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. [1] The current holders are Newtonmore. The competition is currently sponsored by cottages.com.
The final is habitually played at the Bught Park, Inverness. [2]
The trophy is a rose bowl [3] presented by Duncan MacTavish of Stratherrick in 1898 and the first competition was played that year and was won by Skye Camanachd.
The final was televised for the first time in 2009 by BBC Alba. The 2009 winners were Newtonmore Camanachd, managed by Norman MacArthur.
As of 2010, the opening rounds of the cup were to be played midweek, in order to reduce the backlog of fixtures that has regularly afflicted shinty. [4] This caused major controversy and Skye Camanachd sent an official letter of complaint to the Camanachd Association. [5] However, this decision was reversed and midweek fixtures were reserved for junior level cups.
The 2010 final was played between Kingussie and Kilmallie, who upset Fort William to reach the final. The game was a magnificent advert for shinty and was won 5-4 by Kingussie. [6] It was broadcast live on BBC 2 Scotland.
In 2014, the MacTavish Plate was established for teams losing in the first round. Fort William triumphed 2-1 over Skye Camanachd in the first final at Craigard, Invergarry.
Only 5 clubs have managed to retain the trophy. Newtonmore being the most recent in 2016 and 2017, however Kingussie and Newtonmore have both done it multiple times both dominating for long periods. Fort Augustus and Inverness have both also successfully defended the trophy both doing so before The Great War.
Glenurquhart won the cup in 2015, defeating Newtonmore. This was notable not only for being their first victory in the competition but having lost the previous two finals to Lovat, as well as the 2008 final to Kingussie.
The 2018 final saw Newtonmore comeback from a goal down to defeat 2017 Premiership League champions Kinlochshiel 2-1 in a closely fought encounter at the Bught Park, Inverness. The match was shown live on BBC Alba.
| Club | Total | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Newtonmore | 42 | 1902, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Kingussie | 28 | 1901, 1914, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2022 |
| Lovat | 8 | 1906, 1926, 1928, 1947, 1949, 1953, 2013, 2014 |
| Caberfeidh | 4 | 1932, 1934, 1935, 1937 |
| Kilmallie | 4 | 1959, 1961, 1967, 1969 |
| Beauly | 3 | 1899, 1905, 1913 |
| Inverness | 3 | 1907, 1911, 1912 |
| Kinlochshiel | 1 | 2021 |
| Spean Bridge | 3 | 1922, 1925, 1933 |
| Ballachulish | 3 | 1938, 1948, 1952 |
| Fort William | 3 | 1996, 2000, 2007 |
| Fort Augustus | 2 | 1909, 1910 |
| Skye | 1 | 1898 |
| Laggan | 1 | 1900 |
| Wester Ross | 1 | 1908 |
| Glenurquhart | 1 | 2015 |
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Kinlochshiel Shinty Club is a shinty club based in Balmacara, near Kyle of Lochalsh, Lochalsh, Scotland. The club has two sides, a senior team which competes in the Marine Harvest Premiership and a reserve team in North Division One.
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 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)
The Sir William Sutherland Cup, more commonly known simply as the Sutherland Cup, is a trophy in the sport of shinty. It is the national cup competition for junior sides, the equivalent of the Camanachd Cup for those sides in lower league competition. The current (2017) holders are Lochside Rovers.
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 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.
The Strathdearn Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty. The present holders are Lovat Shinty Club.
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.
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.
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.
The 2017 Marine Harvest Premiership was the 21st season of the Premier Division, the highest division in Shinty. The season began on 4 March 2017 consisting of 10 teams from across Scotland. The 3rd season with Marine Harvest as title sponsors saw reigning champions Newtonmore challenging for their 8th Premiership title in a row.
The Women's Camanachd Association (WCA) Challenge Cup is the second-tier trophy in women's shinty. It is currently sponsored by Mowi who have sponsored the cup since 2014. It is played on a knock-out basis by the teams in the National Division 2 Leagues and is administered by the Women's Camanachd Association. The current holders are Lovat.
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