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. However, its history is significantly different. Social pressures – along with the broader game's self-image – resulted in a largely hidden history until comparatively recently.
It is administered by the Women's Camanachd Association (Camanachd nam Ban)
Early history
Women would have traditionally played shinty, but would not have been able to compete in games such as Iomain Challainn, the new year shinty matches which were a tradition across the Scottish Highlands. Women would have been restricted to providing the refreshments off the pitch.
However, in the mid-1990s there was a movement to create some form of competitive opportunities for women, influenced by the fact that many girls would be able to play shinty at Primary School level, and indeed under-14 level but would, for whatever reason unable to play at senior-adult level.
In the 1990s, teams from Glengarry, Oban and Dunaad were beginning to play each other, this resulted in the Women's Camanachd Association being set up in 2001 to run the league and cup system discretely from the men's game.[1]
Recent history
In the modern era, Glengarry have been the dominant force in the game. As the one main club in the North of Scotland for a long time, they were able to assemble squads from across the area which could match up to the strong sides being put together by GMA, Tir Chonnaill Harps and Edinburgh University/Forth.
However, with clubs springing up in Strathglass, Lochaber, Badenoch and Strathspey, Skye and Lovat, it remains to be seen whether the Garry can continue to attract the very best players.
The leagues in recent years have been restricted by the fact that the player base for women's shinty is still quite small and many clubs are mismatched. With Badenoch and Strathspey stepping back up to National league level this should provide a stronger competition at the top.
Competition structure
League
Dunaad, Glengarry and Oban Camancheroes made up the first league. The league has now expanded to cover most of the major shinty playing areas. As of 2012, these will be known as the Marine Harvest Leagues.[2]
Until 2013, there was a National league one, with teams of 10 a-side, with two regional divisions, based on the sport's traditional North and South Districts, in which teams played 8 a-side. This however, often led to very small leagues and a lack of games which resulted in stilted growth for the game.
However, in 2014, the WCA amalgamated the North and South Divisions Two into National Division Two. This, along with the promotion of Skye and Lochaber to National Division One, resulted in two sizeable leagues allowing for more regular play.
National Division One 2014
- Glasgow Mid-Argyll
- Aberdour
- Skye Camanachd
- Lochaber
- Glengarry
- Badenoch & Strathspey
National Division Two 2014
- Oban Lorn
- Lovat
- Ardnamurchan
- Glasgow Mid-Argyll†
- Strathglass
- Dunadd Camanachd
- Cowal & Bute
†Denotes reserve team
Cup
- Valerie Fraser Trophy – The equivalent of the Camanachd Cup for the women's game. However a club need only win two games to win it. In order to increase the number of teams competing, Division Two teams were permitted entry in 2012. It has been sponsored by Peter Gow of Inverness for several years.
- Challenge Cup – A cup for Division Two and reserve sides. Originally the Caledonian Canal sponsored this tournament, but it will be the Marine Harvest Cup from 2012.
Representative
There are North and South representative games at senior and U-18 level. These are one of the few 12 a-side games played in the women's game. These are traditionally played in Oban.
International Links
There are also international compromise rules games against camogie teams. In recent years the gap with the Irish Camogie sides has been too great and so the Scotland national side now usually face British Universities GAA. In 2013, Scotland faced Dublin Camogie.
