Lovat Shinty Club
Encyclopedia
Lovat Shinty Club is a shinty
club from Kiltarlity
, Inverness-shire
, Scotland
. The club was formed in 1888http://www.lovatshintyclub.co.uk/ and has a healthy rivalry with near neighbours Beauly
. The club takes its name from the area within which it plays in and shared this name with the late Second World War hero, Lord Lovat
.
In 1953 was Lovat's finest hour, achieving the Grand Slam, winning every single competitionhttp://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_photograph.jsp?item_id=3723 they entered at Senior and Junior level. THe same set of players had previously won the Celtic Society Cup which was a South District Competition in 1950 and 1951.
Despite being close to Inverness, Lovat still maintain two strong teams due to a strong youth policy and the support of the local primary school. The club is always well represented at youth international level.
The club hosts the traditional Lovat V Beauly New Year's Day match AKA the Lovat Cup
every year. This game attracts the largest crowd for a shinty match outside of the Camanachd Cup
final.
In November 2007, following Kinlochshiels' draw with Caberfeidh, Lovat became a Marine Harvest Premier Division Team. This was a massive achievement for the Kiltarlity side and was somewhat ahead of schedule given the very young age of the team.
However, Lovat's 2008 season in the Premier Division was a hard campaign and the club was eventually relegated having been marooned at the bottom of the league for almost the whole season. The club's first team won North Division One again in 2009, this marked a successful season for the club where its second team had also reached the Sutherland
and Strathdearn Cup
finals, losing to Fort William
on both occasions.
Lovat had a successful season in 2010, surviving in the Premier Division and seeing the second team again reach the finals of the Strathdearn and Sutherland. Again, the club faced the same team as opponents, playing Glenurquhart in both games. Lovat lost the Strathdearn but claimed the Sutherland live on BBC Alba.http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/shinty/Shinty-Cup-finalists-Lovat-lose.6526289.jp This victory was notable as it was held at the Eilan in Newtonmore, just down the road from the Dell in Kingussie
where Lovat had secured a rare point against Kingussie
earlier in the day.
2011 saw Lovat play well but never fully extricate themselves from relegation trouble until their final match of the season when a 3-2 win over Kilmallie secured Premier Division shinty for another year. James Gallacher & John MacRitchie stepped down from their roles as co-managers to be replaced by successful second-team manager Allan MacRae.http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/Sport/Shinty/Lovat-secure-Premier-Division-status.htm
Shinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
club from Kiltarlity
Kiltarlity
Kiltarlity is a small village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is west of Inverness, and south of Beauly, on the Bruiach Burn. It has a population of under 1000 people, and a primary school, Tomnacross Primary...
, Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The club was formed in 1888http://www.lovatshintyclub.co.uk/ and has a healthy rivalry with near neighbours Beauly
Beauly Shinty Club
Beauly Shinty Club is a shinty club from Beauly, Scotland. The club was founded in 1892. The club has two sides, the first team competing in Marine Harvest North Division One and the second team in North Division Three.-History:...
. The club takes its name from the area within which it plays in and shared this name with the late Second World War hero, Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat
Brigadier Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat and 4th Baron Lovat DSO, MC, TD was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a prominent British Commando during the Second World War...
.
History
Founded in 1888, the club has never folded but did merge with Beauly early in the 20th Century and won the Camanachd Cup in 1912/13 as the combined team. After the first war, the team also reached the final in 1925.In 1953 was Lovat's finest hour, achieving the Grand Slam, winning every single competitionhttp://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_photograph.jsp?item_id=3723 they entered at Senior and Junior level. THe same set of players had previously won the Celtic Society Cup which was a South District Competition in 1950 and 1951.
Despite being close to Inverness, Lovat still maintain two strong teams due to a strong youth policy and the support of the local primary school. The club is always well represented at youth international level.
The club hosts the traditional Lovat V Beauly New Year's Day match AKA the Lovat Cup
Lovat Cup
The Lovat Cup is a trophy in the sport of shinty contested annually at New Year by Beauly Shinty Club and Lovat Shinty Club.The trophy was first played for in 1904 and is very popular, attracting the second largest crowd for a shinty fixture in Scotland, outwith the Camanachd Cup Final. The...
every year. This game attracts the largest crowd for a shinty match outside of the Camanachd Cup
Camanachd Cup
The Camanachd Association Challenge Cup AKA the Camanachd Cup or Scottish Cup is the premier prize in the sport of shinty...
final.
In November 2007, following Kinlochshiels' draw with Caberfeidh, Lovat became a Marine Harvest Premier Division Team. This was a massive achievement for the Kiltarlity side and was somewhat ahead of schedule given the very young age of the team.
However, Lovat's 2008 season in the Premier Division was a hard campaign and the club was eventually relegated having been marooned at the bottom of the league for almost the whole season. The club's first team won North Division One again in 2009, this marked a successful season for the club where its second team had also reached the Sutherland
Sir William Sutherland Cup
The Sir William Sutherland Cup, more commonly known simply as the Sutherland Cup, is a trophy in the sport of shinty. It is the national cup competition for junior sides, the equivalent of the Camanachd Cup for those sides in lower league competition....
and Strathdearn Cup
Strathdearn Cup
The Strathdearn Cup is a knock-out competition in the sport of shinty. The present holders are Newtonmore.It is played for by reserve-level teams from the North of Scotland, that is all teams playing in North Division Two and Three as well as non-league teams....
finals, losing to Fort William
Fort William Shinty Club
Fort William Shinty Club is a shinty club from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. The first team were Camanachd Cup holders four times in succession, between 2007 and 2010 but were knocked out in the second round in 2011...
on both occasions.
Lovat had a successful season in 2010, surviving in the Premier Division and seeing the second team again reach the finals of the Strathdearn and Sutherland. Again, the club faced the same team as opponents, playing Glenurquhart in both games. Lovat lost the Strathdearn but claimed the Sutherland live on BBC Alba.http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/shinty/Shinty-Cup-finalists-Lovat-lose.6526289.jp This victory was notable as it was held at the Eilan in Newtonmore, just down the road from the Dell in Kingussie
The Dell (Kingussie)
The Dell is a shinty stadium in the town of Kingussie, Scotland. It is the home of Kingussie Camanachd and has been a shinty venue for almost 150 years.-Location:...
where Lovat had secured a rare point against Kingussie
Kingussie Camanachd
Kingussie Camanachd is a shinty team from Kingussie, Scotland and according to the Guinness Book of Records 2005, is World sport's most successful sporting team of all time, winning 20 consecutive leagues and going 4 years unbeaten at one stage in the early 1990s. The second team plays in North...
earlier in the day.
2011 saw Lovat play well but never fully extricate themselves from relegation trouble until their final match of the season when a 3-2 win over Kilmallie secured Premier Division shinty for another year. James Gallacher & John MacRitchie stepped down from their roles as co-managers to be replaced by successful second-team manager Allan MacRae.http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/Sport/Shinty/Lovat-secure-Premier-Division-status.htm
Club staff
| Club President | Ian (Poppy) Ferguson |
| Club Treasurer | Mary-Ann Henton |
| Club Secretary | T.B.C |
| 1st Team Co-managers | Allan MacRae |
| 1st Team Captain | Fraser Gallacher |
| Club Trainer | Gordy Fraser |
| 2nd Team manager | t.b.c. |
| Under 17 co-Managers | Daniel grieve and Jamie Matheson |
| Under 14 Co-managers | Sheila Matheson and James Gallacher |