Getting it out there

Curling Today goes where no other curling blogs dare to venture. Yes, this is really a photo of the inside of the Gents toilet at the Murrayfield curling rink! You see, like the organisers of events anywhere in the world, those involved with this weekend's Edinburgh International Curling Championship, sponsored by Belhaven Best, want to make sure that ALL the club members know what's about to happen at the rink, and want to encourage them to come along and support!

What better place to put a poster. Eye level, cannot be missed. The Editor is not privvy (sorry) to whether similar notices are on the back of the doors of the cubicles in the Ladies'!

Actually, plans to webcast of the weekend’s games have been finalised, for those who really cannot get along to the rink. Volunteer junior members of Edinburgh Curling Club have already had a training session from Alex Mitchell, the coordinator of the project. One of their number, Samantha Mooney, is a photography student.

Five games on Friday and five on Saturday will be broadcast over the web. Overhead cameras over three of Murrayfield’s seven sheets have been in place since the summer and pictures from those cameras will be mixed with pictures from two cameras in the bar above the sheets.

The preliminary schedule is:

Friday
9.30am Niklas Edin v David Edwards
12.00 noon John Hamilton v Kalle Kiiskinen
2.30pm Göran Carlsson v Warwick Smith
6.00pm Florian Meister v Hammy McMillan
8.30pm David Edwards v David Murdoch

Saturday
9.00am Andy Kapp v Florian Meister
11.30am Peter Loudon v Warwick Smith
2.00pm Alan Smith v Kalle Kiiskinen
5.30pm David Murdoch v Niklas Edin
8.00pm Tom Brewster v David Sik

For the semifinal and final games, it is planned to have two on-ice cameras to supplement the existing cameras.

Commentators will include Bob Kelly and Robin Copland from Edinburgh, Mairi Milne and Keith MacLennan from Perth and Kenny Edwards from Lockerbie. Keith and Kenny will be working together on at least a couple of occasions and doubtless they will provide a refreshing insight into the modern game! It will be good to see Kenny back in a curling rink, as his recovery continues (see here)!

The Seniors competition, the warm up to the main course, got underway today. Find the results here. This is Royal Club Board Chairman Bob Tait doing the hard work!

And this is Kirsty Letton's front end Pat Orr and Anne MacDougall doing the hard work on Judy Mackenzie's stone on their way to defeating Jimmy Green's Borders side.

Pics by Bob.