Many shinty followers must be despairing that the Camanachd Association appears intent on promoting its history as a box-office attraction while turning a blind eye to the steady decline in both playing standards and public interest in the sport.
It is no more than three years since an exhibition of shinty history was held at the Hampden Football Museum. the blurb advertising the latest, a conference open to the general public, on Wednesday October 10, which appeared on both shinty.com and the Highland Folk Museum websites (where the conference is being held), refers to the conference ‘celebrating the past, present and future of shinty’.
Shinty participants may at first be enthused at the prospect of an opportunity to voice concerns and share views on the sport with other participants. That is until they check out the HFM website and learn the conference is a midweek, non-participatory event; not one item on the conference programme relates to present day issues or the future of the sport – and they will be charged £30 to attend.