The stick that Gill McDonald was handling was unfamiliar, double bladed for hitting the ball with left and right swings and a flat base for overhead strikes. It was unlike the one she used in the 1970s as captain of the hockey team at Laurelbank School, Glasgow.

This was a shinty stick, or a caman to give it its Gaelic name, and is one that the 48-year-old will be seeing a lot of because, as a complete outsider to Scotland's unique and all-amateur game, she is just over three weeks into her new job as chief executive of the sport's governing body, the Camanachd Association.

Glasgow born and raised, McDonald had never attended a game of shinty until January 2, the day before she started her job, when she went along, anonymous and unannounced, to Kiltarlity with her partner Ian for the annual Lovat Cup match between Lovat and Beauly. It was an eye-opener.

"It's a fluid game, fast and furious, and there were no restrictions on the height you could raise the stick. If you did that in hockey, you'd be sent off," she laughed. "There didn't seem to be any protective gear apart from shin pads, and what amazed me most was that the players were stopping the ball with their chests."

It might have crossed her mind that if they weren't careful, she might have to call on some of her friends at her old job as director of membership and development with the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Happily, no blood was spilled and the experience, particularly the large and enthusiastic support, made a positive impact on shinty's new leader, who points out she is employed not to play or coach shinty but to help modernise the association.

McDonald arrives at a time of expanding horizons when a development officer is already in place in the Highlands, another such job is being advertised in Argyll & Bute and next up is the huge population base of central Scotland. She believes that coming into the sport with no preconceptions and no baggage will be an advantage.

"I am going to listen to people who have been involved in the sport for many years and have the experience we need," she said. "Then we will couple that with the skills I bring. I am not coming in with my own agenda and don't see any disadvantages to that. I just think I have to be aware there will be times I don't know the answer to things but there are people who do. There is no shortage of enthusiasts."

Her first point of contact, indeed, has been one of the most enthusiastic of all, John Mackenzie, the association president and one of the legends of the game as a giant of the all-conquering Newtonmore side of the 1970s. "I have been made to feel very welcome," said McDonald, "and I'm not getting any feeling from the association or anyone involved directly in shinty that being a woman is something they want to talk to me about.

"It is probably more something that the media have been interested in. To me it makes no difference. There is a job to be done and there is an opportunity to take the sport forward. There is always the interest that you are breaking with tradition, but that is probably a good thing to do from time to time. It opens up new ways of thinking.

"The association was trying to broaden its work with its membership and with clubs and that fitted in with my background. It might be a different language from the medical world but it is the same concept in terms of engaging with people and communicating in a way that is meaningful to them."

McDonald is commuting from Inverness to Fort William before a move to new headquarters in the Highland capital next month. There has been controversy about the switch, but she assures there will be no areas of neglect. "The important thing is that we have good working conditions and the technology and infrastructure to deliver a modern organisation," she said.

So far, she has attended meetings mainly in Fort William, Inverness and Perth, but visits to other strongholds will follow as she tries to eliminate any lingering "them and us" feeling between clubs and association. "There is work to be done in defining what the association means to its members and what they can put back in to the sport. I would like people to be able to say: I am a member of the Camanachd Association and this is what it means to me.' "That is not clear from my perception so far," she said. "I have been surprised at how much is going on in the association, but we are not getting the message out."

There are plans to relaunch the association's website (www.shinty.com) and McDonald also arrives at a time when shinty's strategic plan is up for review and the 100th Camanachd Cup will be staged in what is Highland Year of Culture. "It is an excellent point for me to be coming in," she said. "My impression is that interest in shinty is spreading more widely than the traditional heartland. The number of people involved in each area might be not so great as it has been but there is lot if interest in youth shinty so there is really great potential."