The Camanachd Association has published its route map for the return of shinty with contact shinty scheduled for April 26 ahead of the new season getting underway on June 5.
Non-contact training for adults and youths will begin tomorrow providing participants have their Covid-19 readiness documentation verified by the association.
Camanachd Association chief executive Derek Keir said: “Since the start of the year we have been working behind the scenes to make sure that we were in a position to restart shinty as soon as the conditions allowed.
“Following the first minister’s welcome announcement on Tuesday we are delighted to put forward this roadmap for a return of shinty provided Scotland continues to progress in its fight against the virus.
We recognise that this is just the first step in a journey culminating June 5 with that first competitive throw-up in 15 months, but we are excited by the positive response this news has already generated with our member clubs.
“Non-contact training is the first step on this roadmap and in order to support our clubs taking this unfamiliar step, the Camanachd Association have developed a series of adjusted drills for non-contact shinty which are available on our website.
“If any club wants support with their Covid readiness documentation or anything else to assist their return to shinty, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your regional development officer.”
Clubs are not permitted to run any activities until they have successfully undertaken a Covid readiness and risk assessment which has been verified by the Camanachd Association.
In addition a club cannot train unless all participants are registered members of the Camanachd Association for insurance purposes.
The Camanachd Association route map is as follows:
March 12 – Adults and youths can take part in outdoor non-contact shinty and organised group exercise in groups of up to 15 people including coaches. Physical distancing is to be maintained. (A club can run more than one session at a time as long as they are distinctly separate and have staggered start and finish times).
March 26: CA target date for all clubs to work towards Covid readiness documentation verification. Clubs cannot undertake any kind of activity without these documents being verified by the Camanachd Association.
April 26: Contact shinty anticipated to resume as we return to a tiered system. Further details to be published mid-March by the Scottish Government.
June 5: Provisional start date for senior League and Cup season to begin, further details and confirmation to be released by the competitions committee in due course.
