Newtonmore Camanachd Club - History

History

Shinty has been played in the Newtonmore area for centuries, but more recently, there are records of shinty being played at the Eilan since 1877, and the club was formally re-constituted under the auspices of the newly formed Camanachd Association in 1895. One of their greatest early players was Dr. John Cattanach, the sole shinty player in the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.

Since then, the club have won the Camanachd Cup 28 times - a record unmatched by any other team in the game. The club's last victory was in 1986 and in the intervening time Kingussie have held the whip hand. In Newtonmore's last final appearance before 2011, they lost a record 12-1 to their rivals.

Two of the greatest names in shinty history, goalkeeper Hugh Chisholm and David "Tarzan" Ritchie jointly hold the Newtonmore club record of twelve Camanachd Cup winners medals each. The club has also won the MacTavish Cup a record thirty seven times, together with a string of other honours. The club won the MacTavish Cup in 2009 5-4 against Kingussie at the Bught Park, Inverness on 13 June 2009. The game was broadcast live on BBC Alba. Players such as Paul MacArthur, Danny MacRae and Michael Ritchie are the sons and nephews of famous Newtonmore players and the club has a long dynastic tradition.

Many clubs throughout Scotland have long and friendly rivalries with Newtonmore - notably, Kyles Athletic who they met frequently in Camanachd Cup Finals in the 1970s. However the keenest rivalry, and certainly least friendly is with near neighbours, Kingussie. In recent times, Kingussie have enjoyed unparalleled success, whilst Newtonmore have been forced to rebuild as they have not won the league since 1985 and have been unfortunate to lose several promising players to work or study commitments further afield.

The Club field and pavilion at Eilean Bheannchair AKA The Eilan (built in 1993) are both owned by the Club.

The club are now working closely with Kingussie to help revitalise the grassroots game in the area, whose poor state has been masked by the continued success of the Kingussie senior side.

Although the club had finished second in the Premier Division in 2008, 2009 saw Newtonmore finish in the same position but edged out of the title position by Kingussie in their final match. The next few seasons do promise a lot for 'More with a young squad doing well over the last few years. 2010 saw them go into the last game of the season against Fort William with the chance of winning the league by only needing to avoid defeat. In the end, 'More won the league outright with a goal from Danny MacRae with 10 minutes to go. This was Newtonmore's first league title in 25 years.

In 2011, Newtonmore overcame Inveraray 5-2 after extra-time to book their first Camanachd Cup final appearance since their humiliation in 1997 by Kingussie, going on to win the final at the Bught Park in Inverness 4-3 against Kingussie.

The first team also retained the Premier Division in 2011 with a last minute goal from Danny MacRae in the final match of the season in a winner takes all match against Kyles Athletic. This sealed a season with both teams at the club winning their respective leagues and also a cup, the second team winning the Strathdearn Cup. it was Newtonmore's first double since 1985.

2012 saw Newtonmore relinquish the Camanachd Cup after defeat to Kyles in the semi-final. Their second team again romped away with the North Division Two, but were stripped of the Sutherland Cup, which they had won 5-4 against Kingussie. This was due to playing an ineligible player in both the semi and final. The first team also won their third Premier Division in a row in 2012.