Kevin Thain

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Kevin Thain (born 1969) [1] is a Scottish shinty player from the village of Tomatin. He has played almost his whole career for Kingussie Camanachd and has been an integral part of its success since the mid-1980s.

Contents

Playing career

Thain announced his arrival in the sport of shinty with a winning goal against Newtonmore in the MacTavish Cup Final in 1986. [1]

He won 18 league titles with Kingussie and is the second highest scorer in shinty history, although his total is dwarfed by that of team-mate, Ronald Ross. [2]

Thain had famously never appeared on the losing side in a Camanachd Cup Final until his 13th final appearance in 2008 when Kingussie was beaten by Fort William. [3]

Thain has now dropped down to second team level in order to help bring on Kingussie's promising youths. [4] He had his nose broken in early 2010 by Andrew Banks of Skye. [5] Due to an injury crisis at Kingussie in early 2011, Thain has been given a recall to the first team squad.

Thain is a businessman and owns an electrician company in the Scottish Highlands. [6] He was working off-shore when Kingussie lost three finals in the early 1990s, during this time he played for Glasgow Mid-Argyll from time to time.

He was given the honour of opening his local community's new sports centre in 2010 in honour of his sporting achievements. Thain also coaches the local shinty team, Strathdearn. [2]

Related Research Articles

Shinty Team sport 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 in northern England into the second half of the 20th century and other areas in the world where Scottish Highlanders migrated.

Camanachd Association

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.

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.

Kingussie Camanachd

Kingussie Camanachd is a shinty team from Kingussie, Scotland and according to the Guinness Book of Records 2005, is world sport's most successful sporting team of all time, winning 20 consecutive leagues and going 4 years unbeaten at one stage in the early 1990s. The club most recently won the Camanachd Cup in 2014, but was almost relegated in 2015, a final-day playoff victory against Kilmallie their salvation. The second team plays in North Division 1 and won the Sutherland Cup in 2011.

Newtonmore Camanachd Club

Newtonmore Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Newtonmore, Badenoch, Scotland. It is historically the most successful side in the history of Shinty, having won the Camanachd Cup a record 34 times. They won the Marine Harvest Premier Division seven years in a row beginning in 2010.

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.

Kyles Athletic

Kyles Athletic Shinty Club is a shinty team from Tighnabruaich, Argyll, Scotland. It is one of the sport's most illustrious names, presently playing in the Marine Harvest Premiership with their second team is playing in South Division one.

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.

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.

Fort William Shinty Club

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.

Ronald Ross, MBE is a retired Scottish shinty player who played for Kingussie Camanachd. He is a forward, the only man to have ever scored more than 1000 goals in the sport and who has broken several other records as an individual and as part of Kingussie's record-breaking first team.

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, also known as the Aviemore 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 Inverness.(2021)

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.

Valerie Fraser Trophy Award for womens shinty in Scotland

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 Skye Camanachd.

Strathdearn Cup

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

William Cowie, more commonly known as Willie Cowie, is an ex-shinty player from Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Throughout his career he played for Skye Camanachd and was a prolific forward. He is now a coach for the club.

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, John Victor Smith, 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. Victor Smith currently coaches Fort William Shinty Club along with his cousin Adi Robertson. Victor's son, John Victor Smith, plays full forward for the Fort.

Strathspey Camanachd

Strathspey Camanachd is a shinty club based in Grantown-on-Spey, Strathspey, Scotland, currently competing in the Marine Harvest North Division Two.

Badenoch & Strathspey Ladies Shinty Club is a shinty club based in the area of Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland.

References

  1. 1 2 Shinty: Kingussie veteran Kevin Thain hoping to turn back the clock - The Daily Record
  2. 1 2 Shinty star opens Tomatin sports centre - Press & Journal
  3. Kingussie's Thain aims for 13th win - Press & Journal
  4. Kevin strings them along: 5 times! - Strathspey and Badenoch Herald
  5. Kingussie 8 Skye Camanachd 1
  6. "Thain Electrical Ltd". Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-12-01.