber, Scotland. The club was founded in 1893 the same year as the Camanachd Association. One of the sport's most famous clubs, they won the Camanachd Cup four times before World War I. The club is also the most northerly of teams playing in the South district, the kyle at Ballachulish being the traditional demarcation point between the two districts. The club has moved to one team playing South Division Two in 2013 but soon gained promotion and re-established two teams, and gained promotion to National Division One for 2015.

Lovat Shinty Club

Lovat Shinty Club is a shinty club from Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire, Scotland. The club was formed in 1888 and has a healthy rivalry with near neighbours Beauly. The club takes its name from the area within which it plays in and shared this name with the late Second World War hero, Lord Lovat.

Macaulay Cup

The Macaulay Association Camanachd Cup is a trophy in the Scottish sport of shinty. It is competed for by the eight highest-placed league teams from the north and south areas of Scotland at the end of the previous season. The first winner of the cup, in 1947, was Newtonmore.

Mod Cup

The Mod Cup is a trophy in the sport of shinty first competed for in 1969, traditionally played for by the two teams who are based closest to the host venue of the Royal National Mod. The current holders are Oban Camanachd.

Balliemore Cup

The Balliemore Cup is a knock-out cup in the sport of shinty. It is the Intermediate Championship run under the auspices of the Camanachd Association and only first teams competing in the National, North Division One and South Division One are eligible for entry.

Strathdearn Cup

The Strathdearn Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty. The present holders are Lochcarron.

The Premier Division is the premier division in shinty. Based in Scotland and formed in 1996, the league is the top tier of the Shinty league system. Set-up in order to create a Scotland-wide league for the first time, it constitutes as one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam of shinty.

Norman "Brick" MacArthur is a retired shinty player and current president of Newtonmore Camanachd Club.

References

  1. ↑ BBC News
  2. ↑ Newtonmore Shinty website Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine .
  3. ↑ Skye Camanachd website
  4. ↑ Newtonmore Shinty website Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. ↑ Ewen Weatherspoon website
  6. ↑ Ambaile.org
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