Camanachd Association - Recent History

Recent History

In 2006 the Association appointed its first Chief Executive, Richard Tulloch. He resigned within three months. The Board of Directors appointed Gill McDonald, the first woman CEO in the sport - in April 2009 she resigned from the position mere weeks before the Association's AGM, having been criticised for much of the poor running of the association in that timeframe.

The Association was dogged by severe criticism of its ability to administer the game in 2007, with a fixture list which ran into December, partly due to a lack of rescheduling of fixtures which were delayed earlier in the year amongst the complaints. The Association's lack of communication with the grassroots of the sport also came under fire.

Duncan Cameron was appointed President of the association for the second time in 2007. His presidency has been marked by controversy due to resignations and an ongoing debate about reducing the game to 9 a-side with plastic pitches.

In February 2008, the Association came under investigation by the Northern Constabulary over alleged financial irregularities. In May 2008, a man was charged in connection with these financial irregularities. A former employee of the Association was convicted of fraud linked to the association's funds in August 2008.

In March 2009, the Association aimed to change its structure by having sub-committees for different sectors of the game, this development was one of the factors in the spate of resignations in early 2009.

In November 2009, the Association approved the use of astroturf for senior fixtures, however, there is presently no astroturf park in Scotland large enough to accommodate a full size shinty park. Plans are afoot to develop such a facility in Fort William.

In January 2010, they announced that Torquil MacLeod would become the third permanent Chief Executive as of April 2010.

The presidential election of 2010 was a hotly competed affair between Donald Stewart and the popular Archie Robertson. Robertson won the election resoundingly and became President at the 2011 A.G.M..

The Association permitted the use of rolling substitutions as of the 2011 season. The Association also decided to admit Lewis Camanachd to the league setup on a trial basis for 2011. The Association came under pressure to admit the club due to their claim to be a national sport of Scotland. The Board of Directors voted to make Lewis a permanent member of the league in December 2011.

2012 has already presented the Association with new challenges as Strathspey have applied to join the leagues, as well as Ardnamurchan wishing to switch from the North District to the South, in addition to the need for an EGM in early February to ratify changes to substitutions and free-hits.