Newtonmore Camanachd Club

April 2010

A photo opportunity with representatives of the COOP, the new sponsors of the Mactavish Cup

1] On the Field At the end of April despite some inconsistent performances the 1sts are top of the premier division and remain unbeaten. Despite losing in the Sutherland Cup the 2nds have had some good results in North Division 2 and are in the top half of the league. Saturday 1st May sees the much anticipated first clash of the season with Kingussie in the Mactavish followed on 15th May with our first league game of the season against them at the Dell.

The under 14s lost their first match 5-1 to Kingussie after losing Neil Stewart to a knee dislocation which upset the rhythm of the team. The under 17s had a nail biting Mactavish junior Cup tie against Lovat which was 1 - 1 after extra time. Unfortunately we lost the penalty shoot out 0 - 3

2] Newtonmore Heritage If you have not seen the Facebook pages that Ruaridh Ormiston set up they are well worth a look. I was particularly taken with this poem:

If you want to see the shinty
Go to Newtonmore
There you’ll see some funny sights
You’ve never seen before.

Men with broken noses
Pants without a seat
Players rolling in the mud
What a lovely treat!                          Calum Sharp Gergask School Laggan Age 6

Shinty related pictures/information so far on pages 3,4,40,55,58,60-64,69,71,72, 94,170 [1902 Mactavish Cup Winners photo], 76,193,194,20,203,212,235,239, 267,277,279.

3] Shinty Heritage Research There were a number of strong applications for this work which is looking at the place of shinty in the cultural life of Badenoch and Strathspey with a view to accessing further research funding. 95% of the cost is being provided by CNPA. A committee comprising Bob Powell Principal Museums Officer, Fiona Maclean Community Heritage Officer CNPA and David Cheyne unanimously awarded the project to Rosemary Gibson. A Steering Group of the people above along with a representative from Laggan Heritage will guide the project which will be completed by the end of October.

4] Fundraising Congratulations to all the children who took part in the sponsored shinty dribble after the Kyles game on 17th April. Over £700 was raised half of which has been donated to Sports Relief.

5] Shinty Marketing Leaflet You may recall the orange coloured leaflet with fixtures from 2007 that aimed to explain the game to tourists. This has been updated and thanks to a grant from the Destination Marketing Organisation for Aviemore and the Cairngorms we now have several thousand copies to distribute round tourist locations. We hope that this will continue to help grow the number of visitors coming to watch our games.

6] Williamson 6s event This will now take place on Wednesday 16th June [and not on a Sunday as listed in the fixture list]. This year we aim to play the tots games and the girls games for the Massey Cup first. This means that some of the girls will be able to play afterwards in the main Williamson Cup competition.

7] Trees Many thanks to Iain Macdonald for his help with replacement and protection of the trees many of which are there as part of a planning condition to help screen the shed. The good news is that nearly all the trees have survived the winter with a few of the pines nearer the road apparently nibbled by rabbits when the snow was 2’ deep!

8] Grass cutting equipment Has anyone got an old/surplus machine in working order [electric or fuel] that would be suitable for cutting the rough grass areas amongst the newly planted trees and alongside the access to the visitor side of the Eilan? If so would you be willing to donate it to the shinty club in return for our heartfelt thanks?!

9] Sponsorship There are three raffle sponsorships left at £10 each against Glenurquhart, Glasgow mid Argyll and Bute. Sponsorship of the refreshment supplies at £100 is also still available.

Ian Gibson   Tel 01540 673048   Mob 07817 378729     iangibson12@btinternet.com   29th April 2010

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