Premier Division (shinty)
| Country | Scotland |
|---|---|
| Confederation | Camanachd Association |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | National Division One |
| Current champions | Newtonmore |
| Website |
www |
The Premier Division is a league for shinty teams. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the "Marine Harvest Premiership".
It is the primary league competition in shinty and top tier of the Shinty league system. The Premier Division was formed in 1996 in order to create a Scotland-wide league set-up for the first time. It is one of the five trophies considered to be part of the Grand Slam in the sport of shinty.
As of 2009, the league was known for sponsorship reasons as the Scottish Hydro Electric Premier Division, although it was sometimes referred to as the Scottish Hydro Premier League.
In 2012, the league switched sponsors to the Orion Group and was rebranded the Premiership. A new trophy was also presented along with the invention of official "Derby Days".
Sponsorship was taken up by Marine Harvest in 2015
In 2016, the following teams will make up the division.
- Fort William
- Glenurquhart
- Kingussie
- Kinlochshiel
- Kyles Athletic
- Lochaber
- Lovat
- Newtonmore
- Oban Camanachd
- Skye Camanachd
History
The Premier Division began in 1996. Previously, the winners of North Division One and South Division One would play off in a National Final. The league was initially played through the winter but with the change of the shinty season to summer in 2004, the Premier Division followed suit. In the transition between the two seasons, there was an interim season played, Kingussie were champions. Between 1999 and 2006, there was a National Division One which had relegation and promotion to the Premier Division. National Division One was reinstated for the 2014 season.
2006 saw Fort William break Kingussie's dominance of the league structure which stretched back to 1986.
2009 saw the title go down to the last round of results and Kingussie squeezing out Newtonmore on goal difference. In 2010, the league again went down to the last round of fixtures with Fort William and Newtonmore facing off for the league title in a final day clash at An Aird. Newtonmore won the league thanks to a goal by Danny MacRae with 10 minutes to go.
A move to reduce the Premier Division to eight teams was mooted by the Camanachd Association board in late 2010. The option of reviving a National Division One was however ruled out due to unhappiness from clubs.
2011 saw an incredible end to the season as Kyles Athletic and Newtonmore were only separated by a last minute goal in the final game of the season which saw Newtonmore become the first team apart from Kingussie to retain the trophy but also dash Kyles' hopes of being the first South team to win the league. Oban Camanachd were also relegated from the league for the first time.
Newtonmore's fourth win in 2013 marked the end of the present 10 team era with two teams being relegated and no promotion to make the league an eight-team league, with a National Division One below it as was the case in the early 2000s.
Newtonmore made it seven in a row in 2016 and their domination looks set to continue, having also won the Camanachd Cup and MacTavish Cup that year.
List of winners
- 1996 Kingussie
- 1997 Kingussie
- 1998 Kingusie
- 1999 Kingussie
- 2000 Kingussie
- 2001 Kingussie
- 2002 Kingussie
- 2003 (Interim Leagues)
- 2004 Kingussie
- 2005 Kingussie
- 2006 Fort William
- 2007 Kingussie
- 2008 Kingussie
- 2009 Kingussie
- 2010 Newtonmore
- 2011 Newtonmore
- 2012 Newtonmore
- 2013 Newtonmore
- 2014 Newtonmore
- 2015 Newtonmore
- 2016 Newtonmore
| Club | Total | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kingussie | 12 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Newtonmore | 7 | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 |
| Fort William | 1 | 2006 |
