Moves to avert shinty refereeing crisis

CAMANACHD Association Director Angus MacVicar has written directly to clubs in a bid to avert a possible refereeing crisis.

MacVicar highlights a ‘ very difficult situation that shinty is currently facing due to a shortage of suitable match officials’. He said: ‘In short, we are on the cusp of a very real crisis which may call for drastic measures in the not-so- distant future.

‘Some of you may think that shinty has always had difficulty in recruiting suitable individuals for referees and goal judges and therefore nothing has changed. However, the current situation is dire in that the Camanachd Association may have to consider cancelling games because suitable officials are simply not available.’

The situation is so serious that unless something radical happens in the next few months, the association may be forced to allocate games on the basis of the clubs that have nominated the currently-available match officials.

Clubs, current match officials and anyone associated with the sport is urged to actively approach any suitable individual known to them who might be interested in being nominated as a shinty match referee or goal judge.

The Camanachd Association will offer appropriate training and development to assist those with the right attributes to become successful match officials.

Any interested parties can contact Operations Manager Astie Cameron or the Camanachd Association offices on 01463 715 931.