Inverness Shinty Club says school pathway is getting more women into the sport
INVERNESS Shinty Club says the success of their Challenge Cup winning team is down to the excellent school pathway system which now exists.
Last month they lifted the title as they defeated Badenoch 3-1 to lift the trophy as they got redemption for their defeat in the final in 2023.
Their trophy triumph was attributed to work by the club to get more schoolgirls into the sport, with the majority of the squad being teenagers.
Inverness head coach Drew McNeill says a lot of work has gone into getting more girls to play shinty since Covid.
He says working with schools and teaching players skills early has resulted in them progressing into finding a squad of players capable of winning trophies.
“We have managed to create a player pathway which wasn’t there before and it is working well for us,” said McNeil.
“A lot of the girls in the squad that are aged between 14, and 16 all started playing shinty at primary school.
“Five years ago, there was no pathway for these girls to play shinty and the number of girls playing the sport was dropping off as well as the pace of new players who were wanting to try it.
“But with the player pathway starting in primary schools, there are girls in our squad who have been playing for five years previously.
Inverness currently have 34 girls playing at the club which include two teams which play in league competition. The first team play in the National Division with the second team playing in Division Two.
McNeil says girls participation in shinty is growing across the country and said work is being done at a number of clubs to ensure more women continue to get involved in the sport.
“Because the player pathways are there at Inverness and throughout the Women’s Camanachd Association, the number of players are growing. Clubs are seeing more girls want to play and they are realising that the opportunities are there.
“The main thing about getting more women involved in shinty is not a case of how good you are, it is a case of how much enjoyment you get out of it.”
