| Uist | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Full name | Uist Camanachd Club | |
| Gaelic name | Comann Camanachd Uibhist | |
| Nickname | Na Uibhistich | |
| Founded | 1990s | |
| Ground | Machair Lionacleit, Benbecula. | |
| Manager | Keith Macdonald | |
| League | Non-League | |
| ||
Uist Camanachd is a shinty team from the Western Isles, Scotland. The club is based in North Uist but draws its players from the whole archipelago from Berneray to Eriskay.
Shinty died out in the Uists in the 1900s due to a difficulty in gaining access to the Camanachd Association's competitions and the rise of football after the First World War. The sport was once highly organised within the islands itself, with Tigharry being the final champions of Uist in 1907. [1] Due to a lack of trees, camans were made with sea weed stalks at the time.
Shinty returned to Uist on a permanent basis in the 1990s and the initiatives spearheaded at this time have resulted in a vibrant youth system alongside a senior team which claimed its first senior trophy by winning the Mod Cup in 2005 against Lewis Camanachd. The club is also involved in coaching shinty at local Feisean. [2]
In 2008 the senior side lost 4–6 to Lewis on aggregate in the HebCelt Trophy. [3] Uist won the trophy for the first time in 2009, defeating Lewis 3–0.
At youth level, Uist has been making advances in recent years, with U-14 teams competing at National Development level, 2008 saw the team's best ever performance, finishing third. They also competed in the Minch Medal Tournament. [4]
In 2009, the youth teams will be competed in mainland competition on a full-time basis for the first time, playing against Skye B and Lochcarron. In August 2009, Uist hosted Skye but were defeated 12–0. [5]
In 2010, Uist lost the Hebridean Celtic Festival Cup match to Lewis Camanachd 4–1. In 2010, the club was visited by Ronald Ross. [6]
In 2011, the club entered the Camanachd Association Development League, a new tier of shinty for developing clubs such as Uist. They played their first ever games as a senior side on the mainland against Strathspey Camanachd and Kinlochbervie Camanachd on 21 May 2011 at Beauly. The club lost in the HebCelt Cup match 3–2 to Lewis. The club competed for the Mod Cup in October 2011 but were defeated by Lewis Camanachd 2–0 on home soil.
In 2012, a sixes team competing as Uist came second in a six a-side tournament in Edinburgh. [7] Uist won the Hebcelt Cup on penalties in 2012.
Shinty in Uist over the last few years has been overtaken by developments in Lewis, but the club has exported players to the mainland and in 2018 won the HebCelt Cup for the first time since 2018.
The club won the HebCelt Cup again in 2022.
On 3 November 2007, the club regained possession of the North Uist Shinty Challenge Cup, which had been in the possession of D.R. Macdonald for many years. The club is resurrected the tradition of New Year shinty in North Uist with a game between the Westside (An Taobh Siar) and the Eastside (An Taobh Sear) of the Island on Hogmanay 2007 to mark a hundred years since the trophy was last played for. The game took place at Paible School and the Eastside triumphed 9–0.
The trophy was contested again in 2008 with the Westside winning 8–1. In 2009, the Eastside won 7–5. In 2010, the match was won by the Eastside again but in a tight 6-3 contest. [8] The fixture is also complemented by the Lachlan McQuien Memorial Shield, an under-14 match between East and West dedicated to Lachlan McQuien, who was the last surviving player from the 1907 game and whose great-grandchildren are involved in the club today.
The fixture was not held in 2011 as the club were refused permission to use the usual venue on the scheduled date. [9]
North Uist Shinty Challenge Cup Winners
The Isle of Lewis or simply Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).
Stornoway is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
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.
The Hebridean Celtic Festival or HebCelt is an international Scottish music festival, which takes place annually in Stornoway on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Headliners to date include Runrig, Van Morrison, Deacon Blue, The Fratellis, The Levellers and KT Tunstall. Many other acts take part in the event, including visiting international artists, solo artists and local musicians. The festival regularly attracts over 16,000 attendees and provides significant economic and cultural benefits for its host area.
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.
Lochcarron Camanachd is a shinty club from Wester Ross, Scotland.
Strathglass Shinty Club or "Comunn Camanachd Straghlais" in Scottish Gaelic is a shinty club from Cannich, Inverness-shire. The Club was founded in 1879, is considered to be the oldest constituted club in shinty 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.
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.
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.
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.
Niall Iain MacDonald is a Scottish Gaelic-language radio and television producer for BBC Scotland, and presenter of the popular rock and indie music program, Rapal, for BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.
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.
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 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.
The Bullough Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty.
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 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 is a shinty club based in Grantown-on-Spey, Strathspey, Scotland, currently competing in the Marine Harvest North Division Two.
Elections to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election was the second one using the 9 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Each ward elected three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system: a form of proportional representation. A total of 31 Councillors were elected.
