What is older than kilts? What helped to inspire Harry Potter's favourite athletic pursuit Quidditch? What ancient Scottish team sport will you see at the Livermore Scottish Games in 2008? The answer to all these questions is Shinty!

So you may ask, what is Shinty? Shinty (also called camanachd oriomain in Scots Gaelic) is a stick and ball game, a cousin of Field Hockey and Irish Hurling, and an ancestor of Golf. It is believed that Ice Hockey may have developed from Scots immigrants playing Shinty on the Canadian ice.

"Some of my friends refer to Shinty as combat golf," jokes Michael Bentley, one of the founders of the Northern California Camanachd Club, "and it's also been described as 'field hockey without all those bothersome rules!'"

In fact there are rules in Shinty, and fairly simple ones at that. The game is played by two teams (twelve players for full sides), on a field of similar proportions to a soccer pitch - though a full sized field is much larger, 170 by 80 yards! The players use camans (hooked/curved sticks with a triangular cross section) to strike the ball, either in the air or on the ground, with the intention of scoring goals. A Shinty ball is slightly smaller and lighter than a baseball. The goals measure 12 feet across by 10 feet high, and as in soccer a goal-keeper guards the goal nets and is the only player allowed to use his hands (though only with an open hand, he is not allowed to catch the ball). A Shinty match is generally either 30 (for six-a-side) or 90 minutes (twelve-a-side) in length, divided into two halves with a short break between. A referee runs the match, calling fouls for illegal and/or dangerous play. There are also side judges and goal judges to assist in calling side-outs, end-outs and goals.

Shinty has a rich history as part the Scottish Gaelic culture. The sport has traditionally been part of New Years celebrations in the Highlands and has been memorialized in story and song by poets and singers down through the years. The modern rules of Shinty were created in the late 19th century and the Camanachd Association, which administers the game in Scotland, was founded in 1893.

The Northern California Camanachd Club (NCCC) is the first modern era Shinty club in the US and was founded in 2001. The NCCC participated in the first US-Scotland Shinty matches during a visit to the Blairgowrie Highland Games in September 2005 and has played in Scotland each of the last three years (2005, 2006, & 2007), participating in several Six-a-side tournaments as well as other friendlies with Scottish Shinty clubs. In 2008 The NCCC founded the first Shinty league in North America with three Bay Area teams participating in the inaugural season.

The NCCC holds regular coed practices in the Bay Area and welcomes
new players and anyone interested in learning this great sport. For
further information and schedule details please visit our information
table next to the Heavy Athletics venue and/or visit our website at www.norcalshinty.com.

The NCCC will be demonstrating Shinty at the Livermore Games on the Heavy Athletics field immediately after Opening Ceremonies (approx. 12:30PM) on both Saturday and Sunday.