SHINTY – Kinlochshiel pride as women claim Challenge Cup win
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KINLOCHSHIEL made history as they won the Challenge Cup for the first time with a convincing 4–0 victory over Lovat in the final.
Lorna MacRae was in ruthless form in front of goal as she scored a hat trick with Lexie MacKenzie also finding the net.
Kinlochshiel’s dominance was shown with Lovat goalkeeper Carrie Rennie being named player of the match whose excellent performance in between the sticks kept the margin at four.
The women’s team was only established in 2018 and only returned to competitive action this year after the women’s game was disrupted for two years due to the impact of Covid-19.
Player and club secretary Sandra MacRae (36) says the club have come a long way in such a short space of time and says the victory was a credit to the effort and commitment of everyone.
“I am so proud of what we have created at the club as we are the only female team sport outside of school in this area,” she said.
“We managed to get a group of girls and women to join and just ran with it.
“They are so enthusiastic about shinty and it is just fantastic to see how far we have come.
“We only took part in our first season in 2018 and then Covid struck.
“But the girls have continued to come in their droves and it has given them a chance to shine.”
The club has a large squad with a current roster of 26 players.
The club are also challenging for promotion to the top flight of women’s shinty as they are currently second in North Division Two, one point behind leaders Glenurquhart.
MacRae says the squad will be losing some players as they head off to university and says they know how vital it is to engage with schools to encourage more girls to take up the sport.
“We are losing two players who are off to university.
“So it is important for us to engage with girls at a young age so we can take them through the sport during their school years with the aim of achieving success for the club.
“Winning the Challenge Cup is a real feather in the cap for the team. I hope this will attract more girls to take up the sport.
“Our under-14 team has been brimming with players this year, and I hope that will continue and youngsters will see there is a route of progression.”
