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The Cornwall Shinty Club is a shinty club from the county of Cornwall in the UK. Formed in 2012, it is one of few clubs outside the Scottish Highlands.
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History
Shinty-like stick games were played in Cornwall as well as across much of England before the end of the 19th century. A number of Cornish newspaper references show that the game was popular into the early 20th Century, with shinty relays included in a number of school sports days, matches recorded and Scottish shinty developments also recorded.
In 1919 The Cornishman newspaper's West Cornwall News section related: 'Scotland is enthusiastic over the revival of shinty. The championship competition is to start this year, and entries are to be received up to November 1. Kingussie Club was the last winner of the cup. International contests may be arranged. Lord Lovat is re-elected chief' (CM24/9/1919 p5). In Cornwall locals played a form shinty in the streets of Penryn with lumps of coal in the 1960s. The more standard form continued to be played regularly right up until the 1980s in Cornwall, though latterly at fewer venues. It was played intermittently in Cornwall in the mid 1990s, though predominantly by small groups of visitors more accustomed to playing in Scotland.
London Camanachd lead the resurgence from the 1980s onwards, though Cornwall and then wider England, fielding sides in the St Andrews Sixes, though both teams were predominantly made up of ex-university and armed forces players.
Current club
The current club was formed in The Thirsty Scholar in Penryn on 15 March 2012, with the Committee made up of a group of archaeologists and archaeological students, chaired by Matt Mõssop, a former St Andrews University and Scottish Universities player.
Cornwall had their first match against London Camanachd in April 2012 at the community green in Flax Bourton. This was the first Shinty Shop Challenge Cup. The match ended 1-1. Cornwall competed at the St. Andrew's Sixes in 2012 losing out to the eventual winners Glasgow Island.
In September 2012 they took part in the London Shinty Festival. The first AGM in December 2012 saw the establishment of Mabe and The Combined Universities of Cornwall Shinty Clubs in Cornwall. These two clubs currently form the pool of players available for selection for Cornwall. Cornwall Shinty Club applied for affiliate club membership of the Camanachd Association in January 2013 and again participated in The Shinty-Shop Challenge Cup 2013. Six of the Cornish Ladies squad participated in the inaugural English Ladies team against St Andrews Ladies in the London Festival of Shinty.
The Club was asked to be a central part of the popular Lowender Peran Festival in Perranporth in October 2013, to celebrate the revival of the sport in the Southwest and the start of the Bulldog Shinty League, the first shinty League south of Scotland in the 21st century. The start of the Bulldog Shinty League also marked the start of 3 new Cornish sides: Exeter University, Falmouth University and Camborne School of Mines Shinty Clubs.
Cornwall faced Caithness Shinty Club in a Land's End v John O' Groats Fixture in St Andrew's in May 2014. Cornwall winning 3-1.
Cornwall had a highly successful year in 2015 making a clean sweep in all English competitions as well as having a successful tour of Scotland.
Cornwall competed in the London Festival of Shinty in September 2016, but lost their title to London Camanachd
On 5th November Cornwall played an International Select, winning 7-0. Cornwall Ladies also beat International Select Ladies 4-1.
Cornwall Ladies
Cornwall ladies Shinty team was formed in 2012. Over that period the team has gone from strength to strength with ladies playing for Cornwall and also playing at a national level as part of the English Shinty Association (ESA) ladies team. The Cornwall ladies team has also played games in the English Shinty Championship in Bristol for the last few years and have performed at a high standard every time they have competed. The team have also been entered into several national Shinty tournaments such as at the London, Lowander Peran and St. Andrews Shinty Festivals. In 2015 the Cornish ladies travelled to Scotland as part of a Shinty tour and played against numerous Scottish ladies teams which helped the development of their squad. In 2016 the Cornwall Shinty Ladies beat a strong London side for the first time since their creation which showcased the true development of the team in the last few years and the talent that is emerging from within Cornwall. In addition to playing for Cornwall, many local ladies have been selected for the ladies ESA team to play in Scotland against different Scottish oppositions. In 2017, the ESA ladies side will be entering the Ladies Shinty Challenge Cup with many Cornwall ladies featuring strongly in the squad. The Cornwall ladies team has been formed by players with varied sporting backgrounds such as hockey and camogie.
Sponsorship
The club is sponsored by the local Post Office, Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, The Thirsty Scholar and The New Inn, Mabe.