Shinty

Shinty (Gaelic: Camanachd/Iomain) is a game originating in the Scottish Highlands and is played with a curved stick and a leather ball. It is similar to the Irish hurling.

Rules

The object of the game is to insert the ball into a goal or "hail" erected at the ends of a field of 125 to 155 meters. Traditionally, the field has to be made of grass, although since 2009 artificial grass has also been accepted.

The ball is a solid, hard sphere slightly smaller than a tennis ball, consisting of a cork core covered with two strips of leather sewn together with visible seams. In this detail it resembles a Scottish sliotar or an American baseball. It is usually white, although there are also bright colors or black, like the ones used by Kyles Aesthetic.

The ball is played with the caman or stick, a curved stick about 105 cm long. Unlike the Irish hurley, it does not have a paddle. The caman is usually made of wood, traditionally ash and currently walnut, and cannot have any metal reinforcement. The name comes from its shape, since in Scots cam means "curved" or "crooked".

A game is divided into two 45-minute halves. The team consists of 12 players, including a goalkeeper. The goalkeeper is the only player who can touch the ball with his hands. There are variations with fewer players, smaller fields, and shorter match duration.

Players can touch the ball in the air with both sides of the caman. It can also be used to block and steal the ball, although it cannot be charged against another player's caman ("hacking"). A player can charge against another in the run, as long as the charge is shoulder to shoulder as in soccer.

A player may stop the ball with the ball and chest, with one foot on the ground, or with both feet together. The goalkeeper, who is the only one who can touch the ball with his hands, can only do it with open palms and cannot hold the ball. Touching the ball with the head is considered dangerous play and is a foul. Trying to play the ball from the ground and swinging the caman are also penalized.

Fouls become indirect free kicks when taken outside the penalty area, known as "the D". When they are inside this area, it is a direct free kick (penalty) from 18 meters.

International competition

In recognition of the common roots with hurling, a match between the Scottish and Irish teams is organized each year, according to agreed rules. This meeting takes place alternately in Scotland and Ireland.