| Lochcarron | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Full name | Lochcarron Camanachd | ||
| Gaelic name | Comann Camanachd Loch Carrainn | ||
| Nickname | The Kishorn Camandoes | ||
| Founded | 1883 | ||
| Ground | Battery Park, Lochcarron | ||
| Manager | Andrew Slaughter, Peter Mackenzie | ||
| League | North Division Two | ||
| 2016 | 2nd | ||
| |||
Lochcarron Camanachd is a shinty club from Wester Ross, Scotland.
Founded in 1883, Lochcarron Camanachd is one of the oldest in the west Highlands. In its first century the Club won the Strathdearn Cup eight times and the Sutherland Cup six times as well as winning its league division on many occasions.
The early nineties were a particular success for Lochcarron, as having temporarily reduced to one team, they went from North Division Four to the Premier Division in quick succession. [ permanent dead link ]
The first team reached the club's only senior final, the Macaulay Cup final in 2001, where they were beaten 3–0 by Inveraray. They then won the National First Division Championship in 2002 and the Balliemore Cup also in 2002. Amongst the key players in this era were Kenny Ross and Fraser MacKenzie. The club was voted Marine Harvest Club of the Year 2002. The club was chosen as the Highland Sports Development Association Club of the Year 2003, a first for the sport of shinty. The club also secured a third spot finish in the Premier Division. However, the club then went into decline, narrowly avoiding relegation in 2006. After finishing bottom of the Premier Division, they had to defeat Kyles Athletic in a playoff.
The club was relegated in 2007 after a prolonged season, with their final match being played against Inveraray in Kiltarlity on 8 December 2007 – a 2–2 draw was not enough to overhaul Oban Camanachd. The club only finished 4th in North Division One in 2008 and was threatened with relegation again at the end of the 2009 season to North Division Two. This would have had far reaching repercussions for the club which would have seen their second team (which had failed to fulfil several fixtures) be disbanded.
However, the club received a reprieve from relegation as Glenurquhart rejected the chance to have their reserve team promoted from North Division Two despite new bye-laws permitting reserve sides to do this. The club retained its place in North One for 2010 and also retained its second team.[ permanent dead link ] The club was rocked early in 2010 by the resignation of Alasdair "Gaiter" MacKenzie as manager, he was swiftly replaced by Murdo John Fraser.
After a few tough seasons, the decision was made to start again at the bottom of the Shinty League System in 2013. This voluntary relegation did not start smoothly with two heavy defeats and then a draw to lowly Lewis. However, Lochcarron soon adapted to their new surroundings and clinched promotion as well as appearing in the Sutherland Cup final which they lost to fellow voluntary relegated team Ballachulish. However, co-manager Kenny Murray left for Lewis Camanachd as Ross Brown came in as manager. League reconstruction saw the Camandoes promoted twice, ahead of their desired development, and they inevitably finished the 2015 season at the bottom of North Division One.
Reconstruction was slow and arduous, but 2016 saw the club begin to recover and win the Strathdearn Cup against Glenurquhart.
Today the club has a reputation for its youth development and represents shinty in Sportscotland’s national youth sports programme. The club actively supports shinty at both its local senior school Plockton High and Lochcarron Primary School and through the recently formed Ross & Sutherland Shinty Development Association. The club plays at the Battery Park in Lochcarron (opposite the Bank of Scotland) on its newly extended pitch, complete with modern changing rooms.
Lochcarron have local rivals Kinlochshiel in which they compete annually in the Tommy Ross memorial cup. The club has a large amount of MacKenzies involved with the club and the varying different families are often differentiated by inter-generational nicknames, such as "Ham", "Jek" and "Gaiter".
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.
Oban Camanachd are a shinty team based in Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland who currently play in the MOWI Premiership. One of the oldest Camanachd clubs they were founded in 1889.
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 are current holders of the Camanachd Cup, the MacAulay Cup and the MacTavish Cup.
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.
Strathglass Shinty Club or "Comunn Camanachd Straghlais" in Scottish Gaelic is a shinty club from Cannich, Inverness-shire. The club was founded in 1879, and played a major role in the development of the rules of the sport. The first team plays in National Division One but played in the Marine Harvest Premier Division after two successive promotions from the old North Division One from 2006 to 2008. The club restarted its second team in 2017, and there is a successful women's team, started in 2006.
Glenurquhart Shinty Club is a shinty team which plays in Drumnadrochit on the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland. It draws its players from the part of the Great Glen which encompasses Drumnadrochit, Lewiston and Glenurquhart. The club has been existence since 1885. They won their first senior trophy, the MacAulay Cup in 2012. After 2013 and 2014 saw them lose two successive MacTavish Cups, they are currently the holders as of 2015.
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 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 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 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.
Kinlochshiel Shinty Club is a shinty club based in RearaigBalmacara, near Kyle of Lochalsh, Lochalsh, Scotland. The club has two sides, a senior team which competes in the Mowi Premiership and a reserve team in North Division One.
Kilmallie Shinty Club is a shinty team from Caol, Fort William, Scotland. The club most recently achieved prominence in the all-Fort William Camanachd Cup Final in 2005.
Taynuilt Shinty Club is a shinty team based in Taynuilt, Scotland. The club has existed in several different forms most recently in junior form but has reformed and won South Division Two in 2009.
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.
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.
The Strathdearn Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty. The present holders are Newtonmore.
The Shinty league system is a series of interconnected leagues for shinty in Scotland. It is administered by the Camanachd Association.
The North Division One is the third tier of the Shinty league system. League champions are awarded the MacGillivary Cup and play-off against the South Division One champions for promotion to the National Division.
Fraser MacKenzie is a shinty player and manager from Lochcarron, Scotland. He originally played for Lochcarron Camanachd and was also Scotland manager. He is currently co manager of Glenurquhart.
