All change for shinty after landslide vote
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A LANDSLIDE vote at last Friday’s Camanachd Association annual general meeting put the seal on the return of a 10-club shinty top-flight.
The overwhelming majority of members voted in favour of the league reconstruction proposal submitted jointly by Newtonmore and Kingussie.
It was no surprise that the proposal got the support required at Fort William’s West End Hotel, but the huge margin it was carried by highlighted the strong desire for change.
A total of 28 votes were cast for the proposal, with Lochcarron being the sole voter against such a measure.
Next season’s Premiership will return to a 10-team format with Lochaber escaping relegation, while National Division champions Fort William and runners-up Oban Camanachd step up to take the number up to 10.
The National Division will remain an eight-team league, with Fort William and Oban Camanachd being replaced by North Division One champions Skye and South Division One champions Ballachulish.
These teams had faced each other in a play-off on November 1 for what was then a single place in the National Division for the victor. Skye cruised to a 5-0 win in this rescheduled fixture.
North Division One will increase from eight teams to 10. With Skye gaining promotion and Inverness keeping their place, thus avoiding relegation, three teams will move up from last season’s North Division Two to form a 10-club top tier area league. These teams are champions Fort William reserves, Glengarry and Lochcarron.
North Division Three has been abolished, with North Division Two becoming an 11-team league.
This will comprise the remaining five sides from last season’s North Division Two plus the six North Division Three clubs.
A feature of the new set-up will be end of season one-off play-offs held at neutral venues to complete the promotion and relegation equations.
The National Division champions will gain promotion to the Premiership, whilst the team finishing bottom of the Premiership will drop down to the National Division.
The runners-up in the National Division will contest a play-off with the team finishing ninth in the Premiership for a place in the following season’s top-flight.
The team finishing bottom of the National Division will automatically drop down to the relevant area league.
The winner of the play-off between the North Division One and South Division One champions will take up a place in the National Division.
The North Division One and South Division One runners-up will meet in a play-off, with the winner meeting the team finishing seventh in the National Division in another play-off. The winner of this takes up a place in the National Division.
In the North area, the North Division Two champions will automatically gain promotion to North Division One, while a play-off will take place between the North Division Two runners-up and the second-bottom placed team in North Division One.
A similar scenario will also occur in the South to determine relegation and promotion for South Division One and South Division Two clubs.
Also at last Friday night’s meeting, Glenurquhart’s Jim Barr was elected president of the Camanachd Association, taking over from Archie Robertson who held this important role for almost four years.
Robertson received a presentation caman from his successor and association chieftain Jock Turner.
Charles Young of Ballachulish and Ted MacDonald from Bute were re-elected as directors, while Kinlochshiel’s Keith Loades was also confirmed as a director.
*** Kinlochshiel lifted the George Michie Memorial Cup on Saturday after a convincing 5-0 win over hosts Skye in Portree.
The trophy, in memory of a talented Skye defender who died near his Skeabost home in 1981 aged only 20, was presented to ’Shiel skipper Mark MacDonald by George Michie’s nephew Cameron MacDonald.
