Strathspey Camanachd is a

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

club based in Grantown-on-Spey,

Strathspey Strathspey may refer to one of the following: * Strathspey, Scotland, an area in the Highlands of Scotland * Strathspey Camanachd Strathspey Camanachd is a shinty club based in Grantown-on-Spey, Strathspey, Scotland, currently competing in the ...

, Scotland, currently competing in the Marine Harvest North Division Two. Founded in 2011 the club was admitted into senior league shinty for the beginning of the 2012 seaso

History of Shinty in Strathspey

During the late nineteenth century twelve

clubs from across the Badenoch and Strathspey area were in operation indicating the importance the sport played for the local communities of that time. Grantown-on-Spey formed the first shinty club in

in 1892 followed over the next few years by clubs formed in

Nethy Bridge Nethy may refer to: *Nethy Bridge, village in Strathspey in the Highland council area of Scotland *River Nethy The River Nethy ( gd, Neithich / Abhainn Neithich) is a right bank tributary of the River Spey in northeast Scotland. It rises as the G ...

''(1893)'',

Boat of Garten Boat of Garten ( gd, Coit a' Ghartain; originally: Garten) is a small village and post town in Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland. In 1951, the population was less than 400; in 1971, it was almost 500; in 1981, it was almost 700, and the ...

''(1893)'', Carrbridge ''(1893)'', Dulnain Bridge ''(1894)'' and Aviemore ''(1900)''. With player numbers dwindling over the passing decades for the Strathspey-based clubs, shinty remained much stronger in nearby Badenoch where

Kingussie Camanachd Kingussie Camanachd is a shinty team from Kingussie, Scotland and according to the Guinness Book of Records 2005, is world sport's most successful sporting team of all time, winning 20 consecutive leagues and going 4 years unbeaten at one stage in ...

and bitter rivals

Newtonmore Camanachd Club Newtonmore Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Newtonmore, Badenoch, Scotland. It is historically the most successful side in the history of Shinty, having won the Camanachd Cup a record 34 times. They won the Marine Harvest Premier Division se ...

would begin their local dominance. For the Strathspey teams, regular periods of hiatus became the norm. Although success was less profound in Strathspey it was not completely absent of accomplishment. Duthil-Carrbridge winning the

Strathdearn Cup The Strathdearn Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty. The present holders are Lovat Shinty Club. It is played for by reserve-level teams from the North of Scotland, that is all teams playing in North Division Two and Three as wel ...

in 1914 followed by Grantown Camanachd Club (locally referred to as the Grantown Butchers) winning the same trophy in 1921, beating Glenurquhart Shinty Club 7–1 in the final. With an increased popularity in football, and the outbreak of World War II, by the 1940s no Shinty club in Strathspey continued operation. Kincraig Camanachd, of Badenoch, and Loch Ness based

Boleskine Camanachd Boleskine Camanachd is a shinty club from Loch Ness-side, Scotland. They play in the Marine Harvest North Division Two. The club in its present form has existed as such since 1953. History Boleskine Camanachd has been in existence in one form ...

would benefit from exiled Strathspey based players.

History of Strathspey Camanachd

In 2011 a group of local enthusiasts established a senior club based in Grantown-on-Spey,

Strathspey, Scotland Strathspey ( gd, Srath Spè, ) is the region around the strath of the River Spey, Scotland, split between the Moray council area and the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area of Highland. The term Strathspey usually refers to the upper part o ...

with the club entering the Camanachd Association-sanctioned Development League North the very same year. Strathspey played their first match against

Ardnamurchan Camanachd Ardnamurchan Camanachd is a shinty club based in Strontian, Ardnamurchan. The club covers a wide but sparsely populated area taking in Strontian, Ardgour, Morvern, Acharacle and Moidart: all in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It was established in 2 ...

on 12 February 2011 before a run of further friendlies. Finishing first in the Development League Strath Cam gave way to a final-game defeat to

Kinlochbervie Camanachd Club Kinlochbervie Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Kinlochbervie, Sutherland, Scotland. History Shinty was traditionally played throughout the Highlands of Scotland until the early 20th century when it died off in many areas and there was a tra ...

. The club successfully applied and were accepted in to the Marine Harvest North Division Three for the 2012 season. This was to mark the first competitive shinty to be played in

in over 60 years. The club's first competitive game was a 3–1 defeat by Strathglass Shinty Club on 3 March 2012. That season the club would record five victories and two draws, including a 6–6 home draw against

Lewis Camanachd Lewis Camanachd ( gd, Comann Camanachd Leòdhais is the senior shinty team from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The club entered North Division Three for the first time in 2011. This was the first time a team from the Western Isles ...

, finishing 7th overall. The 2013 season saw the club enter the

Sir William Sutherland Cup The Sir William Sutherland Cup, more commonly known simply as the ''Sutherland Cup'', is a trophy in the sport of shinty. It is the national cup competition for ''junior'' sides, the equivalent of the Camanachd Cup for those sides in lower leagu ...

for the first time where they were defeated by

Glengarry Shinty Club Glengarry Shinty Club is a shinty team from Invergarry, Inverness-shire, Scotland. The club has played in its present form since 1976. There is one senior team, competing in North Division Two (shinty), North Division Two . The club also runs ...

. In the league, Strathspey were to be edged out of 6th place on goal difference by

Lochbroom Camanachd Lochbroom Camanachd is a shinty club from Ullapool, Scotland. It was active 1992−2000 then 2006−2015. , the club has been abeyance at senior level. History The club was founded in 1992 but went into abeyance in 2000, however the club mainta ...

to finish 7th for the second consecutive year. On 19 October 2013, "Strath Cam" partook in its first ever under-17 match against

The Dell (Kingussie) The Dell is a shinty stadium in the town of Kingussie, Scotland. It is the home of Kingussie Camanachd and has been a shinty venue for almost 150 years. Location The park is situated beside the River Spey on the outskirts of Kingussie in an a ...

, marking the first time in history an age grade team had represented a club from Strathspey. On 26 October, the club fielded an under-17 team in the WJ Cameron Trophy development trophy against

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 club ...

Ballachulish Camanachd Club Ballachulish Camanachd Club is a shinty team from Ballachulish, Lochaber, Scotland. The club was founded in 1893 the same year as the Camanachd Association. One of the sport's most famous clubs, they won the Camanachd Cup four times before Worl ...

and

, eventually finishing in 3rd place. 2014 witnessed the club progress, finishing 3rd in the league. The club entered the

for the first time where they reached the semi-final before losing out 4–3 to

Skye Camanachd Skye Camanachd is a shinty team from the Isle of Skye, Highland, Scotland. It plays in the Premier Division and has a reserve team in North Division One, as well as a Ladies team in the WCA National Division One and a Ladies reserve team in the ...

. The club's progression was reflected with Andrew Hay, a rookie to the sport in 2011, being awarded the Marine Harvest Player of the Year Award for North Division Three. Due to a small number of teams in the league a split was proposed by Strathspey, however this had a negative consequence, with the club required to travel to Lewis twice on league duty along with two away fixtures in cup competitions. Despite beating

6–0 in the cup, the club were unable to raise a team for both league fixtures resulting in multiple forfeits. 2015 saw Strathspey start the league in a strong fashion but ultimately finished bottom of the league.

Strathspey Camanachd Ladies

In March 2014, Strath Cam began the foundations of forming a

women's shinty Women's shinty is a sport, played almost entirely within Scotland, identical to the men's game – with the same rules, same sized pitch and same equipment. It is administered by the Women's Camanachd Association (Camanachd nam Ban) Histo ...

team. With a lot of help from former Badenoch and Strathspey Ladies Shinty Club and Scotland International Jane Nicol, the sport generated a lot of interested with women in the local community. Strathspey Camanachd Ladies have entered the

Women's Camanachd Association Women's shinty is a sport, played almost entirely within Scotland, identical to the men's game – with the same rules, same sized pitch and same equipment. It is administered by the Women's Camanachd Association (Camanachd nam Ban) Histor ...

league structure for the 2015 and will play Strathglass Shinty Club in their first fixture in March 2015.

Ground

In late 2011 the club secured Freuchie Park as its home ground. Located in the vicinity of Castle Grant – so named as it stood on the site of the original village which would become Grantown - at that time called 'Castleton of Freuchie'. Controversy surrounded the club in December 2011 as the '' Press and Journal'' erroneously reported that Strathspey had been given use of the ground by Craig Whyte, then chairman of Rangers F.C., who owns Castle Grant. This, however, was false, as the park had been granted use by a local farmer. The club used Freuchie Park for the duration of the 2012 and 2013 seasons. On 6 January 2014 it was announced that Strathspey would be moving away from Freuchie Park and playing their home matches at Grantown Grammar School. The first shinty match held at GGS was a friendly against

on 22 February 2014. The visitors winning 6–2. With the club unable to train at GGS they use an all weather facility, located in Aviemore, during the winter months, with summer training held at the

football pitch.

Season by Season record

''*North Div 3 became tier 5 on the pyramid after the reinstatement of the National Division. North Div 3 would fold after the 2014 season. Automatic entry into North Div 2 (tier 4)''

References

External links

First mention of club
{{Shinty teams Shinty teams Sports clubs and teams established in 2011 2011 establishments in Scotland Sport in Highland (council area) Badenoch and Strathspey