Strathspey Camanachd are set for their big day as they make their senior shinty debut against Strathglass at Freuchie Park on Saturday 3 March 2012.
Strathspey player / manager Lawrence Belleni can't wait. He said, "Everyone at Strathspey Camanachd from the players to the committee are all in incredible spirits and excited about this weekend which will see our first ever senior competitive game as a club and on our new pitch Freuchie Park."
Bellini added, "It will also be the first senior competitive game played in Strathspey in around 60 years, and although the communities of Strathspey aren't as knowledgeable in the arts of the caman as their Badenoch neighbours, outstanding enthusiasm and support from the community has come across to the club."
Bellini also had a word for the day's opponents. "The opposition for our first ever competitive match is Strathglass, one if not the oldest clubs in the Camanachd Association. They have featured heavily in the history of shinty including the 1887 game against Glenurquhart from which the modern rules of the game are thought to have originated from. Strathspey are a new team founded at the start of 2011 and we are on the up, undergoing some steep learning curves and improving with each game. We also had two very tough pre-season friendlies against Kingussie seconds and Lovat seconds. Both sides included some experienced players who had played at the highest levels of shinty. It makes for a cracking first encounter between the two Strath's - one that has been there from the beginning and the other that is coming back into the shinty fold."
The new pitch Freuchie Park is in the shadow of Castle Grant and proceedings will start at 2pm where both Strath's will get piped onto the field and a there will be a presentation from the Spey men to Skye exile Robert Macdonald of Castle Grant Farm that donated the use of the field to the new side. Then club secretary Lucy Grant will make a speech.
Strathspey Camanachd have come a long way since their humble beginings, and everyone at the club sees this as their day, and their most historic event to date. Therefore if they can pull of a win this Saturday, it would send the Spey men through the roof. However they will have to do it without the experienced Andrew MacLennan who is unavailable due to a work commitment and Strath boss Lawrence Belleni is still unfit to play due to a groin injury from the previous season. It is to their credit that Strathspey Camanachd still have a squad of 17 players for Saturday's game when they will make their very own piece of history.