Camanachd Association Chief Operating Officer On New Shinty League Structure | |
14 February 2013 Camanachd Association Chief Operating Officer, Torquil MacLeod spoke to Cuillin FM's Saturday Sports Show following the announcement of shinty’s new league structure at the Camanachd Association's General Meeting in Fort William on Friday 1 February 2013. MacLeod spoke to Cuillin FM’s Drew Millar and went over some of the reasons why the Camanachd Association Board reached the decision to opt for a reduced Premier Division with a national league second tier. "The challenge for us on a number of occasions has been to get the fixtures completed in time,” said MacLeod. “Despite the better weather, there's still a lot of difficulty around the availability of fields. The infrastructure we have surrounding shinty is pretty fragile so the new format should help get fixtures played on time." MacLeod also confirmed the intention to use time freed up at the end of the season for more representative shinty. He said of the change, "It should also allow us to introduce a bit more representative shinty and perhaps get back into more North v South matches and provide more of a pathway for top players. It should also help strengthen some of the opposition for the south teams allowing them more opportunity to play against teams from the North." MacLeod was mindful of the effect the changes would have on some clubs but insisted they were for the good of the sport. He said, "The Board take these decisions in the best interest of the sport as a whole. I'm sure the new structure will present challenges for some individual clubs and that is recognised and we have to see what we can to help those clubs meet those challenges but for shinty as a whole, the intention is that this is a step forward." He added that future reviews would take place saying, "What was very clear following consultation with the clubs, and all the work the committee did on it, is that as circumstances change, so the competitions structure needs to change so the idea would be that this is something that is under continual monitoring and needs to updated as circumstances change. This is the structure for 2014, and we need time to let it bed in, but it could change again in another 3 or 4 years but it is not set in stone for ever." It remains to be seen whether shinty clubs view the new format, which was not one of the six scenarios put before clubs in the consultation paper, in the same positive manner with early indications that several clubs are less than impressed with the new structure. |