Cowal events Swamp Soccer and Shinty
Item Posted: Wednesday 28th March , 2007
COWAL CONNECTIONS 2
SWAMP SOCCER
Never heard of it? Join the club! I met with an apparently sane Stewart Miller, from Innellan, who has introduced this zany, messy and fun sport to the UK. Played until recently mainly in Scandinavian countries, the pitch is made intentionally muddy and wet, so might be thought to be ideal for Argyll! Each match lasts only 24 minutes, teams of six players splash it out in a spectacle that it is fun to watch and very wet to play. Sideline comments might abound - ‘boys will be boys’ (or even ‘ girls will be girls’). Others may say ‘at least this is one football tournament Scotland can win’, but there is also good, and seious, business sense behind the tournament being help in Dunoon this July.
The annual tournament in Finland attracts 300 teams, and Stewart Miller and his co-organisers are confident that at least 50 teams - from Scotland, England and overseas countries such as Finland, Germany and Sweden will attend the Dunoon this year, and that by year three it will be the second largest Swamp football event in the world.
‘Football is extremely popular in Scotland and a unique fun event like this should capture the public’s imagination. There has recently been a growth of outdoor activities and extreme sports, especially in Argyll. We established that there is a very high level of media interest in this event, partly at least because it was something different, new and visual’ Stewart told me. Certainly the media seem to be rallying around. Eurosport and Futbol Mundial wish to film the tournament should be seen in 130 countries and a possible audience of 300 million.
It hardly needs to be said that if this takes off, and gets the right level of support from local businesses and authorities the potential impact on tourism, and income for local businesses, could be dramatic.
Stewart, a local marketing consultant, is not just the brains behind the event, he also plays, representing Team Scotland in the last world championships. He told me: ‘The atmosphere at this tournament was excellent. There were teams from all over the world, there to enjoy this fun football tournament. It was very tough playing in Finland. I was in goal, and I was knackered. The Finns are fit, living in the outdoors, but the same could be said of Argyll folk. You have to keep moving, jumping and running, or you just sink into the mud. Exhausting but fun.’
Clearly the organisers are thinking of it as a spectacle for the public, not just for the players. There will be food and drink available all day, and stalls selling merchandise. In the evening there is entertainment at the Hunters Quay Village. World Cup football can be watched on a giant screen, and this will be followed each night by either live music, a disco or a ceilidh
On the same weekend the Dunoon Youth Football League is organising a football tournament to celebrate their 25th anniversary, so it will be a real football weekend extravaganza for Dunoon.
There is still time for you to enter a team if you would like to try out a variant of your football skills, and put those washing powder adverts to a real test! If you fancy keeping reasonable dry do come along to watch and join in the fun.
Visit www.swampsoccer.co.uk for more information.
Events start on Friday 30th June, with play on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July 2006, at Hunters Quay Holiday Village in Dunoon.
SHINTY – the Camanachd Cup
Staying with sport in Cowal, another important international event will be held this year.
Shinty is played particularly in the areas of Scotland related to the Gaelic population as well as in the cities and the universities. But it is in the midst of a substantial revival and expansion, with many schools re-starting it, and a healthy club scene. Its value as a spectator sport has now been recognised, and it is to be introduced in the Commonwealth Games as a demonstration sport in 2014, which will further heighten its international appeal.
Evidence of the key role played by the Camanachd Cup itself is that it was one of the few trophies and artefacts chosen as part of an exhibition sent to New York in March this year as part of the Tartan Week exhibition held to boost US tourism to Scotland. As Hugh Dan MacLennan, the vice-president of the association that runs shinty said,
‘We believe the cup is a national treasure which deserves to be part of a display about Scotland. The cup is going overseas for the first time in its 110 year history. The association is also a partner in the Highland Year of Culture 2007 – our ancient sport is a key plank in the marketing strategy for the celebration.’
Camanachd, or shinty, the sport of the curved stick, demands of skill, speed, stamina and courage made it the perfect exercise of a warrior people. The qualities of body and mind it developed, clearly contributed to the just fame of the Highlander in battle, not only those long ago but up until the last two World Wars. It is also these qualities that make it an exciting spectator sport, even for the uninitiated, so hopefully you will come to Cowal to join in the spectacle – even if you want to stay safely on the touch line!
The finals of the cup will be held at the Dunoon Stadium on 16th September. More about the cup, and shinty, can be found on www.shinty.com