BP national first shinty festival

Monday 10 March 2003

The sixth annual BP National First Shinty Festival will take place at the Nevis Centre, Fort William on Saturday 15 March, with 16 primary aged teams from across Scotland competing for the title of national champions.

These top 16 teams, have all won through from their area competitions that have taken place across the country from Sutherland in the North to Glasgow and Edinburgh in the South.

The First Shinty Festival is part of the BP Tourfest Programme which is sponsored by BP, who this year contributed £50,000 of support. The Programme is organised by sportscotland in partnership with local authorities and 12 national governing bodies of sport including disability sport. By reaching communities throughout Scotland it aims to tackle the issue of social inclusion, while promoting the benefits sport can bring in terms of health and education.

Garry Reid, sportscotland Youth Development Manager and festival organiser, points out the growth that the BP Festival has seen over the years: "In 1997, a total of 22 teams competed in the inaugural tournament, now in 2003, we have seen 164 teams compete at 16 area festivals for the chance to reach the National Festival.

"The sport continues to grow and attract new teams, and it is always heartening and healthy for the sport when teams with a short history in the game such as Linlithgow, Sandbank, and North Kessock are qualifying at the expense of more experienced competitors."
Last year's winners Milngavie & Bearsden, will once again return to defend their title, and will be among the favourites alongside current Scottish Champions, Tomnacross.

The action gets underway at 12.00 noon, with thrills, goals and excitement guaranteed.

Teams competing in the sixth BP National First Shinty Festival are:

Area - Representative

Badenoch & Strathspey - Kingussie
Wester Ross - Loch Duich
North Skye - Struan
South Skye - Kyleakin
Aird District - Tomnacross
Inverness Area - North Kessock
Sutherland - Assynt
City of Inverness - Raigmore
Lochaber - To Be Confirmed
Oban & Lorn - Park
Mid Argyll - Kilmory
Kintyre - Dalintober
Cowal & Bute - Sandbank
West Central Scotland - Milngavie & Bearsden
East Central Scotland - Linlithgow

As well as the First Shinty Festival, BP also sponsor a number of summer shinty roadshows and an under-16 national player development camp, ensuring that their support for shinty goes from grass roots introductory level right the way through to performance level camps.