Editing Inverness (section)

==Sports and leisure==
[[File:Caledonian Stadium - geograph-916623.jpg|thumb|[[Tulloch Caledonian Stadium|Caledonian Stadium]], home of [[Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.|Inverness Caledonian Thistle]]]]

Inverness is connected to three long-distance footpaths:
* The [[Great Glen Way]] – connects to [[Fort William, Highland|Fort William]] along the [[Great Glen]]
* The [[John o' Groats Trail]] – connects to [[John o' Groats]] along the coast
* The South Loch Ness Trail – connects to [[Fort Augustus]] along the southeast side of Loch Ness

Inverness has been home to many football clubs, mainly in the [[Highland Football League|Highland League]] due to the inaccessibility to be promoted into the [[Scottish football league system|SFA Pyramid]] until 2013. [[Inverness Union F.C.|Inverness Union]], [[Inverness Citadel F.C.|Inverness Citadel]], [[Clachnacuddin F.C.|Clachnacuddin]], [[Caledonian F.C.|Caledonian]] and [[Inverness Thistle F.C.|Inverness Thistle]] were all founder members of the Highland League in 1893, with [[Inverness Celtic F.C.|Inverness Celtic]] joining in 1897 before disappearing a few years later. Inverness Union merged with Inverness Thistle in 1895, and Inverness Citadel folding in 1937, with the team name being revived at amateur level in 2010. In 1994, Caledonian and Inverness Thistle merged to form Caledonian Thistle, later [[Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.|Inverness Caledonian Thistle]], to gain election into the [[Scottish Football League]], before going on to gain promotion to the [[Scottish Premier League]] in 2004, and winning the [[Scottish Cup]] and playing in the [[UEFA Europa League]] in 2015. After the cup win, the club went into a swift, but steady, decline, and eventually into [[Scottish League One]] and [[Administration (British football)|administration]] in October 2024. [[Clachnacuddin F.C.|Clachnacuddin]] remain in the Highland League, winning the league as recently as 2004. In 2006, [[Inverness City F.C.|Inverness City]] was founded, playing in the [[North Caledonian Football Association|North Caledonian League]] and the [[North Region Junior Football League|North Region Junior Leagues]] until being folded in 2019. In 2016, the city's third active, and ninth total, team, [[Inverness Athletic F.C.|Inverness Athletic]] was founded and are currently playing in the North Caledonian League. In 2020, [[Loch Ness F.C.|Loch Ness]] joined the North Caledonian League, making the step up from the [[Inverness and District Football Association|Inverness and District League]], before withdrawing in 2024. A fourth club is expected to join the active list, with a new [[Inverness Thistle F.C. (2024)|Inverness Thistle]] being brought forward in hopes to join the North Caledonian League for the 2025–26 season.

[[Highland RFC]] is the local [[rugby union]] club that competes in the [[Scottish National League Division One]]. It has enjoyed recent promotions in the past several years and continues to be a hub for rugby in the North of Scotland.

[[Shinty]] is an integral part of the Highlands and Islands. As the capital of the Highlands, [[Camanachd Association]] is based in Inverness and the city often hosts a wealth of Shinty finals such as the [[Camanachd Cup]] Final (the pinnacle of Shinty) as well as the international game of Shinty and [[Irish hurling]]. Despite [[Inverness Shinty Club]] not being particularly successful in recent years, some of the towns and villages that surround the city have been, such as [[Kiltarlity]] who are the home of [[Lovat Shinty Club]] (recent winners of the [[MacTavish Cup]] 2013) and [[Glen Urquhart]].

Highland HC is the local hockey team, it consists of two men's teams, two ladies teams and a junior team.<ref>{{cite web|website=Highland Hockey Club|url=http://highlandhockey.co.uk/teams|title=Teams|access-date=13 March 2013 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502202315/http://highlandhockey.co.uk/teams|archive-date=2 May 2013}}</ref> with both Men's & Ladies' 1st teams in Scottish National Division 2. The Men's 1st team successfully gained promotion from Scottish National Division 3 in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish-hockey.org.uk/competitions/20102011-archive.aspx |title=Scottish Hockey |publisher=Scottish Hockey |access-date=25 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019230757/http://www.scottish-hockey.org.uk/competitions/20102011-archive.aspx |archive-date=19 October 2013  }}</ref>

Inverness Blitz is a charity that promotes the development of [[American football]] in Inverness and the surrounding area.<ref>[http://www.invernessblitz.co.uk "Inverness Blitz"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223084407/http://www.invernessblitz.co.uk/ |date=23 December 2008 }} invernessblitz.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2008.</ref> Bught Park, located in the centre of Inverness is the finishing point of the annual [[Loch Ness Marathon]] and home of [[Inverness Shinty Club]].

In [[2011 European Tour|2011]], Inverness hosted professional [[golf]] with the [[Scottish Open (golf)|Scottish Open]] on the [[PGA European Tour|European Tour]], played at Castle Stuart the week before [[2011 Open Championship|The Open Championship]]. Cricket is also played in Inverness, with both Highland CC and Northern Counties playing in the North of Scotland Cricket Association League and 7 welfare league teams playing midweek cricket at Fraser Park. Both teams have been very successful over the years.

Stock car racing was staged in Inverness circa 1973. Inverness has a mixed basketball team, the Inverness Giants, who play exhibition games against local teams throughout the North and Islands.