A local shinty club for boys and girls is keen to encourage new players to come along and give the traditional Scottish sport a try.
Shinty is an exciting game played in teams with a stick, called a caman, and a ball. While often compared to hockey, the two games have several important differences. In shinty, a player is allowed to play the ball in the air and is allowed to use both sides of the stick.
The Milngavie & Bearsden Shinty Club has development squads for children in Primary 1 to Primary 3, P4 to P5 and P6 to P7. There is also a under-14 training session for older children in conjunction with other local shinty teams.
The club meets at Auchenhowie Sports Club each Friday from 6:30pm until the end of October. It then moves to Douglas Academy for indoors training.
Rob Murdoch, from the club, says: “We are a friendly and welcoming club and we are always happy to have new members. The club provides helmets and camans to allow youngsters to try the sport and the only thing they need is a pair of shin guards.”
The club was set up 20 years ago by parents and is still run by a parents’ committee. Glasgow Mid Argyll Shinty Club senior players give up their free time every week to provide training for M&B Shinty Club, alongside the club’s own development coaches.
The youngsters also compete in a Central Scotland league. The sport is played year-round and matches are held outdoors in the spring and summer and indoors in the winter.
Rob says: “Shinty is a massively fun sport for kids and it’s great for fitness, hand-eye coordination and team work. We would really like to see more kids coming along to the club to give it a try.”
