The Golden Oldies won the 2014 John MacKinnon Memorial Shinty Sixes which took place at the Portree High School Astro Pitch on Saturday 24 January 2015.

The was the second running of this invitational tournament which was rescheduled from the original date of Saturday 17 December 2014 - when it was postponed because of an unplayable pitch.

The same teams were invited to take part in the rescheduled event with eight teams present. Lochcarron joined the Skye based sides; Nui’s Braes Bunch, Digg's North Enders, Golden Oldies, Judge Grant’s Select, Bake It, Spod U Like and R U over 45? Despite a light covering of hail on the pitch, the round-robin 8 minute matches got underway at 10.30am.  

John “Slippy” Finlayson’s Golden Oldies squad included John MacKinnon's son Ewen MacKinnon and grandson Iain Nicolson (Lovat) in their line-up. 

Lochcarron had a place for former Skye keeper Calum "Columbo" Nicolson in their team whilst his brother Angus Nicolson took the field for the Braes Bunch.

Ally “Mhor” Morrison from Struan made a welcome return to shinty in goals for the North Enders and James “Tatties” MacDonald took the field for the Spod u Like team.

Following a series of competitive games, the four semi-finalists were; The Golden Oldies, R U Over 45, Lochcarron and Judge Grant's Select.

The Golden Oldies and R U Over 45 teams both went through the league undefeated with the Golden Oldies only dropping one point and losing one goal in a 1-1 draw with R U Over 45? The goal came when Neil “Beans” MacVicar beat Golden Oldies keeper Peter Gordon – who was one of the contenders for Over 45 Player of the Tournament - with a scorching drive following an Anna MacDonald lay-off.

The semi-final draw saw The Golden Oldies paired with Lochcarron and R U Over 45 playing Judge Grant's select.

The Golden Oldies made most of the running in their semi-final and ran out comfortable 3-0 winners with goals from Iain Nicolson and a double from Will Cowie.

The other semi-final was a much tighter affair and despite having beaten Judge Grant's select in their final league fixture, R U Over 45? were undone by a terrific Stewart Grant strike so Judge Grant's select ran out 1-0 winners.

In the final, the Golden Oldies, who lost out to Team Gallacher in the final 12 months earlier, were rarely threatened and ran out 2-0 winners thanks to a double from Willie Cowie.

The Player of the Tournament awards saw numerous names put forward for the various categories.

U17 Player of the Tournament – Connor Gilpin (Bake It)

Ladies Player of the Tournament – Anna MacDonald (R U Over 45?)

Over 45s Player of the Tournament – Willie Cowie (Golden Oldies)

Overall Player of the Tournament – Will Cowie (Golden Oldies)

All the awards and medals were presented by John MacKinnon’s daughter Katie MacKinnon.

Tournament organiser Davie MacVicar was indebted to referees Donnie Martin, Robbie Gordon and Davie Pringle and scorer Douglas MacDougall, who had the unenviable task of trying to keep his hands warm in order to hold a pen to write down scores.

He was also grateful for the medical assistance provided by Dr Wilson Banks and Helen Gilpin which was called on several occasions throughout the day; most noticeably when David Bauermeister of Lochcarron suffered a serious knee injury that required hospital treatment. All at Skye Camanachd send their best wishes to David for a speedy recovery.

Davie MacVicar thanked HIS for their continued sponsorship and the Shinty Shop for supplying the balls. A special mention was also made during his Skye Camanachd Clubhouse speech to all the ladies who provided soup and sandwiches.

The tournament is played in memory of Skye Camanachd Vice-President John MacKinnon who died following a tragic accident in December 2011.

(more to follow)