One of shinty's greatest ever players is to be the first 'Ambassador' for a ground-breaking health initiative making use of Scotland's ancient sport.

Alzheimer Scotland and the Camanachd Association have set up a special project for people living with dementia and other memory problems. Called Shinty Memories, it uses images of old players, teams, badges, trophies, grounds and memorabilia to improve recall, stimulate conversation and share memories of shinty.

John MacKenzie of Newtonmore, a former internationalist and manager of the Scottish shinty team, has agreed to be the "Shinty Ambassador" for the project.

Alzheimer Scotland has several Reminiscence Networks, covering Football, Rugby, Shinty, Golf and Cricket, as well as Movies. The highly successful Football Memories project started out in the Falkirk area back in 2004, and is now well-established all across Scotland, from Stranraer to Shetland. There are almost 100 'teams' in the Alzheimer Scotland Football Memories League and each has chosen its own name and colour. Each group has a trained football memories volunteer and a member of Alzheimer Scotland staff in attendance. The Shinty Memories project follows a similar pattern.

Shinty historian Dr Hugh Dan MacLennan, who is assisting Alzheimer Scotland, said: "John MacKenzie's iconic status within the game and his knowledge of the shinty community will be invaluable to the project as we develop its work. The impact of the groups so far has been remarkable, and the demand being created means that we will have to build up our resources as quickly as possible. This is a highly cost-effective way of helping people living with dementia in all our sporting communities, and I am delighted that shinty has been at the forefront of the developments."