edinburghshinty

After a lengthy gap while the club has restructured following the move of Gaelic-medium Primary provision to Bonnington, at last our enthusiastic players have had the chance to test themselves against Central Scotland opposition.

And they came through that test with honours. All matches were played on a friendly basis to give as many of our players as possible the chance to participate.

14 of our finest, ably supported by parents, made their way to Cowdenbeath on Sunday, to Beath High School, where we were made to feel most welcome by hosts Aberdour, and the other CSYSA clubs. These are Strathkelvin, Glasgow Gaels, CCL and Milngavie & Bearsden (though M&B weren’t playing in our age category).

We fielded both a development (P1-3) team and a P4/5 team with Donald (P7) filling the final place on the team.

All the effort and determination put into training has clearly paid off as between them the two teams won 7, drew 1 and lost 2. A fine start to our club’s competitive journey which will be a key element in developing really great sportspeople in shinty in Edinburgh!

Ronald Ross visited the club on 8th October to conduct a successful development-camp session for the Camanachd Association.

The evening’s activities were held on the Meadows, and attracted 20 participants, almost all of high-school age.

The session covered warm-up activities, basic skills, and efficient training techniques as well as offering more advanced skills development. Some of those skills were ably demonstrated in close-quarter play and power strikes during an end-of-session match.

Many of the participants were relatively new to shinty, but judging by the standard of play seen, that should not prevent them from joining the more experienced players on the club’s 14-&-under and 17-&-under teams when the season starts on 4th November, and we hope many will wish to experience match-play shinty.

Many thanks to Ronald and the Camanachd Association. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

The club fielded a P1-3 development team at Round 1 of the CSYSA outdoor league at Broadwood on 30th September.

The team played magnificently, winning one, and drawing two of the four matches played.

More importantly, all players had a great day out in the open air, and every one of them, even the weeest put their hearts and souls into playing for the team. This lot have a great future waiting for them!

Round 2 will take place on Sunday 28th October, to be hosted by Milngavie & Bearsden. It would be good to see even more of the club’s new members taking part and helping to make a name for our club.

The club hosted round 2 of the under-14 South six-a-side Development League at Levenhall Links, Musselburgh. This is the first time the club has put on a tournament, and the weather obliged by providing hot horizon-to-horizon sunshine all evening.

The team played magnificently, not letting the fact that they were a player down due to illness put them off. Despite not winning their matches against Meadowburn, Milngavie and Bearsden, and CCL, they played some great shinty, and all in the team showed courage and strength. They never once let up in their efforts to take on the opposition.

The final round of the league will be in June (date now confirmed as Tuesday 19th June).

Anyone who would like to play some shinty is invited to come along to the Meadows (Tollcross end, next to Lonsdale Terrace) .

This will be an informal chance to play, and could become a regular session if there is interest.

It is not for children unless they would be happy playing against adults – i.e. anyone comfortable playing at under-17 and above.

Hope to see you there. Contact 07729 307 487 for further information.

The Club was for the first time able to field a Development level team, on a visit to Silver Sands playing fields in Aberdour, where the P7-and-under team was also in action, recording some good reults.

Our youngest players, ranging from P1, took on four other teams, and did themselves proud.  These young pioneers are destined to be sporting heroes of the future!

Visitors Meadowburn were worthy winners of the first ever Edinburgh Mod Challenge Cup on Saturday 21st April.

Both teams battled for the trophy, providing an entertaining display of shinty skills as part of the Mod, an annual festival of Gaelic and traditional culture.

The day also included an exhibition attracting much attention, and taster sessions for young Mod attendees.

Congratulations to Meadowburn, and special thanks for helping us realise this competition, which we expect will be an annual event.

This Saturday’s Edinburgh Local Mod will for the first time host the Mod Challenge Cup, which will be contested between under-14 teams from Edinburgh’s Camanachd Dhùn-Èideann and Meadowburn Shinty Club.

Throw-up will be just after 12 noon at Liberton High School. The day will be a great mix of traditional sport and Gaelic arts. All welcome. Further information from edinburghlocalmod.co.uk.

There will also be an enticing exhibition, and taster sessions for young players to try out the sport during the morning. Come and join us!

CCL youth shinty club are holding a fun shinty event in Greenfaulds High School, from 11th to 13th April. It is suitable for 14-year-olds and younger.

The event will incorporate active fun games, skill development, and indoor 1st shinty for the under eights. Cost is £15.

Contact CCL at ccl.shinty@hotmail co uk, or on 07798 943 255, or contact us and we’ll e-mail a form.

The Camanachd Association has announced that the 14-and-under South Six-a-side development league dates are as follows for our Group (Group B):

Thursday 26th April – Round 1, to be hosted by Meadowburn
Friday 25th May – Round 2, to be hosted by ourselves
Tuesday 19th June – Round 3, to be hosted by CCL (note new date for this is now final).

The time is likely to be approximately 6.30 – 8.30 pm, with two pitches in use to allow all 5 teams to play each other within that time.

The Group winners will go on to play the winners of Groups A and C in Oban in August.

Edinburgh has a very strong complement of players for a sixes tournament, and should do well.

The club encourages anyone who has not played before to give this tournament a go because you will be supported by a pool of experienced players. (Eligibility: players who are 14 or younger on 1st July 2012, and players must be registered with the Camanachd Association. Anyone not registered who wishes to play, please contact us.)

Our teams have learnt the skills and improved hugely since they started competing together, and this should be a great opportunity for the players to show just what they can achieve as Camanachd Dhùn-Èideann!