What is Shinty?
Shinty (or Camanachd in Gaelic) is Scotland’s oldest team sport with origins in the mists of the early Celtic Heroic Age.
The game, in its modern form, is played throughout the Highlands and beyond. Together with its Irish cousin hurling, shinty has a passing resemblance to hockey though with very different rules.
The pitch is two-thirds longer than a football ground. A team is composed of twelve players, each closely marked by his opponent, playing with a stick or caman with two sloped faces, enabling players to strike the ball on both sides, as in ice hockey. The caman can be swung above the head and the ball stopped with the feet, but only the keeper may use his hands.
The game demands great stamina, considerable skill and fast reaction, particularly when played at speed.