Ex-sports stars return to the fray
OBAN’S shinty stars will swap hitting the ball with sticks for scoring with kicks to raise money for charity.
Shinty players and footballers will go head to head in a soccer match on March 26 at Oban’s rugby club to raise money for DMI Cancer Trust.
Three games will take place at the We’ll Play This Game Together event, which starts at noon.
And for the first time since they won the Camanachd Cup in 1996, the trophy-winning Oban Camanachd team will get together to take on Coasters Football Club.
The event was organised by Coasters player John Scott after hearing that Neil ‘Nonnie’ McInnes was unwell and unable to organise his annual sell-out charity concert.
For the past three previous years Nonnie, who captained the cup-winning Oban Camanachd team, has organised a traditional music concert, We’ll Walk This Road Together, to raise money for his charity DMI Cancer Trust – raising more than £40,000.
John Scott said: ‘So in order to keep the charity in the public domain, a couple of us came up with the idea of We Will Play This Game Together.’
Gareth Evans, Lochside Rovers shinty manager and Camanachd Cup winner, said: ‘I am getting the team together. We will have about 20 players.
‘The reason we have 20 is because most of our players will be hitting 50. A few of the boys were apprehensive about it because we haven’t done anything like this for a while, but it’s for a good cause. ‘This will be the first time since we won the cup that we will be back together.’
Organisers of the charity event have already helped to raise £1,000, but are hoping to increase that figure. The event starts with Coasters versus Camanachd 96, followed by Coasters Ladies versus Oban Ladies at 1.30pm and the event will finish with an Oban select taking on Camanachd.
Donations can be made in person at Coasters Bar or online via JustGiving.