|
Newtonmore Camanachd Club
Newsletter June 2009
1] Success on the Field Saturday June 13th will remain
in the memory of Newtonmore supporters for some considerable time.
The first victory over Kingussie in a major final since 1985,
the manner of the victory coming from behind to win 5-4 and the
quality of the individual and collective team performance. Neutrals
are describing it as one of the best games they have seen. Congratulations
to the players and team management: everyone associated with the
club hopes that this is a cathartic moment that leads to a new
era of success. This year it will have to be in the league after
the disappointing result against Fort William in the Macaulay
Cup on Saturday.
The under 17s got to the final of the Strathdearn 6's but having
had only a short break after winning their semi final did not
have the energy left to cope with Lochaber in the final. The Primary
School got to the semi final of the schools competition, but was
beaten by a very strong Portree side. The under 14s are through
their first group stage undefeated and we are waiting to hear
about our next opponents.
2] Improvements at the Eilan The drilling, sanding and
fertilising of the pitch has had a dramatic effect on the grass
growth and the quality of the pitch already. We will be taking
further advice on how to maintain this improvement as well as
how to make major repairs to the two goalmouths. The pitch is
now getting quite hard and we will be looking at introducing the
sprinklers as we did last year.
3] Newtonmore's strongest man Saturday 20th June Many
thanks to Eddy Harrigan for organising this competition at the
tennis courts which proved a good venue for attracting spectators
to watch the 8 competitors. On a hot afternoon the BBQ and drinks
went down well. Surprise winner of the weight carrying competition
was Phil Routier who was miles ahead of the rest of the field
and said that the resin Rob Ritchie had given him made it easier
to carry on than put the weights down! The tire flip which some
people thought would be impossible was achieved by 4 competitors;
Glen Mackintosh was only 0.2 of a second behind Norman Campbell
in lifting the heavy weights onto plinths; and after the final
competition of a timed pull of his own truck up the road, it was
Norman Campbell that emerged with the title of Newtonmore's strongest
man. About £300 was raised for club funds and it looks like
this could become a regular event.
4] Williamson 6s Those of you that did not get to this
really missed a treat. 24 teams and over 160 youngsters took part
on a glorious evening. Although the evening started at 5pm and
we played on 4 pitches scheduling problems caused by late arrivals
[and a few girls playing in two teams!] meant that we did not
get finished till 9.45pm.
There were a number of really high quality games, none more so
than in the final of the Williamson trophy with Gergask scoring
the only goal in the first period of extra time and an outstanding
performance by Calum Grant confirming him as player of the tournament.
Kingussie won the Balavil Cup for the tots with Newtonmore coming
out top in the girl's competition for the Massey Shield and in
the Gergask Quaich for developing teams. However it was Gergask
winning the Williamson for the first time which was the highlight
of the evening and I gather their celebrations continued well
into the night.
Many thanks are due everyone who prepared the fields and goals,
to the players and others who refereed the 40+ games, to the PTA
for the home baking and to Eddy Harrigan for the BLASTA sponsored
burgers. There were over 250 cars in the Eilan [some may have
been attracted by Chris Thomson's bagpipe playing!] and over 400
people and this helped ensure healthy sales of food and refreshments.
The profit of nearly £600 is being shared between the PTA
and the club.
5] Fence post painting I have still not been knocked down
in the stampede of volunteers! With Rob Ritchie's help about 90
of the 166 posts have been completed. The wire brush, paint and
brushes are in the shed and you can get access to them at a time
of your choosing by speaking to myself or Rob.
6] Development officer in Argyll The Ronald Ross equivalent
post in Argyll and Bute has been filled by Darren Reid [brother
of Garry until recently Youth Development Officer] and a player
with Strathglass.
7] Shinty try outs at the Highland Folk Park Following
the successful trial at Easter, visitors will be given the opportunity
to try out shinty for half an hour every Monday in July and August
between 1230 and 3pm.
8] BBC filming 30th June The BBC are filming a Landward
programme in the National Park area. They are featuring something
on Tomintoul, the steam railway, Cairngorm mountain and shinty.
They will be filming at training on the Eilan on Tuesday 30th
June and you are welcome to come and watch. The idea is that the
presenter Ben Fogle will receive some shinty tuition and then
take part in a training match. We have checked that he has insurance
cover!
9] Fundraising Ideas for fundraising events would be very
welcome. Eddie Harrigan is hoping to organise a family race night
later in the year. It would be ideal if some players and/or supporters
would take part in the hill race so that we can do some fundraising
on the back of it. We are hoping that the players may organise
a marathon and dance type event some time in August.
Ian Gibson Tel 01540 673048 Mob 07817 378729 iangibson12@btinternet.com
29th June 2009
Back |
