THE Badenoch and Strathspey Primary Shinty Sixes were held at the Eilan in Newtonmore on Wednesday evening with the main clash - the Williamson Cup - being a final between the two derby rivals, decided in the dying seconds.
A splendid 20 teams turned out for the competition, including outfits from Carrbridge, Alvie and Grantown and Strathdearn, as well as Kingussie, Newtonmore and Gergask.
A total of 34 games were played, spread over three pitches, in dry conditions, but with a chill edge to the air.
A large crowd of parents and supporters turned out on the night to be royally entertained.
The trophies competed for were the Williamson Cup - which has been contested since 1947; The Gergask Quaich; The Massey Shield (for girls) and the Balavil Cup, all three of which have been added to the event since 2000.
The Balavil Final for five to seven year olds was between Newtonmore D and Kingussie E, and Newtonmore took the lead three minutes in, then increased their lead in the fifth minute to run out 2-0 winners.
The goals were scored by Somhairle Thomson and captain Declan Brannan.
An exhibition girls' match for the Massey Shield was won by a Kingussie
Alvie/Grantown select team 4-1 and the winning captain and player of the match was Kingussie player Rachel Borthwick.
The Gergask Quaich for intermediate primary school children was contested between Kingussie C and Alvie A, with Kingussie C winning 4-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Dylan Borthwick and a single from Keiran McGibbon.
In the final of the Williamson Cup, a closely-contested battle ended literally with the last strike of the game, which gave Kingussie A a 1-0 victory over Newtonmore A.
Although the home side enjoyed more pressure and possession during the final, it was the Red and Blues who were victorious with a long strike from Ruaraidh Anderson.
The winning Williamson Cup captain was Robert Shiels, who was presented with a black caman. The player of the Williamson Final award went to Kingussie defender Alexander Michie.
Opinion: There can be no doubt that shinty in Badenoch and Strathspey is alive and well at primary school level, with some outstanding talent on show at primary seven level especially.
But the challenge for the senior clubs is to keep these young players interested and motivated through their secondary school years, to make their way into the senior teams of the future.
Over the years, too many talented youngsters have disappeared without trace - a tendency that needs to be halted if the Badenoch sides are to remain dominant.
