Cammag
From ManxWiki
The game of Cammag is a team sport similar to the Irish hurling, its related Scottish Gaelic game of shinty and the game of hockey. The Manx word Cammag as in modern Scottish Gaelic and Irish camán, is derived from the Gaelic root word cam, meaning bent.
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History
Cammag is believed to have been the most widespread sport on the Isle of Man, but interest wained around 1900 following the introduction of football to the island. Recent years has seen a revival culminating with an annual match being played on Boxing Day in St. John's, starting at 2.00pm by the church clock.
Equipment
The game involves a stick (cammag) and a ball (crick). The traditional cammag can be any stick with a bent end. The crick can be made from cork or wood. The Crick was sometimes covered in cloth or leather to make it softer.
The Game
Cammag is played between two teams with no upper limit of players, matches have seen whole towns and villages took part in games, even playing each other. The annual Boxing Day match at St. John's is played between teams representing the island's "north" and "south".
Whilst the modern game involves a specified play area with goals, traditionally the playing area would be anywhere the crick went, with goals being any predefined place extending as far as even the opposing town's boundary.
The game consists of three halves, each to last a pre-agreed length of time. Each half is started with a referee's whistle then each team attempts to drive the crick into the opponents goal by fair of foul means.
