View source for Shinty

{{Short description|Team sport with ball and sticks}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{distinguish|Shinny|Iomain}}
{{sources|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox sport
| name=Shinty<br />{{native name|gd|Camanachd, Iomain}}
| image=CabersGlasgow.jpg
| imagesize=300px
| caption=A shinty game in progress
| union=[[Camanachd Association]]
| first=Pre-medieval origins; first codified club formed 9 November 1861
| registered=2,000<ref>{{Cite web| title=Shinty's place and space in world | url=http://www.uscamanachd.org/documents/MacLennan_Shintysplace.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711191131/http://www.uscamanachd.org:80/documents/MacLennan_Shintysplace.pdf | archive-date=2006-07-11}}</ref>
| clubs=40<ref>{{Cite web| title=Shinty's place and space in world | url=http://www.uscamanachd.org/documents/MacLennan_Shintysplace.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711191131/http://www.uscamanachd.org:80/documents/MacLennan_Shintysplace.pdf | archive-date=2006-07-11}}</ref>
| contact= [[Contact sport#Full-contact|Full]]
| team=12 players per side<br />substitutes are permitted
| mgender=Officially No<br />(there are no rules to prevent women from playing in men's teams, a frequent occurrence in the lower leagues, with some of shinty's elite female players playing or having played for lower league men's teams<ref>{{cite news |last1=Butterworth |first1=Annie |title=Shinty is not just a man's game, so it's time for fair play |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/32343881 |work=BBC Sport |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref>)
| ball=
|equipment=Caman|olympic=|country/region=[[Scotland]]}}
'''Shinty''' ({{langx|gd|camanachd, iomain}}) is a [[team sport]] played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the [[Scottish Highlands]] and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland<ref>{{cite web|author=Scottish Mining Website |url=http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/502.html |title=Mining Folk of Fife |work=Scottishmining.co.uk |access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.valeofleven.org.uk/football02.html|title=The Early Years of Scottish Football|website=www.valeofleven.org.uk}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWu6sLJn7-kC&q=shinty&pg=PA150|title=Encyclopedia of Traditional British Rural Sports|first1=Tony|last1=Collins|first2=John|last2=Martin|first3=Wray|last3=Vamplew|date=14 July 2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780415352246|via=Google Books}}</ref> and even played in [[Northern England]] into the second half of the 20th century<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportsHistorian/1999/sh192e.pdf Shinty in England, pre-1893] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901161835/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportsHistorian/1999/sh192e.pdf |date=1 September 2009 }}, ''The Sports Historian'', 19:2(1999), 43–60</ref><ref name="auto1"/> and other areas in the world where Scottish Highlanders migrated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/shinty |title=Dictionary of the Scots Language :: SND :: Shinty n |work=DSL.ac.uk |access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref>

While comparisons are made with [[field hockey|hockey]], the two games have several important differences. In shinty a player is allowed to play the ball in the air and use both sides of the stick. The latter is called a {{lang|gd|caman}}, which is wooden and slanted on both sides. The stick may also be used to block and to tackle, although a player may not come down on an opponent's stick, a practice called hacking. Players may also tackle using the body as long as it is shoulder to shoulder.

The game was derived from the same root as the [[Culture of Ireland|Irish]] game of [[hurling]]/[[camogie]] and the [[Culture of Wales|Welsh]] game of [[Bando (sport)|bando]], but has developed unique rules and features. These rules are governed by the [[Camanachd Association]]. A [[composite rules shinty–hurling]] game has been developed in which Scotland and Ireland play annual international matches.

Another sport with common ancestry is [[bandy]], which is played on ice. In [[Scottish Gaelic]] the name for bandy is "ice shinty" ({{lang|gd|camanachd-deighe}}) and ''bandy'' and ''shinty'' (and ''shinney'') could be used interchangeably in the English language.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/skatings00heatrich|title=Skating|first1=John Moyer|last1=Heathcote|first2=C. G.|last2=Tebbutt|first3=Henry A.|last3=Buck|first4=John|last4=Kerr|first5=Ormond|last5=Hake|first6=T. Maxwell|last6=Witham|date=16 March 1892|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co.|access-date=16 March 2018|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==Origins==
[[Hurling]], an Irish pastime for at least 2,000 years similar to shinty, is derived from the historic game common to both peoples. Shinty/hurling appears prominently in the legend of [[Cúchulainn]], the [[Celtic mythology]] hero.<ref name="uscamanachd.org">Hugh Dan MacLennan [http://www.uscamanachd.org/documents/MacLennan_Shintysplace.pdf SHINTY'S PLACE AND SPACE IN WORLD] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711191131/http://www.uscamanachd.org/documents/MacLennan_Shintysplace.pdf |date=11 July 2006 }} The Sports Historian, No. 18, 1 (May 1998), pp. 1-23.</ref> A similar game is played on the [[Isle of Man]] known as [[cammag]], a name cognate with camanachd. The old form of hurling played in the northern half of Ireland, called "commons", resembled shinty more closely than the standardised form of hurling of today. Like shinty, it was commonly known as {{lang|gv|camánacht}} and was traditionally played in winter.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} It is still played regularly on [[Saint Stephen's Day]] in [[St John's, Isle of Man|St John's]].

The origins of the name ''shinty'' are uncertain. There is a theory that the name was derived from the cries used in the game; "shin ye", "shin you" and "shin t'ye", other dialect names were ''shinnins'', ''shinnack'', ''shinnup''.<ref>Shindy: The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. p.820</ref> ''chinnup'',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFQJAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA40 |first=Edward |last=Peacock |title=A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire |publisher=[[English Dialect Society]] |year=1877 |page=40}}</ref> Alernatively, as [[Hugh Dan MacLennan]] proposes, from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] {{lang|gd|sìnteag}}.<ref name="uscamanachd.org"/> However, there was never one all-encompassing name for the game, as it held different names from glen to glen, including {{lang|gd|cluich-bhall}} ('play-ball' in [[English language|English]]) and in the [[Scottish Lowlands]], where it was formerly referred to as ''[[hailes (ball game)|hailes]]'', ''common''/''cammon'' (''caman''), ''cammock'' (from Scottish Gaelic {{lang|gd|camag}}), ''[[knotty]]'', carrick<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/carrick|title=Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: carrick}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcFBAAAAQBAJ&q=carrick+fife+shinty&pg=PA84|title=Scots and its Literature|first=J. Derrick|last=McClure|date=1 January 1996|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=9789027276056|via=Google Books}}</ref> and various other names, as well as the terms still used to refer to it in modern Gaelic, {{lang|gd|camanachd}} or {{lang|gd|iomain}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shinty {{!}} sport {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/shinty |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A View of Edinburgh with a game of shinty |url=https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/108825 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=National Galleries of Scotland |language=en}}</ref> Shinty was once a popular game in lowland Scotland, as shown by its name ''shintie'', a term which took that form around 1700, displacing the earlier ''shinnie'' – of which there is a written record about 100 years earlier.  ''Shinnie'' may also derive from ''shin'' in English, with the affix ''-ie'', a common termination to the name of many games in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=April 1963|title=An Gaidheal The Gael|url=https://digital.nls.uk/an-comunn-gaidhealach/archive/124893764#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=65&xywh=0%2C-172%2C4739%2C3513|journal=An Gaidheal|volume=LVIII / 58|pages=43}}</ref>

==Game==

=== Playing area ===
[[Image:camanachdfield.jpg|thumb|The field of play]]The objective of the game is to play a small ball into a goal, or "hail", erected at the ends of a {{convert|128|to|155|m|yd|adj=mid|-long|order=flip}} by {{convert|70|to|80|yd|m|adj=mid|-wide}} pitch.<ref name="shinty.com">{{Cite web |title=CAMANACHD ASSOCIATION-BYELAW 1-2024 |url=https://shinty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BYELAW-1-2024-2.pdf |access-date=}}</ref> The game is traditionally played on grass, although as of 2009 the sport may be played on artificial turf.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8387122.stm | work=BBC News | title=Weather factor in shinty decision | date=30 November 2009}}</ref> The pitch also has marks indicating a {{convert|10|yd|m|-1|adj=on}} area around the goals, the penalty and centre spots (along with their associated arcs/circles of {{convert|5|yd|m|0|disp=or}} radius), and corner arcs at the corners of the rectangular pitch of {{convert|2|yd|m|0|disp=or}} radius.<ref name="shinty.com" /> The goals, at opposite ends of the field, measure {{convert|12|ft|m|2}} wide and {{convert|10|ft|m|2}} high and a net is affixed to catch the ball when a goal is scored.<ref name="shinty.com" />
[[File:Shinty field and Standing Stone - geograph.org.uk - 1519977.jpg|thumb|Shinty field (Winterton), Inveraray]]

===Ball===
The ball is a hard solid sphere of around half the diameter of a tennis ball, consisting of a [[cork material|cork]] core covered by two pieces of [[leather]] stitched together. The seam is raised. It is very similar to a hurling [[sliotar]] in that it resembles an American [[baseball (object)|baseball]] with more pronounced stitching. The permitted circumference is between {{convert|7+1/2|and|8|in|cm|spell=in}} and weight between {{convert|2+1/2|and|3|oz|g|spell=in}}.<ref name="shinty.com" /> The ball is usually white, but there is no statutory colour, black being a common colour for Kyles Athletic, and fluorescent balls now being available.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Plastic balls or soft balls are often used in youth competitions such as the variant "First Shinty".{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

=== Stick ===
[[File:ShintySticks1.JPG|thumb|Showing the development of shinty sticks through the years]]The ball is played using a ''caman'', which is a stick about {{convert|3+1/2|ft|m}} long with two slanted faces. The stick has a wedge shaped head, roughly triangular in cross section,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uscamanachd.org/rules/|title=AN OVERVIEW OF THE RULES OF SHINTY|website=US Camanachd|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> which must be able to pass through a ring {{convert|2+1/2|in|cm|spell=in}} in diameter.<ref name="shinty.com" /> Unlike the Irish ''camán'', it has no blade. The ''caman'' is traditionally made of wood, traditionally [[Fraxinus|ash]] but now more commonly [[hickory]], and must not have any plate or metal attached to it. The ''caman'' would be made from any piece of wood with a hook in it, hence ''caman'', from the Scottish and Irish Gaelic word ''cam'', meaning bent or crooked. It can also be called a stick or club. The slant of the face will vary according to the position that the stick is used for. It can be made according to the player's height.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Plastic camans are common in the youth variant "First Shinty".{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Rules of play==
{{refimprove|section|date=November 2016}}
A player can play the ball in the air and is allowed to use both sides of the stick. The stick may also be used to block and to tackle, although a player may not bring their stick down on an opponent's stick, which is defined as hacking. A player may tackle an opponent using the body as long as it is shoulder-to-shoulder as in [[Association football|association football (soccer)]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

A player may only stop the ball with the stick, the chest, two feet together or one foot on the ground. Only the goalkeeper may use his hands, but only with an open palm since he is not allowed to catch it. Playing the ball with the head constitutes a foul whether intentional or not, as it is considered dangerous play. Other examples of dangerous play, which will be penalised, are a player, while grounded, playing the ball, or a player recklessly swinging the caman in the air in a way which might endanger another player.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[File:Shinty Style.jpg|thumb|left| A player doing keepy-uppy]]Fouls are penalised by a free-hit, which is indirect unless the foul is committed in the penalty area, commonly referred to as "The D". This results in a penalty hit from {{convert|20|yd|m}}.<ref name="auto">[http://www.shinty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Byelaw-1-160312.pdf Rules of Play and Playing Season] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111070524/http://www.shinty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Byelaw-1-160312.pdf |date=11 November 2012 }}, Camanachd Association - Rules and Byelaws, February 2010</ref>

A ball played by a team over the opposing bye line results in a goal hit from the edge of the D, while a ball played by a team over their own line results in a corner. A ball hit over the sideline results in a shy: a shinty shy involves the taker tossing the ball above his head and hitting the ball with the shaft of the caman, and the ball must be directly overhead when struck.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Scoring===
The winner of a game is the team that scores the most goals. A team scores a goal "when the whole of the ball has passed over the goal-line and under the cross-bar". A goal can only be scored with the caman; there is no goal when the ball "has been kicked, carried or propelled by hand or arm by a player of the attacking side." A goal cannot be scored directly from a free-hit.<ref name="auto"/>

===Team size===
Teams consist of 12 players (men) or 10 players (women), including a goalkeeper. A match is played over two halves of 45 minutes. With the exception of the goalkeeper, no player is allowed to play the ball with his hands. There are also variants with smaller sides, with some adjustments in the field size and duration of play.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

===Substitutions===

As with sports such as [[football]], shinty originally did not have substitutes. These were introduced in the 1960s, progressively expanding to allow a maximum of three substitutions per game. As of 2011, a rule change allowed for rolling substitutions to be made at the senior level.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/9401475.stm | work=BBC News | title=Friday's Scottish gossip | date=18 February 2011}}</ref>

==Organisation==

In common with many sports, it became formalised in the [[Victorian Era]] and the first organised clubs were established in cities such as Glasgow and London where there were thousands of Gaels resident.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/editor-s-picks-ignore/it-s-part-of-our-city-s-history-the-most-beautiful-cup-in-the-world-1.1017454# |title=It's part of our city's history ... the most beautiful cup in the world |newspaper=Evening Times |date=31 March 2010 |access-date=20 January 2013}}</ref>

In 1887, a historic game was played between [[Glenurquhart Shinty Club]] and [[Strathglass Shinty Club]] in [[Inverness]]. This game was attended by thousands of people and was a major milestone in developing a set of common rules.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} This fixture was to be repeated on 12 January 2007 in Inverness as the opening centrepiece of the [[Highland 2007]] celebrations in Scotland, but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/1260/camanachd_association_confirms_cancellation_of_show_piece_game|title=Camanachd Association confirms cancellation of Show Piece Game|work=highland.gov.uk}}</ref>

The modern sport is governed by the [[Camanachd Association]] ({{langx|gd|Comann na Camanachd}}). The association came into being in the late [[Victorian era]] as a means of formulating common rules to unite the various different codes and rules which differed between neighbouring glens. Its first meeting was held in [[Kingussie]] in 1893.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The Camanachd Association maintained its initial structure for much of its first century. The 'Future of Shinty' Report published in 1981 led to a complete restructuring of the way in which shinty was organised and managed. That led to the move away from a dependence on volunteers to govern the sport, to the Association's first salaried employees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shinty.com/index.php?page=history |title=Shinty |work=Shinty.com |access-date=20 January 2013 |archive-date=16 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316060040/http://www.shinty.com/index.php?page=history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Competitions==
{{see also|:Category:Shinty teams}}
[[Image:ShintyNorthSouthDistricts.GIF|thumb|Map of Scotland showing North/South divide in shinty]]

There are shinty clubs in [[Aberdeen University Shinty Club|Aberdeen]], [[Aberdour Shinty Club|Aberdour]] ([[Fife]]), [[Forth Camanachd|Edinburgh]], [[Glasgow Mid Argyll|Glasgow]], [[Tayforth Camanachd|Perth]], [[Cornwall]], [[Oxford]] and even [[London]]. [[University Shinty]] is a popular section of the sport, with almost all Scotland's main universities possessing a team. Historically, [[University of Glasgow|Glasgow University]], [[University of Aberdeen|Aberdeen University]] and [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh University]] have vied for supremacy, but in recent{{when|date=December 2015}} years, [[University of Strathclyde|Strathclyde University]], [[Robert Gordon University]], [[University of Dundee|Dundee University]], and the [[University of St. Andrews]] have risen to prominence. Clubs compete in various competitions, both cup and league, on a national and also North/South basis. While the top [[Premier Division (shinty)|Premier Division]] has been played on a Scotland-wide basis since 1996, the lower leagues are based on geography. Many clubs run second teams that also compete in these leagues against clubs with only one senior side.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="250" heights="250">
File:Camanachd Tactics North.PNG|North tactics
File:Camanachd Tactics South.PNG|South tactics
</gallery>
===Season===

Shinty was traditionally played through the [[winter]], based around the tradition of the "Iomain Challainn", where [[New Year]] was marked by a game between neighbouring parishes. The [[summer]] was left free for seasonal work and friendly tournaments. The Winter season always ran over, however, and many teams would find themselves finishing the previous season only weeks before the next one would start.

In 2003, shinty clubs voted for a trial period of two years of a summer season from March to October, with a view to moving permanently to summer shinty if the experiment was judged to be a success. Despite opposition from the "Big Two", [[Kingussie]] and [[Newtonmore (Shinty)|Newtonmore]], and other small groups in the game, an [[Extraordinary General Meeting|EGM]] in November 2005 voted by an overwhelming majority (well over the required two thirds) to make summer shinty the basis upon which the game would proceed.<ref name="The Times"/>

There have been teething problems since the move to summer shinty, with a couple of teams being culpable for the season running over into November and December. Season 2010 saw the league season finished by the first weekend in October, almost on schedule.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Shinty does still get played during the winter, in [[University Shinty]] which has teams compete for the second most valuable trophy in Scottish sport – the Littlejohn Vase – and in New Year fixtures, the most prestigious of which is the [[Lovat Cup]], played between Beauly and Lovat.<ref>[http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/14162/Holders_Lovat_ranked_favourites_to_retain_cup.html]{{dead link|date=March 2016}}</ref>

===Leagues===

''For more information, see [[Shinty league system]]''

League shinty was originally organised on a regional basis, with distinct competitions for the North District and at one time, two separate leagues for Argyll (the Dunn League) and the Southern League, for clubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. Over time, there have been moves to amalgamate leagues and, since the 1980s, a push for national competition at the highest levels. In the modern era of league shinty, [[Kingussie (Shinty)|Kingussie]] have been unsurpassed in their domination of the sport; according to the [[Guinness Book of Records]] 2005, Kingussie is world sport's most successful sporting team of all time,<ref name="The Times">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article1033244.ece|title=Sport - The Times|work=[[The Times]]}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> winning 20 consecutive league championships and going four years without losing a single fixture in the early 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} 

Kingussie's unmatched run of dominance was ended on 2 September 2006 by rivals [[Newtonmore (Shinty)|Newtonmore]], who defeated [[Oban Camanachd]] 2–0 to ensure that Kingussie could not catch the team at the top of the [[Premier Division (shinty)|Premier Division]]. However, Newtonmore were unable to replace their neighbours as champions, as the first post-Kingussie champions were confirmed as [[Fort William Shinty Club|Fort William]], who sealed the title on 30 September 2006, having won their games in hand over Newtonmore. Kingussie regained the title in 2007. Since 2010, Newtonmore have been the dominant league force.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

===Cup===
Cup shinty has always been seen as being more important than league shinty, and the premier national competition remains the Scottish Cup or the Camanachd Association Challenge Cup, the [[Camanachd Cup]] for short. Until 1983 the competition was designed to ensure the final was between the North and South.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

The [[Macaulay Cup]] still preserves a guaranteed North/South Final. There are national equivalents for the Camanachd Cup for intermediate and junior teams. There are regional cups for both senior and junior teams; the [[MacTavish Cup]] is the senior cup for the North and the [[Glasgow Celtic Society Cup]] is the one for the South.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

===Shinty and hurling internationals===
In recognition of shinty's shared roots with hurling, an annual international between the two codes from [[Scotland national shinty team|Scotland]] and Ireland is played on a home and away basis using [[Composite rules Shinty/Hurling|composite rules]]. In recent years, the Irish have had the upper hand, but the Scots won the fixture narrowly in 2005 and again in 2006, this time at [[Croke Park]], [[Dublin]], albeit with the Irish fielding weaker players from the second tier [[Christy Ring Cup]]. Scotland made it four in a row when they won in 2008.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Outside Scotland==
[[Canadian Gaelic]]-speaking pioneers in [[Nova Scotia]] adapted shinty, which was traditionally a [[winter sport]], to the much colder Canadian climate by wearing [[ice skates]] while playing on frozen lakes. This led to the creation of the modern [[winter sport]] known as [[ice hockey]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Roger|last=Hutchinson|date=1989|title=Camanachd: The Story of Shinty|publisher=Mainstream Publishing|pages=80–100}}</ref>

The game of [[shinny]] in Canada is a synonym for [[street hockey]], [[pond hockey]] or any informal game of hockey. It derives its name from shinty, although a myth there perpetuates that it came from children tying [[Eaton's]] catalogues around their legs to protect their shins from flying pucks or slashing.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The [[English Shinty Association]] (ESA) is the main body for promoting and encouraging the sport of shinty in England.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[London Camanachd]] is a shinty club first established in the [[Victorian era]], competing in English and Scottish competitions such as the English League, the Bullough Cup and most recently in the [[Camanachd Cup]] in 1994. They went into abeyance in 1995, but were reconstituted in 2005. They played the first officially recognised shinty match outside Scotland in 80 years on 22 July 2006 against [[the Highlanders Shinty Club|the Highlanders]].  They compete annually in the English Shinty Championships against Cornwall, Oxford, Devon and Bristol as well as playing shinty–hurling matches and organising sporadic friendlies against visiting teams.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

On 28 December 2010 Ireland held its first dedicated shinty match in Westmeath, with players who have played the [[Compromise rules Shinty/Hurling]].<ref>[http://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/sport/gaa/articles/2010/12/23/4002317-kilkenny-stars-to-feature-in-fundraising-shinty-game/ Kilkenny stars to feature in fundraising shinty game] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230072816/http://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/sport/gaa/articles/2010/12/23/4002317-kilkenny-stars-to-feature-in-fundraising-shinty-game/ |date=30 December 2010 }} 23 December 2010, westmeathexaminer</ref>

A [[Cornwall Shinty Club]] was established in 2012, playing their first game on 21 April 2012 against London; the match finished a draw. They also entered the St Andrew's Sixes tournament in 2012. Following this, in December 2012, two more Cornish clubs were created; the first being the Combined Universities of Cornwall and the second being Mabe. These two teams put forward their best players to play for the Cornwall Shinty Club.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

There was a team in [[Northallerton]] in the 1970s, which competed in six-a-sides; and on 1 August 2012 a re-vamped Northallerton Shinty Club was formed. The club is hoping to draw in a few former players, but wants to focus on raising awareness of the game in Yorkshire and bringing new local players into the game.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Shinty was played widely in England in the 19th century and early 20th century, with teams such as London Scots, Bolton Caledonian and Cottonopolis; [[Nottingham Forest F.C.]] was established by shinty players.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/top-football-clubs-played-host-to-scots-sport-of-shinty-415259.html |title=Top football clubs played host to Scots sport of shinty |first=Ian |last=Herbert |work=The Independent |date=8 September 2006 |access-date=30 December 2016 |archive-date=9 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509023657/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/top-football-clubs-played-host-to-scots-sport-of-shinty-415259.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since 2012 London has hosted the annual "London Shinty Festival",  which has been attended by Cornwall, London, [[Oxford Shinty Club]], St Andrews university ladies team, and the Scots.  It is an open tournament held in late September after the Shinty season is finished to allow any travelling teams the opportunity to attend.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Since 2013, a combined English Shinty Association side has entered the Bullough cup, being beaten in 2013 by Tayforth and then in 2014 by Ballachulish.
Shinty is played in the [[British Army]], with [[The Scots Shinty Club]] keeping alive the tradition of the game being played in the Forces.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Shinty is also being revived among the [[Scottish diaspora]] in [[North America]], where it was originally played in the 18th and 19th century by Scottish immigrants, but died out. More recent teams such as [[Northern California Camanachd Club]] (NCCC), Central California Cammanchd (CCC), and Oregon Shinty-Camanachd (OSC) play at [[Highland games]] and other venues across the USA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscamanachd.org|title=US Camanachd|website=www.uscamanachd.org|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref>

==Media coverage==
Local papers, such as the ''[[West Highland Free Press]]'', ''[[The Buteman]]'', the ''[[Oban Times]]'' and the ''[[Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard]]'', have in-depth shinty reports. The Inverness-based media reduce shinty coverage to one summary of the whole weekend's action, as do national newspapers, such as the ''[[Sunday Herald]]'' and the ''[[Sunday Post]]''. The only significant national press coverage is of the [[Camanachd Cup]] final. Regional newspaper ''[[The Press and Journal (Scotland)|The Press and Journal]]'' runs shinty coverage twice a week (Mondays and Fridays).{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The first-ever shinty match broadcast live on television was the 1964 Celtic Society Cup Final.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skyecamanachd.com/news/2014-AJG-Parcels-Glasgow-Celtic-Society-Cup-Final-3-Days-To-Go.htm |title=2014 AJG Parcels Glasgow Celtic Society Cup Final 3 Days To Go |work=SkyeCamanachd.com |date=28 June 2014 |access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref> Although Camanachd Cup finals and internationals have been shown over the years, 2006 marked the first-ever regular TV deal for shinty with matches being shown on the BBC Sports show ''Spòrs''. This was then followed by the STV show ''An Caman''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

2009 saw the Camanachd Association sign a deal with [[BBC Alba]] to broadcast all national finals as well as the Marine Harvest Festival. The MacAulay Cup and Camanachd Cup final were also shown on [[BBC Two]]. There is also an increasing amount of shinty on the internet, with various clips garnering attention on video sites such as [[YouTube]]. 2011 was a sparse year for TV coverage outside of the usual games, but 2012 saw several games filmed live on BBC Alba.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The sport is featured on [[BBC Radio nan Gaidheal]] by the programme, Spòrs na Seachdain, although English-language radio interest is usually restricted to the big events in the year. Commentary on the Camanachd Cup Final is provided in both English and Gaelic.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

==In popular culture==
===Literature===
* In his 1783 poem ''Moladh Gheàrrloch'' ('In Praise of Gairloch'), [[Scottish Gaelic literature|Gaelic bard]] [[William Ross (poet)|William Ross]] (1761–1791) describes a game of shinty, which was still a [[winter sport]] played in the [[Gàidhealtachd]] upon [[St. Andrew's Day]], [[Christmas Day]], [[New Year's Day]], [[Handsel Monday]], and [[Candlemas]]. The bard's account of the annual [[New Year's Day]] match at [[ebb tide]] upon the Big Sand ({{langx|gd|Gainmheach Mhòr}}) of [[Gairloch]], is, according to Ronald Black, "as succinct a description as we have of the great festive shinty matches of the past."<ref> Ronald Black (2001), ''An Lasair: Anthology of 18th century Scottish Gaelic verse'', Birlinn Ltd., p. 501.</ref>
* The author [[Margaret Hope MacPherson]] wrote a children's book called ''The Shinty Boys'', which was published in 1963.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Music===
* The shinty song "[[Clash of the Ash]]", by the [[Celtic rock]] band [[Runrig]], immediately became widely popular and is now considered an anthem for the sport.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Television===
* In September 2009 comedian [[Billy Connolly]] suggested that shinty should become Scotland's new [[national sport]], because the [[Scotland men's national football team]] had become so bad.<ref>{{cite web|first=Beverley |last=Lyons |date=8 September 2009 |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/showbiz-news/2009/09/18/live-last-night-billy-connolly-usher-hall-edinburgh-86908-21682723/ |title=Live last night: Billy Connolly @ Usher Hall, Edinburgh |location=Edinburgh |work=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |access-date=20 January 2013}}</ref>
* The accordionist [[Gary Innes]] wrote "The Caman Man" on his latest album ERA and has played shinty for Scotland fourteen times, captaining the side in 2010/11.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}
* The TV series ''[[Hamish MacBeth]]'' featured a shinty match as an integral part of the plot of the episode "More Than a Game", with real shinty players Dallas Young of Kingussie and Neil "Ach" MacRae of [[Kinlochshiel Shinty Club]], playing pivotal roles.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0595601/]
* A shinty game is shown in episode 4, "[[The Gathering (Outlander)|The Gathering]]", of the [[Starz]] TV show ''[[Outlander (TV series)|Outlander]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibtimes.com.au/outlander-tv-series-producers-share-picture-jamie-dougal-shinty-match-scene-1431272|title=''Outlander'' TV Series: Producers Share Picture of Jamie and Dougal from the 'Shinty Match' Scene|date=20 March 2015|website=International Business Times AU|access-date=24 January 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Women's shinty]]
*[[Lacrosse]], of ancient Native American origin, where the stick is used to catch, throw, and carry the ball
*[[Field hockey]]
*[[Bando (sport)]]
*[[Hurling]]
*[[Camogie]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.shinty.com The Camanachd Association]

{{Shinty teams|state=expanded}}
{{Team sports}}
{{Hybrid sport}}
{{Sport in Scotland}}
{{Celts}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Shinty| ]]
[[Category:Sport in Highland (council area)]]
[[Category:Sports originating in Scotland]]
[[Category:Team sports]]
[[Category:Sport in Argyll and Bute]]