Caithness Shinty Club is a

shinty Shinty () 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 and even played in Northern ...

team from

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

, Scotland. They are the most northerly club in Scotland, based primarily in

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

but pulling players from across the county.

History

Whilst there was a shinty team for players working at

Dounreay Dounreay (; ) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutena ...

in the 1960s, Caithness had very little competitive shinty tradition since the early 20th century. In the 2000s, efforts were made to develop shinty. Youth teams from

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

and

competed in the Far North League established in 2007. Some players from Caithness team who competed in 2008 but this first attempt at national competition was highly unsuccessful. The success of the

Mod Cup The Mod Cup (Scottish Gaelic Cupa a' Mhòid), also known as the Aviemore Cup, is a trophy in the sport of shinty first competed for in 1969, traditionally played for by the two teams who are based closest to the host venue of the Royal National Mo ...

at the Caithness Mod in 2010, where a Caithness select defeated Sutherland 3–1 sparked hopes that Naver, or a different Caithness club might be resurrected. However, shinty activity took a backseat as an instrumental founder of the Naver side, Kenny "

Nostie Nostie () is a small remote hamlet, lying on Nostie Bay, an inlet at the northeastern end of the sea loch, Loch Alsh in the Scottish Highlands and is in the council area of Highland. Nostie lies a short distance from one of Scotland's popular t ...

" Macleod, who was also a minister in the Free Church of Scotland, died in April 2012. However, the passing of Reverend MacLeod did result in the establishment of an annual match in his memory, which has led to the founding of a proper Caithness club. This annual fixture, first played in 2012 saw a Caithness side defeat Sutherland 5–4. The trophy was then played for again in 2013 with Caithness losing on penalties to Sutherland.

2014

In 2014, Caithness Shinty Club entered the St. Andrews 6-a-side shinty tournament for the first time, reaching the semi-finals on a run that included a win against local rivals Kinlochbervie Camanachd Club and a memorable 1–0 victory over league side and top seeds,

Col-Glen Shinty Club Col-Glen Shinty Club is a shinty club based in Clachan of Glendaruel, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. History The club was founded in 1920, and was originally called Colintraive and Glendaruel Shinty Club. The ...

. Caithness also played

Cornwall Shinty Club The Cornwall Shinty Club is a shinty club from Cornwall in the UK. Formed in 2012, it is one of few clubs outside the Scottish Highlands. History Shinty-like stick games were played in Cornwall as well as across much of England before the end ...

in the inaugural Natural Retreats Shinty Challenge Cup, succumbing 2–1 to the

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

side. Caithness Shinty Club entered the Inverness 6's for the first time in 2014, and despite being overpowered by some strong league sides, they managed to leave with their heads held high and far better for the experience. A second Natural Retreats Shinty Challenge Cup match was held versus

, with Caithness going down 2–1 again to an experienced Cornwall side. 250px, 2014 Nostie Cup winning squad On 19 August 2014, in the Holburn Hotel, Caithness Shinty Club held its inaugural general meeting and constituted the club for the first time. Since then the club has secured sponsorship deals with Ashley Ann Ltd, the Holburn Hotel and Scrabster Seafoods. On Saturday 4 October 2014, Caithness defeated a Sutherland select side 4–3 to regain the Kenny "Nostie" MacLeod cup This was also a significant day as the Caithness starting line up all trained and resided in Caithness. The scorers for Caithness were Angus Thorburn x2, Chris Sinclair and Darren Douglas. Caithness Shinty Club held its first club 6's tournament in November, 2014. Three teams entered, East Caithness,

and West Caithness. Thurso came out victors, winning both their matches, East Caithness were runners-up. Caithness Shinty Club secured a grant from Dounreay Site Restoration Limited which will assist in the procurement of equipment.

2015

The club held its first New Year's Day beach shinty match in

with a fantastic turnout, the tradition will be repeated next year too. On 24 January, Caithness succumbed to a 4–2 friendly defeat to Kinlochbervie Camanachd Club at Naver Park, Thurso. The match was played despite 2–3 inches of snow. Caithness travelled to

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

to meet

Inverness Shinty Club Inverness Shinty Club is a shinty club from Inverness, Scotland. The first team competes in North Division One and the second team in North Division Three. Founded in 1887 as Inverness Town and County Shinty Club to distinguish from other clubs ...

in a friendly on 21 February. Caithness entered the

Strathdearn Cup The Strathdearn Cup is a knock-out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms ...

for the first time and received a home draw against

Beauly Shinty Club Beauly Shinty Club is a shinty club from Beauly, Scotland. The club was founded in 1892. The club has two sides, the first team competing in the MOWI Premiership and the second team in MOWI North Division One. History Beauly was founded in 189 ...

, they succumbed 6–1 in a gritty performance. Luke Merchant scored the club's first ever senior goal.

Future plans

The club aimed to enter the National league set up in 2017, thus completing the journey from non-league level to senior level. The club also plans to establish a Women's team. However, whilst it is still expected that Caithness will join the leagues, the long term viability of shinty in the area was put under threat by the possible destruction of the club's park, the only proper-sized area for shinty in the region, for a four lane athletics track. However, the club secured a park in association with the local rugby club and while this augured well for future plans, a lack of player commitment resulted in the club still only competing in the cups in 2017. In 2018, Caithness only competed in a couple of sixes tournaments.

Honours

– 2010 *Kenny "Nostie" MacLeod Cup – 2012, 2014

References

External links

Kenny Nostie Cup ReportKenny Nostie Cup ReportSt Andrews 6's reportInverness 6's summary
{{Shinty teams Shinty teams Sport in Caithness 2014 establishments in Scotland