Camanachd Association Chief Operating Officer Torquil MacLeod gave an end of season interview when he spoke to Cuillin FM on a range of matters on Saturday 23 December 2011.
Speaking to Saturday Sports Show presenter Drew Millar, Torquil MacLeod spoke at length about introducing more volunteers into the sport.
MacLeod is well aware of the importance of volunteers, saying, “The whole sport is based around the efforts of volunteers and we recognise that and we do our best to support these guys.”
“Moving forward into next year, we have a new Strategic Plan which was approved at the AGM in April 2011 and part of that is the emphasis we will give to supporting clubs with the recruitment and development of volunteers. That will become more of a priority for us as the feedback we have received is that the clubs struggle to get volunteers.”
“When we turned up in Skye for the Balliemore Cup Final there were loads of volunteers and that seems to be a pretty robust set-up which Skye have and that’s great. But a lot of clubs are struggling and that really limits the capacity for young players as everything is reliant on volunteers to run the coaching sessions or take them to matches and all the rest of it.”
“So if you don’t have the volunteers in place, it can deny twelve, fifteen or maybe twenty kids the opportunity to play so it is critical. We have a great volunteer network out there and so it’s about helping sustain that and developing that moving forward. So that is going to be a focus area for us in the year ahead.”
“There is also a network of Active Schools Co-ordinator across the Highlands and across Scotland in fact whose job it is to do that match-making thing between schools and sports providers. We are limited to an extent in terms of how much shinty coaching we can provide but what you will typically find is that if you have a coach, then the schools will be delighted to see them.”
“I know there has been a lot of great work happened out in Skye which Willie Cowie has been involved with and in a lot of other areas too. There is a huge shinty demand out there and it’s about finding the people who can go in there and do it. We do our best but we are reliant on additional volunteer support so we are encouraging anyone who has the time, the energy and the inclination to come forward, and we will get you trained up and then give you the experience and the opportunity to take part. The emphasis will be on providing more support for the clubs and helping them get the volunteers in place who can then go on and deliver shinty on the front-line.”
“There is also an on-going demand for coaches and officials. Finding more officials for the sport is a key challenge for us. They are critical to running the game and we have a pool of loyal and committed guys who regularly turn out and that’s great. However we need to add to that pool so we need some more people to come forward and put their hand up for refereeing or officiating at matches We are over-reliant on the current crop and we are probably asking a bit too much of some of them but it is great that they are still prepared to do what is required”
“We are always looking to get more former players involved. They will have given up a lot of time playing and when they stop playing, they may be looking to get some of that time back and refereeing does require a time commitment. A lot of former players are keen to go into coaching rather than officiating but there are people out there who would make great officials and who I think would enjoy it. It is just a matter of identifying those people and convincing them of the merits of getting involved. So if there is anyone out there who fancies it, then we are really keen to hear from them and we can put them through the training and get them started gently at the beginning of next season.”