There was plenty of young shinty talent on show at the 2016 Isle of Skye Primary Schools Camanachd Association indoor tournaments which took place at the Fingal Centre, Portree over the last fortnight.
P1-3 Tournament
Seven teams took part in the P1-3 tournament on Saturday 30 January 2016. Portree Cheetahs ran out winners after an exciting tournament with North-West runners-up.
P4-5 Tournament
The outcome of the P4-5 tournament on Saturday 6 February 2016 remained in the balance until the final ball was hit with nine teams taking part in a thrilling tournament.
The competing teams were:
- Broadford Eagles
- Broadford Ravens
- Dunvegan
- MacDiarmid
- Portree Cheetahs
- Portree Pumas
- Portree Tigers
- Portree Lions
- Sleat
The semi-finals paired MacDiarmid and Portree Pumas and the Portree Cheetahs and Dunvegan. MacDiarmid were 3-0 winners with Portree Cheetahs winning 2-0.
The league meeting between MacDiarmid, coached by Donnie Martin and Iain Murray, and the Portree Cheetahs, coached by Caley MacLean and Davie Taylor, ended 0-0 so the final was always going to be close. Portree Cheetahs led 1-0 and then 3-1 but a late MacDiarmid fight-back took the final to a golden goal extra-time period. Archie Millar had grabbed two of the MacDiarmid goals whilst the other was an unfortunate own goal. Cameron Long proved to be the MacDiarmid hero when he scored early in extra-time to give MacDiarmid the win. Steven MacLeod from MacDiarmid was named Player of the Tournament.
Both MacDiarmid and Portree Cheetahs will go forward to the national finals in Fort William on Saturday 27 February 2016.
P6-7 Tournament
There was a huge turnout for the P6-7 tournament with 13 teams taking part on Saturday 30 January 2016.
The teams taking part were:
- Bracadale
- Broadford A
- Broadford B
- Dunvegan A
- Dunvegan B
- Elgol
- Kyleakin
The teams were split into two sections and Kyleakin, coached by Keith MacKenzie, beat Broadford A, who had only suffered one defeat up to this point, 2-0 in their semi-final encounter with Portree Cheetahs winning the other last-four tie against stable-mates Portree Pumas.
Kyleakin, with a school role of just 22, did superbly well to win through the league section with a 100% record. However they found the Portree Cheetahs, who also won all their own games, to be too strong in the final and the Portree side ran out 5-0 winners.
Portree Cheetah player Taylor Matheson was named Player of the Tournament.
Both Portree Cheetahs and Kyleakin will go forward to the national finals in Fort William on Saturday 27 February 2016.
Girls Tournament
Seven teams contested the Primary School Girls tournament on Saturday 6 February 2016.
Dunvegan, Elgol, Portree A and Portree B all qualified for the semi-final stage with both Dunvegan and Elgol beating their Portree counter-parts to reach the final.
Elgol came from a goal down to beat Dunvegan 2-1 in a keenly contested final.
However it was some consolation for Dunvegan that their player, Megan Campbell, was named Player of the Tournament after playing 17 games in both the P4-5 and Girls competitions throughout the day.
Elgol and Dunvegan, as well as two teams from Portree, go through to the Girls North tournament which takes place in Portree on Saturday 12 March 2016.
(Pictured: the winning MacDiarmid Primary School P4-5 squad)