Travis Perkins national first shinty festivals
Kyles Athletic colts at MacRae Park and Tayforth and Col Glen at Levenhall Links will all be rescheduled.
Marine Harvest North Division 2
The entire Marine Harvest North Division 2 programme was wiped out.
Unplayable pitches led to the postponements of the games between the Lochaber and Beauly second teams at Braeview Park, Strathspey Camanachd and the Kilmallie reserves at Grantown Grammar School, the Strathglass and Inverness second teams at Cannich, Boleskine and Lochcarron at Farr and the Caberfeidh colts against Lewis Camanachd at Castle Leod.
Marine Harvest South Division 2
The Oban Celtic second team’s return to league action will have to wait as their game against the Bute second team will be re-scheduled.
Strachurmore was unplayable so Strachur’s clash with the Glasgow Mid Argyll second team was postponed, whilst travel difficulties led to Glenorchy’s match against the Aberdour second team at Mart Park being called off.
WCA round-up
Winter weather also affected the Women’s Camanachd Association fixtures, with only one match going ahead.
In Marine Harvest North Division 2, Kinlochshiel Ladies, managed by former Kinlochshiel first team manager Colin Fraser, copied the club’s men’s senior side by being the only team to play as they welcomed Strathglass to the Plockton High School astro pitch.
This was the fledgling Kinlochshiel side’s first competitive outing and they competed well, despite going down 5-0. Freya Strachan scored twice, whilst Eleanor Mann, Cassie Dorrian and Mattie Jones got the others to give Strathglass victory.
In the same division, the games between the Skye Camanachd seconds and Inverness at Pairc nan Laoch, Glengarry and Glenurquhart at Craigard and Lovat and the Lochaber seconds at Balgate were postponed.
In Marine Harvest South Division 2, the meetings between Dunadd and Cowal and Bute, the Glasgow Mid Argyll seconds and Tayforth and Oban Lorn and Ardnamurchan seconds were all postponed.
This week’s premiership action
Oban Camanachd hope to get their first competitive action of the new season when they travel to Blairbeg to play Glenurquhart in the Marine Harvest Premiership on Saturday March 10.
Glenurquhart boss Iain MacLeod will do a fitness check on David MacLennan who suffered a knee injury in the defeat to Kinlochshiel and John Barr is definitely out. Oban Camanachd manager Ian Hay will welcome Garry Lord back, but Scott MacMillan is suspended and Scott McKillop is injured.
Caberfeidh should have Jamie MacIntosh fit for Kinlochshiel’s visit to Castle Leod. Oliver MacRae is still out for Kinlochshiel.
Skye host Lovat at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Skye’s Jordan Murchison, who would have missed the postponed game against Oban Camanachd, will be back, whilst Lovat’s Callum Cruden serves the final game of a three-match suspension which dates back to his red card in the Camanachd Cup Final.
Newtonmore will be without the banned Glen MacKintosh when Lochaber visit The Eilan. Ally MacDonald should replace Callum MacDonald in the Lochaber goal, whilst Brian MacDonald is banned.
New signings Neil MacVicar for Kyles and Sandy Elrick for Kingussie could make their competitive debuts when Kyles Athletic meet Kingussie. Sandy MacKenzie is banned for Kyles, whilst Kingussie’s Fraser Munro should make his competitive comeback. The Travis Perkins National P5 (& under) and P7 (& under) First Shinty Festivals were due to take place in Fort William on Saturday March 3.
However, with terrible travel conditions throughout the country, the event was postponed and has been rescheduled for Saturday March 17.
Two more Camanachd Association directors
The Camanachd Association co-opted two new members - Lyndsay Bradley from Ardnamurchan and John Finlayson from Skye - onto its board at a meeting in January.
Lyndsay Bradley has been a head teacher in Ardnamurchan for the past 11 years. She initially got involved with youth shinty before moving into the ladies game. Lyndsay is now coach and manager of the Ardnamurchan primary school teams and the three ladies teams in Ardnamurchan.
She also plays in goal for the Ardnamurchan first team which plays in Marine Harvest National Division 1. Lyndsay also continues to help out with the Ardnamurchan U14 and U17s.
Lyndsay Bradley was named Marine Harvest South Division 2 Coach of the Year at the 2017 Annual Marine Harvest Awards, having being named Marine Harvest Development Coach of the Year and Marine Harvest Volunteer of the Year 12 months earlier.
Lyndsay added: ‘I’m delighted to have been asked to join the Camanachd Association board and hope my experience in women’s and youth shinty, especially sustaining numbers and opportunities in our remote area, will be of help to the board. I’m looking forward to learning more about how the Camanachd Association works.’
John Finlayson, a Highland councillor, was a member of the Skye Camanachd squad that won the Camanachd Cup in
1990. He played shinty for Skye Camanachd from the age of 15 and for Glasgow University for five years. John went on to manage Skye Camanachd’s first team in the 1992/3 and the 1993/4 seasons.
John Finlayson said: ‘I was a head teacher for 30 years and in all my schools, I promoted shinty and supported parents and community members to take ownership of shinty coaching for primary school aged pupils.
‘This approach latterly led to
sustainable structures being put in place, led by parents and community members, and during my time at my last school, Portree primary, this community ethos enabled the school to win the MacKay Cup and the National First Shinty Trophy on several occasions. As someone who sees shinty as a community-based sport which offers youngsters a pathway into senior sport and the chance to play at a national level, I am keen to give something back to a sport that gave
me so many opportunities and enabled me to make numerous friends across all parts of Scotland. Shinty and its history have the potential to offer people of all ages enjoyment and hopefully, in some small way, I can contribute to its development.’
Camanachd Association president Keith Loades said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome John and Lyndsay to the board. They both bring a huge amount of experience and are sure to add value to an already experienced board.’
Marine Harvest Premiership
Caberfeidh v Kinlochshiel Andy MacLean Glenurquhart v Oban Caman John Angus Gillies Kyles Athletic v Kingussie David Mitchell Newtonmore v Lochaber Calum Girvan
Skye v Lovat
Martin MacLean
Marine Harvest National Division
Beauly v Kilmallie Archie Ritchie Inveraray v Fort William Graham Cameron Oban Celtic v Inverness Lachie Wood Strathglass v Glasgow MA Deek Cameron
Marine Harvest North Division 1
Fort William v Newtonmore Des McNulty Glengarry v Skye
Innes Wood Kingussie v Glenurquhart Ross Brown Kinlochshiel v Aberdeen Uni Brian MacKay
Marine Harvest South Division 1
Aberdour v Tayforth Ewan MacDonald
Col Glen v Kyles Athletic Neil MacDonald Kilmory v Ballachulish Duncan Kelly Lochside Rovers vBute Scott McNeil Taynuilt v Inveraray Iain Kennedy
Marine Harvest North Division 2
Boleskine v Strathglass Ronnie Campbell Kilmallie v Beauly Jim Innes Lochaber v Caberfeidh Graham Fisher Lochcarron v Lewis Steven MacLachlan Lovat v Strathspey John Matheson
Marine Harvest South Division 2
Glasgow MA v Aberdour Euan Pearson Glenorchy v Bute TBC
Strachur v Oban Celtic Ted McDonald
Result
Saturday March 3 Marine Harvest Premiership
Kinlochshiel 4 v 0 Glenurqhart
All other games were postponed because of bad weather.