Ronald Ross (shinty player)
Encyclopedia
Ronald Ross, MBE
(born 1975) is a Scottish
shinty
player who currently plays for Kingussie Camanachd
. He is a renowned forward, the only man to have ever scored more than 1000 goals in the sport http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/05/25/shinty-ace-ronald-ross-hailed-as-sports-icon-after-notching-1000-goals-86908-21387292/ and who has broken several other records as an individual and as part of Kingussie's record-breaking first team.
The media has awarded him the nickname "Ronaldo
of the Glens",http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article861450.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2 in tribute to his scoring prowess, drawing comparisons with the famous Brazil
ian footballer. Everyone in shinty just calls him "Ronald".
In 2002-2003, the last ever winter season for shinty, he scored 94 goals in all competitions. This was more than the accumulated totals for Kingussie's closest rivals, Newtonmore Camanachd Club
and Fort William Shinty Club
in the league that season. His previous best, in season 2001-02, was 88.
Ross retired from international shinty for the second time on 14 October 2007 after helping Scotland
defeat the Irish hurlers in Fort William. He finished the 2007 season, where he helped Kingussie reclaim the Premier League title, with 72 goals.
2008 saw Ross again help Kingussie win the title but he was the victim of strong handed tactics by Fort William Shinty Club
in the Camanachd Cup
final that year. He scored a fantastic goal, akin to one scored in 2006 at the final in Dunoon
but the treatment he received from Adam Robertson was very physical.http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport/Camanachd-Cup--Kingussie-12.4490090.jp
In 2010, after scoring 4 goals to win the Macaulay Cup
in extra time, Ross stated that he would review his playing career at the end of the season.http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Shinty-Kingussie-4--3.6487844.jp
His career total, excluding goals in reserve shinty,http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2510086.0.Ronaldo_of_the_Glens_is_first_Scot_to_hit_1000_goals.php is in excess of 1000 goals. On May 23, 2009 he scored his 1000th goal (and 1001st) against Lovat
in a MacTavish Cup Semi-Final.http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/05/25/shinty-ace-ronald-ross-hailed-as-sports-icon-after-notching-1000-goals-86908-21387292/
As well as captaining Scotland, he has popularised the wearing of safety helmets amongst young players. He is employed as a shinty development officer by the Camanachd Association
.
Ronald was awarded the Glenfiddich
Spirit of Scotland Award for Sport in 2009, the second time he had received this honour.http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/4949/Iconic_award_a__great_honour__for_shinty_hero.html
champion http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/6003/Honour_for_shinty_legend.html and was Scottish Number Two at youth level http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2510086.0.Ronaldo_of_the_Glens_is_first_Scot_to_hit_1000_goals.php and is friends with Andy Murray.http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/702920?UserKey=0 In early 2010, he was ironically injured by tripping on a tennis ball whilst coaching children shinty.http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Changing-room-chat-Aberdeen-programmed.6189271.jp
for his final season in the sport.
Ironically, given his iconic status as the Kingussie player par excellence of the last 20 years, Ronald's mother is from Newtonmore
.http://www.skyecamanachd.com/Default.aspx.LocID-087new1no.RefLocID-087001001.htm Also his maternal grandfather, Minto Sellar, won the Camanachd Cup for Newtonmore in 1931.http://living.scotsman.com/outdoors/Shinty-is-alive-and-swinging.6822535.jp His father, Ian, from Kingussie, was a massive influence on his career. He also has a brother, Ian Jr.http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/shinty-stick-how-did-a-tiny-highland-town-produce-the-most-successful-team-in-the-history-of-world-sport-ronaldo-of-the-glens-may-have-had-something-to-do-with-it-1.7792 Ian was also awarded the MBE for services to shinty.http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/6003/Honour_for_shinty_legend.html
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 1975) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
shinty
Shinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
player who currently plays for Kingussie Camanachd
Kingussie Camanachd
Kingussie Camanachd is a shinty team from Kingussie, Scotland and according to the Guinness Book of Records 2005, is World sport's most successful sporting team of all time, winning 20 consecutive leagues and going 4 years unbeaten at one stage in the early 1990s. The second team plays in North...
. He is a renowned forward, the only man to have ever scored more than 1000 goals in the sport http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/05/25/shinty-ace-ronald-ross-hailed-as-sports-icon-after-notching-1000-goals-86908-21387292/ and who has broken several other records as an individual and as part of Kingussie's record-breaking first team.
The media has awarded him the nickname "Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
of the Glens",http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article861450.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2 in tribute to his scoring prowess, drawing comparisons with the famous Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian footballer. Everyone in shinty just calls him "Ronald".
Early Playing Career and Prime
Ross made his first Camanachd Cup appearance in 1992 against Fort William as a substitute. His father, Ian Ross, was manager that day, and had not put him in the team due to worries about nepotism. However, Ross soon began to prove his worth throughout the nineties as Kingussie swept all before them.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article1140061.eceIn 2002-2003, the last ever winter season for shinty, he scored 94 goals in all competitions. This was more than the accumulated totals for Kingussie's closest rivals, Newtonmore Camanachd Club
Newtonmore Camanachd Club
Newtonmore Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Newtonmore, Badenoch, Scotland and current holders of the Camanachd Cup. It is historically one of the game's most successful sides, having won the Camanachd Cup a record 29 times, most recently in 2011 and won the Marine Harvest Premier Division in...
and Fort William Shinty Club
Fort William Shinty Club
Fort William Shinty Club is a shinty club from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. The first team were Camanachd Cup holders four times in succession, between 2007 and 2010 but were knocked out in the second round in 2011...
in the league that season. His previous best, in season 2001-02, was 88.
Ross retired from international shinty for the second time on 14 October 2007 after helping Scotland
Scotland national shinty team
The Scotland national shinty team is the team selected to represent Scotland and the sport of shinty in the annual composite rules international with the Ireland national hurling team. The team represents the Camanachd Association....
defeat the Irish hurlers in Fort William. He finished the 2007 season, where he helped Kingussie reclaim the Premier League title, with 72 goals.
2008 saw Ross again help Kingussie win the title but he was the victim of strong handed tactics by Fort William Shinty Club
Fort William Shinty Club
Fort William Shinty Club is a shinty club from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. The first team were Camanachd Cup holders four times in succession, between 2007 and 2010 but were knocked out in the second round in 2011...
in the Camanachd Cup
Camanachd Cup
The Camanachd Association Challenge Cup AKA the Camanachd Cup or Scottish Cup is the premier prize in the sport of shinty...
final that year. He scored a fantastic goal, akin to one scored in 2006 at the final in Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
but the treatment he received from Adam Robertson was very physical.http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport/Camanachd-Cup--Kingussie-12.4490090.jp
Return to international and 1000 goals
Ross returned to International shinty/hurling in 2009 after a call from the management of the Scotland side due to his form in the 2009 season which saw him score 92 goals, two short of his all-time record.http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport/Hurling-himself-into-the-battle.5764121.jp Kingussie reclaimed the league with a last day win against Kyles Athletic.In 2010, after scoring 4 goals to win the Macaulay Cup
Macaulay Cup
The MacAulay Association Camanachd Cup is a trophy in the sport of shinty. It is competed for by the eight highest-placed league teams from the north and south areas at the end of the previous season. The first winner of the cup, in 1947, was Newtonmore. It will be sponsored by Artemis from the...
in extra time, Ross stated that he would review his playing career at the end of the season.http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Shinty-Kingussie-4--3.6487844.jp
His career total, excluding goals in reserve shinty,http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2510086.0.Ronaldo_of_the_Glens_is_first_Scot_to_hit_1000_goals.php is in excess of 1000 goals. On May 23, 2009 he scored his 1000th goal (and 1001st) against Lovat
Lovat Shinty Club
Lovat Shinty Club is a shinty club from Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire, Scotland. The club was formed in 1888 and has a healthy rivalry with near neighbours Beauly...
in a MacTavish Cup Semi-Final.http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/05/25/shinty-ace-ronald-ross-hailed-as-sports-icon-after-notching-1000-goals-86908-21387292/
As well as captaining Scotland, he has popularised the wearing of safety helmets amongst young players. He is employed as a shinty development officer by the Camanachd Association
Camanachd Association
The Camanachd Association is the World governing body of the Scottish sport of shinty. The body is based in Inverness, Highland, and is in charge of the rules of the game...
.
Recognition
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to shinty.Ronald was awarded the Glenfiddich
Glenfiddich
The Glenfiddich Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery owned by William Grant & Sons in Dufftown, Scotland. Glenfiddich means ‘Valley of the deer’ in Gaelic, hence the presence of a deer symbol on Glenfiddich bottles.- History :...
Spirit of Scotland Award for Sport in 2009, the second time he had received this honour.http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/4949/Iconic_award_a__great_honour__for_shinty_hero.html
Prowess in Tennis
He was Scottish junior tennisTennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
champion http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/6003/Honour_for_shinty_legend.html and was Scottish Number Two at youth level http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2510086.0.Ronaldo_of_the_Glens_is_first_Scot_to_hit_1000_goals.php and is friends with Andy Murray.http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/702920?UserKey=0 In early 2010, he was ironically injured by tripping on a tennis ball whilst coaching children shinty.http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Changing-room-chat-Aberdeen-programmed.6189271.jp
Newtonmore Connections
In 2010, Ross was the victim of an April Fool's prank by a shinty website http://www.skyecamanachd.com/Default.aspx.LocID-087new1no.RefLocID-087001001.htm which stated that he would be switching to Kingussie's bitter rivals NewtonmoreNewtonmore Camanachd Club
Newtonmore Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Newtonmore, Badenoch, Scotland and current holders of the Camanachd Cup. It is historically one of the game's most successful sides, having won the Camanachd Cup a record 29 times, most recently in 2011 and won the Marine Harvest Premier Division in...
for his final season in the sport.
Ironically, given his iconic status as the Kingussie player par excellence of the last 20 years, Ronald's mother is from Newtonmore
Newtonmore
Newtonmore is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of about 1000. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre of Scotland...
.http://www.skyecamanachd.com/Default.aspx.LocID-087new1no.RefLocID-087001001.htm Also his maternal grandfather, Minto Sellar, won the Camanachd Cup for Newtonmore in 1931.http://living.scotsman.com/outdoors/Shinty-is-alive-and-swinging.6822535.jp His father, Ian, from Kingussie, was a massive influence on his career. He also has a brother, Ian Jr.http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/shinty-stick-how-did-a-tiny-highland-town-produce-the-most-successful-team-in-the-history-of-world-sport-ronaldo-of-the-glens-may-have-had-something-to-do-with-it-1.7792 Ian was also awarded the MBE for services to shinty.http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/6003/Honour_for_shinty_legend.html