CAMANACHD Association (CA) officials have expressed confidence that they can overcome a mini-crisis caused by a shortage of referees and ensure that every match will be played as association this season.
Alarm had been raised across the sport when Angus MacVicar, the CA director with responsibility for officials and facilities, sent a letter to all clubs warning them of “dire” consequences if there was no response to calls for more match officials to be put forward.
“I am writing to you formally to highlight the very difficult situation shinty is currently facing,” he wrote.
“In short, we are on the cusp of a very real crisis which may call for drastic measures in the not so distant future.
“Some of you may think that shinty has always had difficulty in recruiting suitable individuals for referees and goal judges and therefore nothing has changed. However, the current situation is dire in that the CA may have to consider cancelling games because suitable officials are simply not available.”
He went on to warn that if that happened preferential treatment was likely to be given to those clubs that have been most pro-active.
“The CA would not wish to be in such a position but unless something radical happens in the next few months and we are able to recruit a significant number of new officials we may be forced to allocate games on the basis of the clubs that have nominated currently available matches,” wrote Mr MacVicar.
He consequently appealed to “all clubs, current match officials and anyone who is associated with the sport of shinty to actively approach any suitable individual known to them who might be interested in being nominated as a shinty match official,” offering appropriate training and development.
“We need you all to take action or we are likely to be facing a situation in which games cannot go ahead due to a lack of match officials,” he reiterated.
However, the timing of Mr MacVicar’s message caused some puzzlement some two months into the season when the greatest demand for officials has passed.
Approached for comment, a CA spokesman indicated that there is an on-going issue that has to be dealt with in the longer term, but said that they expect to be able to get through the rest of this season.
“The situation has been concerning for some time now,” he said. “Whilst it is not anticipated that fixtures will be cancelled during the 2017 season, unless we recruit more going forward there is a possibility that fixtures may be cancelled in the future.”
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