Boleskine Camanachd

Infobox shinty club
clubname = Boleskine


fullname = Boleskine Camanachd Club
gaelicname = Comann Camanachd Bhoth Fhleasgainn
nickname = The Bumble Bees
founded = 1927
ground = Smith Park, Inverarnie
manager =
league = North Division Three
season = 2008
position = N/A
pattern_la1=_black_hoops|pattern_b1=_blackhoops|pattern_ra1=_black_hoops
leftarm1=FFFF00|body1=FFFF00|rightarm1=FFFF00|shorts1=000000|socks1=FFFF00

Boleskine Camanachd is a shinty club from Loch Ness, Scotland. They play in the Marine Harvest North Division Three, at present they alsohave a thriving Junior team. The club in its present form has existed as such since 1953.

History

Boleskine Camanachd have been in existence in one form or another for over 100 years. Initially called Stratherrick, the team played at various venues throughout the Stratherrick area, a glen which lies barely two miles to the south of the village of Foyers, running parallel with The Great Glen. A team from Foyers was formed in 1898 after the completion of The British Aluminium production works at the village in 1894. These teams ran concurrently and met on many occasions over the period leading up to the first amalgamation of these teams in the late summer of 1927. It was hoped that a local team would be produced from the amalgamation, which could take on the best in Scottish shinty.

Stratherrick had been a member of the senior ranks in shinty since 1920, but without making a sustained impact on the game at national level and for a first few years of the twenties had also fielded a successful junior team. Foyers had also contested in both the senior and junior ranks, competing in the Camanachd cup for five years since 1921 and the MacTavish cup since 1920. Their junior side had been successful in the Strathdearn cup and the feeling locally was that a combination of the best players from each club, would be hard to match at any level of shinty! The resulting team was called Boleskine.

The newly formed team reached the final of the Camanachd Cup in their very first season, 1928, going down heavily to Kyles Athletic by 6 goals to 2 at Glasgow, despite leading by 2 goals to1 in the first half. The club continued in the senior shinty ranks reaching three consecutive senior shinty finals in the early thirties. Despite this apparent strength Boleskine was technically dissolved in early 1934 when a breakaway team called Foyers entered and won the Strathdearn cup . Season 34-35 Foyers reformed and rejoined the junior ranks , Stratherrick reformed in 36-37 season, both continuing to play as separate entities until the Second World War. Following the war Stratherrick and their near neighbours to the east, Strathnairn, combined to form Straths Athletic who, along with the reformed Foyers team played in Junior competitions over the next few seasons.

At the start of season 1953-54 the teams again amalgamated to form Boleskine and have competed since that date under this name. The team has remained as one unit and has drawn its players from the surrounding areas covered by the individual teams.

During the eighties and into the early nineties the team was mostly made up from local players, the last generation to be born in the area when the British Aluminium or The Hydro Electric Board, brought full employment to the area. In the last few years some of the older players have been forced to retire from the game but have remained within the club structure. With this experience and dedication to the local team, they have begun to implement a youth team development policy, encouraging local youngsters to take up the sport with the aim of nurturing home grown talent.

In season 2002-2003 the club moved from the area's traditional, yet deteriorating, Shinty home since the fifties, Factory Field Foyers, to a new purpose built shinty field at Smith Park, Inverarnie.

In 2007 the senior team was relegated to North Division Three.

External links

* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/shinty/index.htm Boleskine Camanachd On-line]