Shinty

Shinty is a sport played with a ball and curved sticks that resembles field hockey. It is also called shinny or shinney, or by the Gaelic name, camanachd (pronounced ca-man-achd). A team scores by hitting the ball through the opponent’s goal, which is called the hail. It is a Scottish sport believed to be about two thousand years old and is played by two teams of twelve players. The Camanachd Association, which was founded in Scotland in 1893, considers shinty the national game; similar organizations oversee shinty in countries around the world.

Background

Shinty was originally played within communities in Scotland. Centuries ago, people did not travel far or often. The exception was when a chief called a meeting. This gave athletes an opportunity to play against new competition.

The Highland Games originated in the mountains of Scotland. Scottish chiefs would call together clans, or groups based on family connections, to conduct clan business that might include hunting, military exercises, and military action. These gatherings were also social and athletic events. Over time, various physical sporting events developed and members of the clan regularly competed with one another until the mid-eighteenth century. The games continued until the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, when Prince Charles Edward Stuart tried to reclaim the throne of England. The prince, who was commonly called Bonnie Prince Charlie, raised an army in Scotland. After he was defeated, the British Crown punished the Scots by outlawing the clan system.

Although the Highland Games were no longer taking place at clan gatherings, athletic events remained popular. About ninety years after the failed rebellion, organizations began to sponsor Scottish athletic games. The first event, the Lonach gathering, took place at Braemar and Strathdon. These modern Highland Games have continued for almost two centuries. Modern events often incorporate Highland dancing and bagpipe music, with exhibitions and competitions frequently included in the program.

Typical Highland Games events include flat and hurdle races, long and high jumps, pole vault, hammer throwing, and weight tossing. The hammer consists of a wooden shaft and iron ball, while the stone that is tossed is a round stone ball. Another weight toss is the caber, a tapered fir pole that weighs about 90 pounds (40 kilograms) and is about 17 feet (5 meters) long. The caber must be tossed end over end and land with the small end pointing away from the thrower. Kilts are required of those tossing the weight and the caber. While many traditional activities remain part of the Games, shinty evolved separately as a league sport.

Shinty matches in Scotland coincided with celebrations such as New Year’s Day, and have often been played between the men of parishes, villages, or districts. The sport survived the suppression of Scottish culture of the mid-eighteenth century and was carried by immigrants to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the eastern United States. Those Scots who moved to Canada played shinty in winter on ice, and helped develop the sport of ice hockey. Others who left Scotland for the industrial cities of England formed shinty clubs that also played soccer. These clubs included Chelsea and Manchester United; some of them remain soccer powerhouses in modern times.

The first set of universal shinty rules was adopted in 1880. Captain Archibald Chisholm, who founded the Strathglass Club, was named the first chief of the Camanachd Association in 1893. In modern times, leagues include male and female players of different age groups. While the Camanachd Association oversees the formal incarnation of shinty, it has remained a popular activity among casual players. Highland regiments played in their down time during both World Wars, and members of the 51st Highland Division who were prisoners of war during WWII formed teams while being held by the Germans.

Overview

Shinty is played on a field that is 160 yards by 80 yards (146 meters by 73 meters). Goals, which are 10 feet (3 meters) high and 12 feet (3.7 meters) wide with crossbars, are located at opposite ends of the field. The curved sticks (camáns) are thin, less than 2.5 inches (6.3 centimeters) wide, and slightly shorter than field hockey sticks. Players may use the camáns to carry the ball as well as hit it. The ball is hard and weighs 2.5 to 3 ounces (70 to 85 grams). Its circumference is from 7 to 8 inches (17.7 to 20.32 centimeters), or about the size of a tennis ball. In the recent past, the ball was wooden or cork, although long ago players made do with what they had on hand, which included sheep vertebrae and dried clumps of cow manure. The modern standardized ball has a cork and woolen interior and an outer cover usually of leather.

A game is ninety minutes long. Like field hockey, shinty has no offside rule, but opposing players may not enter a semicircular area in front of the goal before the ball. Players may use their feet to stop the ball, but only the goalkeeper may use hands on the ball. The camán can be swung above shoulder height, and the ball is frequently in the air rather than on the ground.

Men’s teams comprise twelve players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Women’s and children’s teams are usually smaller and play on smaller fields, or pitches. All league players who are younger than seventeen years of age are required to wear helmets; such protective equipment is particularly important in a sport in which players may swing the stick above shoulder height. Many adult players also wear helmets to protect themselves from injuries to the head, face, and mouth. Competitive shinty is organized into leagues that include various levels that engage in knock-out competitions. The top prize in men’s shinty is the Camanachd Cup, which dates back to 1895. The coveted Valerie Fraser Cup is women’s shinty’s top prize.

Because of its similarity to hurling, shinty and hurling teams occasionally challenge one another. Hurling, which is popular in Ireland, involves a slightly different, broader stick. The two organizations overseeing the respective sports have an agreed-upon set of composite rules for these matches and oversee an annual competition.

Bibliography

“A Brief History of Shinty.” US Camanachd, uscamanachd.org/history/. Accessed 13 July 2020.

“How Is Shinty Played.” Camanachd Association, 2020, www.shinty.com/playing/how-is-shinty-played. Accessed 13 July 2020.

Hutchinson, Roger. Camanachd!: The Story of Shinty. Birlinn, Limited, 2004.

Innes, Gary. “Facing Up to Shinty Injuries.” BBC, 22 Apr. 2013, www.bbc.com/sport/scotland/22249560. Accessed 13 July 2020.

Innes, Gary. “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Shinty.” BBC, 7 Mar. 2014, www.bbc.com/sport/scotland/26492232. Accessed 13 July 2020.

McDonald, Hugh. “1,000-Plus Goals and 12 Camanachd Cups: Ronaldo of the Glens Ronald Ross Is Shinty’s Greatest.” Scottish Daily Mail, 9 June 2017, www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-4590444/Ronaldo-Glens-Ronald-Ross-shinty-s-greatest.html. Accessed 13 July 2020.

“Origins.” Women’s Camanachd, 2017, www.shinty.com/womens/shinty/origins. Accessed 13 July 2020.

“Shinty.” Scottish Sport, 2020, www.scottishsport.co.uk/othersports/shinty.htm. Accessed 13 July 2020.