NEWS FROM 2007

8/15/2007

OK, I'm going to stop pretending that this page is at all current most of the time... it just seems that the more we are actually doing the less time I have for writing these blurbs!

2007 has been a great year for the NCCC so far. We have made successful appearances at the Livermore, Campbell, and Dunsmuir Highland Games as well as hosting Gary Innes and sponsoring a shinty workshop which Gary led. All this on top of our regular fortnightly practices and scrimmages. And since the Spring time change we've been holding weekly Tuesday night skills sessions as well, so we've gotten in a lot of shinty so far this year.

Next up is our third visit to Scotland, a way for us to help celebrate not only our sixth year as a club, but also participate in Highland 2007, the year of Highland culture. We will be playing in several Sixes tournaments a well as visiting old friends and making new friends. I think a great adventure is in store!

When we return our focus will shift back to shinty hear in Northern California and the US as we try to schedule events for 2008 and beyond. We will hold our annual Challenge Match to close our 2007 season here, and then look towards our second annual Hogmanay Match as a way of kicking off 2008.

If you live in Northern California, or are just visiting, and want to come out and give shinty a try please email us
for more information, we look forward to hearing from you!

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NEWS FROM 2006

11/1/2006

It is time to announce our first event of 2007 - A new Year's Shinty Match! We will hold this on January 7th of 2007, somewhat splitting the difference between the new and old dates of the New Year as celebrated in Scotland.

As you may already know, shinty was associated with New Year's or Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland. This is one of the ways in which our sport was passed from generation to generation as it was an integral part of the holiday. So, in this spirit, we invite all our members to bring their families and friends, there will be great festivities associated with the event.

The venue will be announced very soon, but mark the day on your calendars now!



10/4/2006

Why is it so hard to keep the news page updated? We are too busy doing things!

2006 has been a very busy year for our club. Our training sessions have been held regularly through the Spring and Summer, with additional Skills Sessions held weekly, taking advantage of the long Summer evenings. We appeared again at the Livermore Scottish Games in May, the Campbell Scottish Games in June, the Dunsmuir Scottish Games in July, and the Dixon Scottish Games in September. In addition we enjoyed a visit from Fort William Shinty Club's own Gary Innes who dazzled us both with his caman and his accordion. The workshop that Gary led in June not only helped club members work toward a higher level of understanding of the game, but allowed a chance for new players to learn from one of the best Scottish players around, and was open to anyone in the US. What a summer!

Beyond the Northern California events, the NCCC managed to return to Scotland for the second year running and play matches in both Musselburgh (the Levenhall Sixes), and Blairgowrie (as part of the Blairgowrie Highland Games). Once again we had the opportunity to learn by doing, and playing against more experienced clubs and players can only help us improve in the future! More information on our trip can be found here.

Not much of 2006 left for us, but we are looking forward to our fourth annual intra-Club Autumn Challenge Match on November 19th. Beyond that we are planning for a number of activities to coincide with Highland 2007, the year of Highland culture. Details will be forthcoming, but among other things we are planning to return to Scotland for more shinty! Part of our efforts to help raise money for the club has been to create the Shinty Shop, to which we have recently added our Fifth Anniversary shirt as well as two NCCC pins. These items, in addition to our t-shirt, CD, and various other items, can easily be purchased using PayPal, and your money will work towards helping the NCCC spread the word about Shinty in Northern California and the US.

That's all for now... see you out on the pitch!



5/30/2006

About time for some NCCC news in 2006!

Our year has gotten off to good start even though the weather has been challenging! We lost a few training sessions to rain in the Spring, and it even managed to rain a bit in Livermore last weekend! Things are looking very nice at the moment though and we're anticipating a run of good weather through the Summer.

Our first public event, the Livermore Scottish Games , went very well despite the wet weather. We played one exhibition match on Saturday and three tournament matches on Sunday. The North Bay and South Bay teams were very well balanced and at Sunday's end the two squads managed one win, one loss, and one draw. There were some great skills on display and there was a beer stand adjacent to the field so everyone went home happy! Photos of the matches are posted here.

Also recently posted are photos from 2005's Dixon Scottish Games, you can check them out here. Thanks to Laura Cooper for these great shots!

Right now we are looking forward to the Campbell Scottish Games (info here) on June 17th and the all-day Shinty Workshop the following day (Sunday 18 June). We are lucky enough to have a Scottish guest who is not only a great Shinty player but also a fantastic accordionist - Gary Innes! Should be a great weekend in Campbell!

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NEWS FROM 2005

9/25/2005

Seems to be hard to get updates posted as often as there is news.. lots to report for the NCCC!

We celebrated our fifth year (our club was founded in early 2001) with a trip to Scotland! A small squad from the NCCC participated in the Blairgowrie Highland Games the inaugural Levenhall Sixes tournament in early September. The NCCC side represented itself well, and managed to place third out of the four teams at the Levenhall Sixes. The experience was amazing all around and we really enjoyed the chance to meet and get to know our Scottish shinty comrades. As far as we know this is first time that a US team has gone to Scotland to play shinty and we hope it will not be the last!

More details about our Scottish adventure can be found here.

The NCCC also participated in five local Scottish Games during the course of the summer, providing both exhibition matches and an information booth at various events. Our mission to spread the word about shinty here in the US moves forward, and there is hope that there may be another few clubs forming during the coming year!


6/30/2005

Well, we have not been keeping up with all the news... apologies for that. Here are a bunch of updates all at once then...

• In order to help raise money for the Northern California Camanachd Club (NCCC) Club President Michael Bentley has put together a benefit CD which can be ordered from our webshop. The album boasts 17 track including contributions from many local luminaries, including Aaron Shaw (Wicked Tinkers), Hamewith (lead by John Taylor), Molly's Revenge, Beth Patterson, Susan Worland (Fiddlesticks & Ivory), Calli Morrow, Lyle Ramshaw (Fiddlesticks & Ivory), Lawrence Drummond, Joe Weed, and Michael Bentley. Special tracks include two medleys of Scottish Shinty-related tunes, and a special NCCC March written by piper Aaron Shaw. Further details and audio samples can be found here.
  
  In fact we have several other items for sale as well, including t-shirts, mugs, and coasters. For more information visit our online outlet, The Shinty Shop.
  
  
• The NCCC made a great time at the Livermore Scottish Games in May. Our matches were well played and competitive, and we were lucky to have some wonderful visitors as well. More information and pictures can be found here.
  
  
• At the Campbell Highland Games and Celtic Gathering the Northern California Camanachd Club (NCCC) won the 2nd Annual Glenfarclas Cup 7-0 over the San Luis Obispo Shinty Club (SLOSC). The match was very intense and well played, and a good time was had by all at this gathering. More information and pictures can be found here.

3/5/2005

As we head into our fifth year the future of California Shinty looks bright! Our calendar of events for the year includes five Scottish Games appearances on top of other club activities. Suffice to say that on top of our new domain name and web home (www.norcalshinty.com/, you're probably here already) there are lots of things afoot in the NCCC clubhouse. We will try and be better about posting regular updates, always hard to keep up, so expect more news to follow soon!


8/30/2004

This summer has see a number of great events in the history of the NCCC, including the first Cup Match between two US shinty teams! The newly formed San Luis Obispo Shinty Club (SLOSC) met the Northern California Camanachd Club (NCCC) to play for the Glenfarclas Cup (sponsored by Glenfarclas Single Malt Scotch Whisky) on 7 August 2004 at the Monterey Scottish Games! The NCCC won 2 - 1 after a hard fought match.

The Glenfarclas Cup not only excited interest here in California (see our report here), but led to an article in Scotland on Sunday, a weekly publication from The Scotsman (go here for text)!

Besides this landmark match, the NCCC has made appearances at five Scottish Games (Livermore, Campbell, Dunsmuir, Monterey, Pleasanton) with one more to come in September (Dixon), playing demonstration matches and hosting a booth dedicated to introducing games patrons to this ancient Scottish sport.

There are a number of plans afoot for the NCCC, details to be posted here over the coming months. For now we'll just ask that you come and see us at Dixon and give a good send-off to the 2004 Scottish Games season...


5/18/2004

Well, we are basking in the glow of our first Highland Games appearance of 2004. I was also our first ever NCCC inter-club tournament, the inaugural Liermore Scottish Games and the unveiling of our new jerseys... so lots of firsts! Photos from this event are being added as I write with many more to come in the coming weeks. Check out the Livermore Scottish Games and Cup Tournament page.

Livermore was the first of five Highland games at which the NCCC will be playing. Next up are the Campbell Highland Games on 26 June. After than we will be at the Dunsmuir (7/10-11), Monterey(8/7-8), and Dixon (9/25) Highland games... check out the NCCC schedule for more details.


3/17/2004

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We are embarking on another year in the life of the NCCC with a number of additions to our website. New photos from our 2003 events have been added to the archive, as has a new summary of the shinty rules, a brief history of shinty, and a complete schedule of NCCC events through the end of 2004. Surf and enjoy!

One of our main activities for 2004 will be appearances at a number of Northern California Scottish Highland Games. We will being playing matches and presenting information about the game and it's traditions, so please come out and see what we're up to. The events we will be attending follow:

• 5/15-16/2004 (SAT/SUN )
  LIVERMORE HIGHLAND GAMES
  Robertson Park, LIVERMORE
  TOURNAMENT MATCHES each day (late morning/afternoon)
  Trophy presentation Sunday afternoon
  
  
• 6/26/2004 (SAT ONLY)
  CAMPBELL HIGHLAND GAMES
  Campbell Community Center, CAMPBELL
  DEMONSTRATION MATCHES
  
  
• 7/10-11/2004 (SAT/SUN)
  DUNSMUIR HIGHLAND GAMES
  Dunsmuir House, OAKLAND
  DEMONSTRATION MATCH each day (approx 12-1PM)
  
  
• 8/7-8/2004 (SAT/SUN )
  MONTEREY HIGHLAND GAMES
  Toro Park, SALINAS
  DEMONSTRATION MATCHES
  
  
• 9/25/2004 (SAT ONLY)
  DIXON HIGHLAND GAMES
  Dixon May Fairgrounds, DIXON
  DEMONSTRATION MATCHES