Fort William and Skye still in the hunt for MacTavish Cup
After some thrilling first round ties which saw last year’s winners Kinlochshiel beaten, the door is now open for a new name to be inscribed on the MacTavish Cup this year.
The quarter-final draw was conducted by pupils at Newtonmore Primary School this week with the class kitted out with T-shirts, bags and water bottles which were emblazoned with the new cottages.com MacTavish Cup logo as a reward for their help with proceedings.
The draw that will raise most eyebrows must be the Badenoch Derby where Kingussie travel the three miles to Newtonmore to compete for a spot in the semi-final.
Kingussie knocked Newtonmore out of all competitions last year so there is no doubt the blue and white side of Badenoch will be looking for revenge.
Elsewhere Beauly make the long trip north to Skye and with both teams looking for top places in the National League this year the tie should be an exciting one.
Lovat host Kilmallie at Balgate and Fort William take on either Caberfeidh or Glenurquhart in the last quarter final game.
Camanachd Association CEO Derek Keir said: ‘The Camanachd Association is delighted to have had the opportunity to take one of our cup draws to a community embedded in shinty heritage and tradition.
‘Our thanks go to Newtonmore Primary School for accommodating us and also to Callum Nicolson, Lucy Stewart, Sophia Cheyne and Finlay Chisolm for conducting the draw in such a professional manner.
‘Community is at the very heart of shinty and it was great to take our sponsors and this prestigious trophy to one of them.’
James Taylor, cottages.com business development manager, added: ‘We have been involved with local communities a lot; we work in them every day and it is fantastic to be able to support communities like these through the work we do with the Camanachd Association.’
Quarter-final action takes place on Saturday April 16.