| SCOTS | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Full name | SCOTS Camanachd | |
| Gaelic name | Comann Camanachd an Airm | |
| Nickname | SCOTS | |
| Founded | 1994 | |
| Ground | Levenhall Links, Musselburgh | |
| Manager | Colin Irving | |
| League | Cups Only | |
| 2014 | First Round Sutherland Cup | |
| ||
SCOTS Camanachd is the only shinty team in the British Armed Forces.
It was established in 1994 by Fraser MacKenzie [1] and the club originally played under the name of the Queen's Own Highlanders.
They continued as the Highlanders Shinty Club representing the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) regiment which in 2006 was amalgamated into the Royal Regiment of Scotland as the 4th Battalion is an infantry battalion of the British Army.
The club narrowly lost out in 2003 in South Division 2 to Glasgow University Shinty Club.
Due to the 4th Battalion's regular placements abroad, the team at present only plays in cup matches and friendlies. In 2006, the club played the first competitive Shinty game outside Scotland for 80 years, losing to London Camanachd 1-0 in the Bullough Cup, although they won the tie 9-1 on aggregate. They then progressed to the final where they defeated Lochside Rovers 3-1 to win their first ever national trophy of the competition on 23 September 2006, two months after returning from Basra.
The club did not enter competition in 2007 or 2008 due to operational reasons [2] and re-emerged under the name, the SCOTS Shinty Club in 2009. The SCOTS is an abbreviation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The club re-entered competition in 2009 under its new name and competed in the Sutherland and Bullough Cups once again. The team lost 2-1 to Kinlochshiel in the Sutherland Cup in 2009. [3] The club was hit by tragedy when player Scott Bain died in a tragic accident whilst on leave on 20 July 2009. [4]
The club undertook a tour of the Hebrides in 2009. [5] In January 2010, they started marketing themselves to servicemen throughout the British Armed Forces and to veterans. [6]
Whilst the club draws many of its players from Shinty playing parts of the Highlands, in particular the 4th Battalion (The Highlanders) but also the 5th Battalion (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders), the club also look to encourage the sport throughout the British armed forces. With an increasingly wide range of armed forces personnel a rebranding exercise was undertaken and the club renamed SCOTS Camanachd for 2012. [7]
Thanks to a deal struck between the Camanachd Association and British Forces Broadcasting Service, the players of the SCOTS had the opportunity to watch the Camanachd Cup Final broadcast live across the World on their bases. [8]
The Scots played the Irish Defence Force Hurling team in the first ever international between the two countries. [9] They were outclassed by a team with many inter-county players but it was a very successful occasion and may be repeated. The Scots also played in several sixes in 2012 including the St. Andrew's Sixes and the first ever London shinty festival, which they won, defeating London Camanachd and Cornwall Shinty Club.
The Scots celebrated the start of their 20th anniversary season with an appearance in the final of the St. Andrew's Sixes in 2014. They were defeated by Inverness-shire Camanachd.
The Scots continue to enter competitions as of 2018, although they withdrew from the Bullough Cup in the second round giving a walkover to Kyles, having defeated Aberdour in the first round. They took part in the Blue Flash Challenge against Caberfeidh in a friendly match.
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.
The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
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.
London Camanachd is a shinty club in England. They have historically been attached to the South District. They went into abeyance in 1992 but were reconstituted in 2005. They played the first officially recognised Shinty match outside Scotland in 80 years on Saturday 22 July 2006 against the Highlanders. Currently the club field men's and women's teams in English and Scottish competitions as well as exhibition matches in Europe, most recently in 2018 in Brussels.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an individual regiment. However, three regular battalions maintain their former regimental pipes and drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments.
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.
Shinty was played in its original form throughout North and South America by Scottish settlers until the early 1900s when the practice died out. Shinty, and its close Irish relative hurling as well as the English bandy, are recognised as being the progenitors of ice hockey and are an important part of North America's modern sporting heritage.
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.
Lewis Camanachd (Scottish Gaelic: Comann Camanachd Leòdhais is the senior shinty team from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The club entered North Division Three for the first time in 2011. This was the first time a team from the Western Isles was allowed to compete in league shinty. However, the club was only allowed in on trial and awaited a decision from the Camanachd Association as to whether this was to become a permanent arrangement. Lewis was granted entry on a permanent basis from 2012.
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.
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.
Bute Shinty Club is a shinty club from Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. It has a reserve team which is in South Division Two.
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.
Naver Athletic Camanachd Club was a shinty club based in Bettyhill, Sutherland, Scotland established in 2008. It was a select team drawing players from both Sutherland and Caithness. Naver competed in the Strathdearn and Sutherland Cups in 2008.
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 Bullough Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty.
The English Shinty Association (ESA) is the main body for promoting and encouraging the sport of shinty in England and Wales.
