Ostersund Friday

Yes, I know I said that I wouldn't post anything until tomorrow, but I did get the opportunity to look in at the arena tonight, and enjoy Hakan Sundstrom's hospitality and organisation - the Swedish Curling Association General Secretary, well known to many Scottish curlers, is in charge of the media here at the World Junior Championships. I was able to gatecrash a press conference for the local media. Facing the questions was WCF President Les Harrison (above).

I asked him about the use of the Draw Shot Challenge (or Team Draw Shot Distance as I think it should be called for clarity) which is used to determine rankings and, in the World Wheelchair Championships, was used to decide who got relegated and who didn't, when teams finished in the relegation zone. No additional relegation games were played.

Is this going to be the case here at the World Juniors? Yes it is! Remember a couple of years ago in Korea, Sweden and Scotland finished tied in the rankings. Then, a relegation game was played. Scotland won, and stayed up. The Swedish girls lost, and had to try to prequalify. Hard, but fair. If this situation happens again, there will be no game. The team with the best TDSD will go up, the one with the poorer will go down.

"Surely this is not right, " I asked Harrison. The TDSD was not meant to decide such matters, carried out as it is right at the beginning of the event. But he would not be drawn on this, repeating only that the WCF member nation representatives had unanimously approved the new rules. Apparently only Sweden has written to the WCF office to ask that this rule be considered again. The RCCC has not. I believe they should, but as Harrison says, "That's your opinion." Anyhow, Harrison says that the WCF has no plans to reconsider the regulation.

Let's just hope that no team is relegated just on the basis of the Team Draw Shot Distance this year. I'll try and report when this is carried out and what the results are. Incidentally, the TDSDs are used to decide ranking at the top end of the table too, but no team there can fail to qualify for the playoffs without playing another game.

Right, that's enough of the politics. Here are the first pics from Ostersund.

Now this is a bit different. The green white and blue circles are the colours of Jamtland Province, where Ostersund is. The blue is for the lakes, the white the mountains and the green the forests. Any chance of a lobby to have tartan circles for the Europeans in Abedeen?

Some young curlers were on the ice, checking it out, in advance of the teams getting their first go tomorrow (Saturday). Most were from the Swedish Curling Academy in Harnosand.

I thought at first Warwick had gone back to school (the Curling Academy) in Sweden! But no. But can I just pose the question, "Why is Agnes Knochenhauer wearing Warwick's Scottish strip?" Did she buy it on eBay? Was it a gift? A charity auction? I may try to find out. Or I may not. Perhaps it would be better NOT to delve too deeply into such things.

The pic at the top of the page shows Cissi Ostlund and Oskar Eriksson with WCF President Les Harrison at the press conference. I show this other photo of Oscar and Cissi for the juniors who competed in the Globe Challenge at the Dumfries Ice Bowl last season, who will know that Oskar won that, and has gone on to great things, winning the Swedish Junior Championship this season. The team pic from Dumfries is here. (I wonder if Graham Sloan has a full entry for this year's event yet?)

Cissi's father Connie played in the Worlds in 1982 and 1984 and was runner-up in the Europeans in 1985. "Hi, Cissi, I knew your dad," just seemed to prove how quickly the years have gone by!

Real-time results from the World juniors will be available at www.curlingkanalen.se. The event host website is www.wjcc2008.org.

Pics by Bob

Henderson Bishop update

Thanks to Gordon Conacher for sending on this pic of the Henderson Bishop winners:
L-R Fiona Hardie, Lorna McMillan, Lyndsay Wilson, Gail Munro.

Ostersund: First post tomorrow! No moose sightings so far.

Monster hunting and moose cuddling

You know, it really has been a hard few weeks. There was the Scottish Junior Curling Championships, then the House of Bruar Senior Championships. Then last week was a very busy one with the Bruadar Scottish Championship and Columba Cream Gold League finals. And a small matter of getting the March Scottish Curler into print. That was completed today.

So, I'm going to have a holiday. I have been promising to visit friends in Sweden for some time now, so I'm going to see them next week. They live in a lovely part of Sweden, near Lake Storsjön in Sweden's northwestern Jämtland province. That's the lake which is reputed to be the home of Storsie, Nessie's sister. You can see the likeness in the pic below.

So what is there to do in the area, apart from monster hunting? Apparently one of the activities is 'moose cuddling' (photo here). I can't wait!

Anything else? It's a big area for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. And the biathlon world championships were held there recently.

There is an active curling community. When I was last there in the 80s I played at the curling club in the town of Ostersund. They have an arena too. Apparently there's some sort of big curling event taking place there next week. I'll probably look in and see what's happening. Anyway, if you want to keep up with the Editor's holiday meanderings, check the blog regularly. If only to see if I can persuade anyone to come moose cuddling with me!

Top photo of Ostersund by Bengt Ola Mattsson

L-R: Glen Muirhead, Scott Macleod, Scott Andrews, Gordon McDougall, David Reid and Gordon Muirhead

L-R: Eve Muirhead, Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams, Sarah Macintyre, Kay Adams and Isobel Hannen

Team pics are by Bob. The teams fly out to Sweden today, Wednesday, indeed, as I post this, they are in the air. The World Junior Curling Championships website is here. The monster with the curling stone is called Birger, I think. Anyway I'll probably find out on Saturday.

Curling in Atholl

Hello from the Atholl Curling Rink in Pitlochry! Competition for the Henderson Bishop trophy is well underway this week, and a few pics are posted below. The scores and standings can be found here.

The semifinals and finals of the high and low roads are on Thursday. Sadly, Curling Today will not be there. Sorry! Find out why tomorrow.

Photo above: From '101 things to do with a curling stone', we liked this floral arrangement in a hollow stone.

The Atholl rink is inside the shell of the old Pitlochry Festival theatre. This is the view from the cheap seats in the Upper Circle! That looks like Carolyn Hibberd delivering her stone for the Greenacres team. On second thoughts, it's not. Maggie Rutherford is a right-hander.

A wide range of ages are playing in this Ladies' Branch event. Here juniors Abi Brown and Rebecca Kesley look after Susan Kesley's stone, with Tina Weir in the house. Brenda Macintyre and Lynne Fraser (Inverness) look on.

Ena Smith will have played in one or two of these events over the years! Here she is sweeping Isobel Waddell's stone, with Margaret Robertson, for Marion MacDonald's Lanarkshire 2 team.

On the telly and on the ice

On the Box
I am looking forward to seeing the television coverage of yesterday's Scottish Championship finals. The Columba Cream Ladies' Gold League final will be broadcast tomorrow (Tuesday, February 26) at 11:20 pm, and the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship final will air on Wednesday, February 27, also at 11.20 pm. Torchwood and Men's curling on the same night - now that's what I call a good evening's programming! Did I say it is on BBC 2 Scotland?

At the Rink
The Henderson Bishop Trophy is already underway today at the Atholl rink, Pitlochry. The recently crowned Columba Cream Champion Gail Munro is in the draw for the flagship RCCC Ladies' Branch event, a big occasion for the Pitlochry rink. The results will be found here.

The run up to the event has not been smooth for Ladies' Branch President Patricia Thomson. The defending champions, skipped by Margaret Morton, fielded an ineligible substitute in a preliminary round, an inadvertent and unfortunate mistake, and are not taking part in the finals this year. But no doubt, as in usual in this event, good fun will be enjoyed on and off the ice!

The pic of the camera at the Columba Cream final game is by Bob

Presentation pics

L-R Euan Byers, Peter Smith, Graeme Connal and David Murdoch - the Bruadar Scottish Men's Curling Champions 2008

L-R Gail Munro, Lyndsay Wilson, Karen Addison and Annie Laird - Columba Cream Gold League Champions 2008

David Murdoch presents the Rhona Martin sportsmanship award to Claire Hamilton

Gail Munro presents the Friendship trophy, the sportsmanship award, to David Ramsay

Pics by Bob

Finals Day: 2

The Bruadar Scottish Championship final: Murdoch v Smith. They had met twice before during the event. In the round robin, it had taken Murdoch, Graeme Connal, Peter Smith and Euan Byers an extra end to beat the Smith team, then in the Page 1-2 they took twelve ends before gaining their place in the final. Smith with Craig Wilson, David Smith and Ross Hepburn had bounced back in a semifinal win against Tom Brewster's side. The stage was set, the seats out beside the ice filling up, and the cameras rolling.

You will find the linescore here, and the shooting percentages here.

It was very definitely a case of, "Lights, Camera, Action!" (Sorry, just feeling a bit lyrical today!)

The game came alive in the third end, Smith played a triple, but Murdoch still counted two. In the third, Smith had a draw to the four for his single. He called for less ice from the far end, and promply caught the guard. Team Murdoch stole a single and were 3-0 up and in control.

At half time, the CurlingZone stats showed the Murdoch team average to be 89% against Smith 76%.

Smith stole in the sixth to level the score at 3-3. In the eighth, Warwick had another triple takeout to get his team out of trouble after a couple of misses, but Murdoch still got a two. Fighting with every stone Smith and his team tied it up in the ninth. Down the last, Murdoch was left with a draw to the eight foot to win, with shot against him. "Keep it clean was the cry!" And right on the button it finished. The European Champions are going to the Worlds in Grand Forks!

Top pic: Scottish Junior Champ Eve Muirhead piped the teams on to the ice.

The famous Scotch Cup, now the Scottish Men's Championship trophy.

Graeme Connal watches his skip's stone with Warwick and David Smith behind.

David Murdoch, Euan Byers with Peter Smith getting down.


Pics by Bob. Presentation photos later.

Finals Day 1

Kelly Wood, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood, Scottish Champions and European Silver Medallists, faced their rivals Gail Munro, Lyndsay Wilson, Karen Addison and Annie Laird, who had got the better of them in the Page 1-2 game. But after defeating Edith Loudon's side in the repechage, Wood's side was back with a second chance to take the Columba Cream Scottish Championship title.

The linescore is here. The stats, courtesy of CurlingZone and Rhona Martin (statistician for today) are here.

It was a close game, 2-2 at the fifth end break, the Munro team ahead on shooting percentage with Gail outscoring Kelly.

In the ninth, Wood had the chance to put Munro under pressure with an draw behind cover to lie two. Despite her sweepers' best efforts it finished short of the rings. "Thank you," said Gail, blanked the end and headed home with the hammer, just one behind. The Munro team pulled out the stops in the 10th, and when Kelly could not make the across-the-house double, or even stay in shot position with her final takeout, Gail had a straightforward draw to the eight foot for the win. She was perfectly played! Vernon here we come!

Deserved? You have to say so. This is the fourth win in a row for the Munro team in recent matches. The stats tell the tale: Munro outshot Wood by twelve percentage points, and Lyndsay Wilson at 89% had an outstanding game.

Now for the men's final!

Kelly Wood with sweepers Lindsay Wood and Lorna Vevers.

Gail Munro mid delivery with Karen Addison and Annie Laird.

Supply a caption!

Photo top: An advertising hoarding for the event in the ASDA car park in Perth! Above: Jennifer Martin with Grant Hardie and Kyle Smith helping the TV crew get their angles correct! BBC will show an hour's programme on Tuesday, 11.20pm (that will be the women's final I think) and then again at the same time on Wednesday (the men?).

Pics by Bob.

Scottish semis

So, who's going to be the other finalists?

Kelly Wood and her team of Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood matched up against Mairi Milne, Edith Loudon, Katie Loudon and Judith Marshall. Not a lot between the teams as they went into the half time interval 3-3. A real guddddly eighth end saw Kelly pick up two and a 6-4 lead. It was enough. The Loudon team took a single in the ninth and when Mairi failed to get hidden with her last stone in the tenth, Kelly had a straightforward hit to win.

The linescore is here. It will be a rematch Wood v Munro in the televised Columba Cream final tomorrow morning, 10.30 am. Vernon beckons for the winners.

Tom Brewster, Hammy McMillan, Ron Brewster and Colin Campbell faced Warwick Smith, Craig Wilson, David Smith and Ross Hepburn. A high quality game as the CurlingZone stats showed. Cut to the eighth and Tom Brewster plays a draw to the button to save the end, and the score is 3-3, with Team Brewster ahead on the stats at this point. Then disaster. Tom's last hit in the ninth is overswept, Smith counts two (nearly three on a measure) and ran home two up clearing everything in sight.

The linescore is here. Murdoch v Smith for the tickets to Grand Forks tomorrow afternoon 2.30 pm.

Tonight's pics, by Bob, celebrate the hardworking front ends!

Ross Hepburn and Craig Wilson

Lindsay Wood and Lorna Vevers

Katie Loudon and Judith Marshall work hard on Mairi Milne's stone.

YOU supply the caption for this one of Ron Brewster and Colin Campbell.

Saturday selection

Yard of Ale provided the musical accompaniment to the Beer and Bites. Very good they were too, playing as they put it, 'a selection of songs from their abbatoir'!

Earlier in the day Ena Stevenson had her VICKS (Visually Impaired Curlers from Kinross) along to show us how it should be done. Impressive! That's Jim Gales in the hack.

The story is in a previous post. Dave Murdoch and Warwick Smith. How clever to have uniforms which match the sponsor's logo! And it was indeed 'a grand match'!

"Please sweep," asks Tom Brewster nicely.

Kathy Cameron measures up.

Kelly Wood on take off.

Face in the crowd. Recognise her? Tennis fans will. Judy Murray watched some of the curling today.

Happiest group in the rink to see the Muirhead team lose? The television crew - at least now they know that they will have a commentator for tomorrow! Bob Kelly.

Karen Addison, Gail Munro, Annie Laird

Duncan Fernie

RCCC Disability Curling Officer Sheila Swan models her small helping of stovies at the Beer and Bites.

Pics by Bob

Perth Page Playoffs

The Page 1-2 game in the Columba Cream Gold League matched Kelly Wood, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood against Gail Munro, Lyndsay Wilson, Karen Addison and Annie Laird. The winner would go straight to the Final. The loser would meet Edith Loudon, Mairi Milne, Katie Loudon and Judith Marshall, the winner of that game providing the other finalist. So what happened?

The linescore is here. A close, hard fought game. Kelly drew to get her two in the seventh to go 6-5 ahead. But the eighth saw the Scottish Champion trying to freeze to prevent losing a big end. She came up short, in the open, and Gail was accurate in her takeout for a big three.

Wood kept the game alive with an accurate hit in the ninth, against four, and went into the last needing to steal. And she got her chance when Gail jammed her attempted clearance of a front stone. A draw behind the guard, with another stone on the wing, and that would have put the pressure on the Munro team. But Wood put her draw well through the house, and Gail had an easy takeout for a place in the final.

Wood now has to beat Loudon to get a chance of defending her title.

The Page 1-2 game in the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship was a David Murdoch v Warwick Smith matchup, the winner straight into the final. The loser would play the winner of the Page 3-4. That game saw Tom Brewster up against Gordon Muirhead's side, the winners of last night's tiebreaker.

Going into the Page games, CurlingZone's cumulative stats showed that the best four men's teams had indeed made it to the playoffs. Not a lot separated the teams on their form over the week at Perth. Murdoch, Graeme Connal, Peter Smith and Euan Byers headed the table with a team average of 84%, with Team Smith 83%, Team Brewster 82%, and Team Muirhead 81%. Murdoch himself was the fourth player with the best shooting percentages. Would the stats provide a pointer to what would happen today?

Here's how I saw it.

Poor sweeping judgement had Warwick turning the air blue on his first stone in the fifth end, but he made a good draw with his second for a single to trail 2-3. Murdoch blanked the six and converted in the seventh for a two and a 5-2 lead. It should have been enough! But Smith counted one in the eighth and stole one in the ninth. One up coming home, Murdoch had the chance of the game with a four foot draw, with Smith's counter at the back of the four foot. He played a howler, too heavy, it slipped past and the game was in an extra end. Then, in the eleventh, Warwick played the perfect freeze, and Murdoch ..... cleared the house. Twelth end! Last stone. This time Murdoch has to clear away a nearly frozen Smith stone, and he did so perfectly. Murdoch and team were in the final!

The linescore is here.

In the Page 3-4, Duncan Fernie was making the shots for the Muirhead team and the game was 2-2 after eight. Muirhead was forced to take a single in the ninth, but Tom Brewster, Hammy McMillan, Ron Brewster and Colin Campbell played a great 10th end, counted three and the win.

Pics later! Royal Club's Beer and Bites Players' Reception now, you wouldn't want me to miss that, would you?

Tight tiebreaker

I thought it was the shot of the Championship so far. Third end of the Muirhead - Edwards tiebreaker. Fernie faced an Edwards shot behind cover. The one was straightforward. A two looked a possibility. But Fernie elected to play a hit, past a guard, and a roll to remove the hidden counter off the button, to count a big three.

The loyal fans - and those of us with nothing better to do of a Friday night - were treated to an excellent game. The linescore is here, and the shooting stats are here.

Edwards coolly drew the four foot with four lying against him to make the score four-four into the ....... eighth. Muirhead hit and stayed for one, and then the ninth was blanked. However, Edwards had a difficult hit around a perfectly played Fernie guard to take the game into an extra. It hung out, and just slipped past. Muirhead stole a single for the game.

You know, there are not many better ways of spending a Friday night than watching a great game of curling, with everything at stake. It's Muirhead though that's through to the Page 3-4 against Brewster tomorrow. This is your intrepid reporter, signing off, and heading for bed! Back tomorrow!

The pic of David Edwards acknowledging a good opposition shot is by Bob.

Then there were five!

It's all getting sorted out at the Bruadar Scottish Men's Curling Championship! David Murdoch will play Warwick Smith in the Page 1-2 tomorrow. Tom Brewster, ranked in third place, waits for the winner of a tiebreak (between Gordon Muirhead and Wallace oops David Edwards, tonight at 9pm - and yes I'll be here, must be mad) for the Page 3-4.

You'll find all the facts, figures, linescores, standings and links to all the stats on the RCCC website here. BTW the 200 year old team of Colin Hamilton, Mike Dick, David Ramsay and Trevor Dodds finished their campaign this week by taking Warwick Smith's team to an extra end!

Right here are the top five (in no special order):

David Murdoch

Warwick Smith

Tom Brewster

Duncan Fernie who plays last stones for Team Muirhead

David Edwards

Friday's Fotographs from the Fair City

Today's selection:

The clock was running down on Team Chalmers in the eighth round.

You can almost feel (or should that be hear) the mental energy. And here's Graham Sloan back on the ice - courtesy of lots of strapping.

After the Scottish Liqueur Centre tasting last night, the Dewar's Centre provided a healthy alternative this morning!

Chief Umpire Leslie Ingram-Brown counts down a timeout. Or, "Please sir, may I leave the room?" Or, "Leslie Ingram-Brown's best side." Or, "Hands up. It was me."

Sorry, I missed the father and son match up yesterday, but here's a pic of John Hamilton, with some classic headgear.

Cool gear!

Hammy McMillan. Caption required!

Graeme Connal calls line on the run back that his skip David Murdoch had to play to beat Warwick Smith in the extra end this morning.

Warwick pretending he has been run over by a bus.

"Penny for your thoughts." Good to see Chuck Hay in watching some of this morning's play.

Scottish Men's Championship Friday update

There's one more round of the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship still to go and five teams are in contention for the four playoff places. The results and standings are all here.

Alan Chalmers and his team nearly made it easy for the umpires when they took David Edwards to the last stone this morning. For Edwards, Moray Combe, Gavin Fleming and Graham Sloan it was a must-win game, and they came through, eventually.

David Murdoch, Graeme Connal, Peter Smith and Euan Byers spoiled Warwick Smith's perfect record in the round robin, although it took an extra end to do so. It was a game worthy of any final.

The position after eight games is that Murdoch and Smith are 7-1, Muirhead and Brewster 6-2, and Edwards is 5-3. This evening Murdoch plays Muirhead, Brewster plays Chalmers, Warwick is up against Colin Hamilton, and Edwards against John Hamilton. The other game is Gray v Scott Hamilton. You can work out what needs to happen as well as I can. Here's what will occur after tonight: 'The top four teams after the round robin will qualify for the knockout stages, these will played played in the Page format 1 v 2, 3 v 4 which will be played at 2.30pm on Saturday 23 February. The losers of 1 v 2 will play the winner of 3 v 4 in the semi final which will take place at 8.00pm on Saturday 23 February. The final will be played at 2.30pm on Sunday 24 February.'

Pic of Moray Combe and Hamish Lorrain-Smith is by Bob. More pics later!

The Politics of Curling

The Bruadar Scottish Men's Curling Championships continue at Perth today (the eighth of the round robin games are this morning) and you can find the results and standings here.

But I think the story of the day is Mike Ferguson's decision to stand down as a director and chairman of the RCCC Board, as he has not put his name forward again, his term of office coming to an end at this year's AGM. That decision means that Jeanette Johnston and Willie Nicol will be elected to the Board unopposed.

Mike says, "I have based my decision primarily on the fact that I doubt if I could fully commit to a further three year term given my business and personal plans for the next few years. Furthermore I am great believer in fresh faces, fresh ideas and sending out the correct message that when places on the board become available people should be encouraged to stand."

He continued, "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the board as Chairman and welcomed the challenges the position has brought. I firmly believe the board has made progress and is in a position to take even greater steps forward."

I am sure Mike's guidance on the Board will be missed. You can read his full statement here.

Another revelation today is that no-one wants to be the Royal Club's Vice-president! No nominations have been received for the position when Matt Murdoch becomes the President at the AGM in June - there being no opposition to Matt's move up, he is currently the V-P.

CEO Colin Grahamslaw explains what will happen. He writes, "There were no nominations for the post of Vice President received. Therefore clause 6.4 of the Memorandum and Articles comes into force:

6.4 Where either the President or the Vice-President fails for any reason to complete his or her term of office respectively in terms of Articles 5.6 and 5.7, or one or both of these posts fails to be filled by nomination in terms of Articles 5.6 and 5.7, it shall be competent for the Board to appoint a replacement to fill the casual vacancy until the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Royal Club, the presumption being in the case of a vacancy in the Presidency that this will be so filled by the Vice-President (or otherwise a Director, other than the Chief Executive Officer) and in the case of a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency that this will be so filled by a Director (other than the Chief Executive Officer).

Now this is interesting! Some of the eligible directors are women. What odds for Anne Malcolm or Irene Hird becoming the Royal Club's V-P?

More on all this in future issues of the Scottish Curler magazine.

The photo of Mike Ferguson on the ice at Stranraer last season is by Bob. Hopefully Mike will find time to enjoy the sport again!

Thursday's thoughts from Perth

Tom Brewster. Many are wondering (again), "Could it be their year?" (Capital One? Sponsors of the Grand Slam of Curling in Canada)

Team Milne. I'm missing them already. Rachael Simms delivers, Lynn Cameron and Jacqui Byers ready to sweep.

Now who is this trainee statistician?

The umpires' and timekeepers needs for a cuppa are well looked after.

I discovered a wee secret - where the milk is kept!

Want something stronger than milk? Jill and Kenny MacKay of the Scottish Liqueur Centre (the event sponsors) held a tasting tonight.

You can supply your own caption. Or, sing along to, "Hands up, baby, hands up, Gimme your heart, gimme, gimme.. (Ottawan? Ken Bruce would be proud of me)

You thought she had retired! Olympian Debbie Knox substitutes for the team she coaches (here).

Colin Dick, winning skip of the U-17 Slam, got the call when Graham Sloan (lead for David Edwards) got injured. A great experience for a young curler with a big future ahead of him!

Pics by Bob. Nearly forgot to say, if you are interested in the results, you can find them here.

A tale of two sisters

I must admit that I thought that Claire Milne and her team (Lynn Cameron, Jaqui Byers and Rachael Simms) would be in the mix at the playoffs of the Columba Cream Gold League at Perth. But it hasn't happened. Any chance that the Milne team could get into a tiebreaker evaporated when Cathrine Guthrie's last stone (for the Stewart team) came up inches short as she tried to steal against Edith Loudon in an extra end of the last of the round robin games this evening.

The linescores and final standings are here.

The top three are Kelly Wood, Gail Munro, and Edith Loudon. Wood plays Munro Saturday afternoon for a pass to the final. The loser plays Loudon on Saturday evening, and the winner of that game also goes into the final, with a trip to the Worlds in Vernon at stake.

Sisters? Claire's sister Mairi has moved up to play last stones for the Loudon four and has been on target all week. Just look at her stats this week (download the pdf file Stats Report from the Royal Club site, and the cumulated individual and team stats are there).

Mairi Milne

Claire Milne

Scottish update on Thursday

This was the game to watch today - the battle between the two remaining undefeated sides in the Bruadar Scottish Men's Curling Championships. Both Warwick Smith and Gordon Muirhead were on top of the standings with five wins. And now?

It's Warwick who remains unbeaten. Find the linescores and standings here.

Top: Gordon Muirhead, with Warwick Smith and David Smith behind.

David Smith (with fetching headgear), Craig Wilson, Ross Hepburn

David Smith with Duncan Fernie.

"Well you made the ice, can he get behind it on the upturn?" Paul Martin, Bob Kelly, Richard Woods.

Pics by Bob.

Gold League update

OK, so I'm back here at the Dewar's Centre in Perth (it's becoming a second home). The penultimate round of the Columba Cream Gold Leage has just finished. So let's take stock.

The RCCC rulebook says that ' The winner of the Gold League will play the second placed team for a place in the final. The loser shall play the third placed team for a place in the final.' That's unless one team is three clear places in front, in which case that team goes straight to the final and it's the second and third that play to find the other team in the final.

So, we have two possible scenarios. Here is the position at the moment:
Wood - 11 wins
Loudon - 9 wins
Munro - 9 wins
Milne - 8 wins

In the last leg of the double round robin:
Wood plays Reid
Loudon plays Stewart
Munro plays Howard
Milne plays Hamilton

If Wood was to win and both Loudon and Munro lose, then Kelly and her team are straight to the final. If Wood wins, and either or both of Loudon and Munro win, then there will be a 1 v 2 game to decide one finalist. And there could well be tiebreakers to see who the contestants in the repechage will be. I hope you are following this. Anyway, even if you are not, all the results will be on the RCCC website here.

Chicken fillets and curling at Perth!

To be quite honest, I would rather be at Perth watching the curling than here at Skip today bashing the March Scottish Curler into shape. But needs must, if it is to go to press on Tuesday. However, here are some more pics from yesterday to keep you in the mood.

Have you been following the results from the Bruadar Scottish Men's Curling Championship (here) and the Columba Cream Gold League (here)? I have.

I enjoyed this end. Fifteen stones in play. Lyndsay Wilson calls line on Gail Munro's last stone - in off the yellow, moves the red, counts three! We'll give her five points of that one!

You know, I think dentists would be good sponsors of curling. Here Warwick Smith opens wide!

Caption required for these two heads on one body, modelled by Jennifer Morrison and Barbara McFarlane.

John Hamilton incubates some curling stones.

Robbie Scott models retro headgear, and keeps warm, as a timekeeper.

"That's blown the 100% this game then." Claire MacDonald

Bill Duncan, Chairman of the Dewar's Centre Board, does a little moonlighting on the time clocks. Just can't get the staff!

"Well Moray, guess who this is?" David Edwards. Clue follows:



I like freebies. I use my Royal Club keyring, and my RCCC pencil, although sadly I've eaten all the RCCC rock I got at the Highland Show last year (see it here). So I was fascinated by this item above distributed to the Gold League participants yesterday. It seemed to be causing some amusement! It apparently reminded some of 'chicken fillets'. I had to ask. The Scottish Curler fashion correspondent explained, "Bob, chicken fillets are silicon pads which fit into bras to enhance a lady's cleavage." So there, Curling Today is nothing if not educational! And no, I'm not going to provide a link. Try Google with 'Chicken Fillet' + bra + cleavage, and see what you get!

Oh, forgot to say. The item is in fact the latest Royal Club hand warmer, or pocket warmer, complete with RCCC crest on one side and a set of curling circles on the other.

Gold League

This was the position going into the Perth rounds of the Gold League today. The big game on the ice was Wood v Milne, and Kelly and her team took a big three in the seventh end to break what had been an even match until then. Team Wood stay on top of the leader board.

You can find all the linescores here, with the link to the shooting statistics. And you can read the full press release about CurlingZone's involvement in the Scottish Finals here.

Gail Munro and her team are still working away.

Scottish Junior Champ Eve Muirhead was on the ice today, substituting in Sarah Reid's team.

Claire Milne discusses the state of the world with Rachael Simms and Lynn Cameron.

Alison Kinghorn poses in just the right place so I can get a pic for the sponsor! I suspect all the seats will be filled for the finals on Sunday.

Mairi Milne is now playing fourth stones for Edith Loudon.

Kelly Wood encourages some hard work out of her front end, Lindsay Wood and Lorna Vevers.

Pics by Bob

Perth 1

Right, here we are. First post from the Dewar's Centre, Perth, where the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship and the Columba Cream Gold League are taking place this week. There will probably be at least one more today, and then frequently from Thursday (hopefully).

The results and standings can be found here. In addition this week, game stats are available and they can be linked to from the RCCC website or go directly to them here. They can also be downloaded as .pdf files.

The game of the morning was Warwick Smith against Tom Brewster. I have to say that Tom gave this one away, Warwick and his team stealing in the extra end! Long ways to go though.

Warwick Smith

Hammy McMillan, Colin Campbell, Tom Brewster, Ron Brewster

Here's another team that let a win slip away this morning. Graham Smith, Scott Hamilton and David Morton (with Duncan Gracie) had the beating of Colin Hamilton's side, but failed to convert.

Mike Dick and Colin Hamilton encourage Trevor Dodds to sweep!

Introducing Gerry Geurts from CurlingZone who is masterminding the stats efforts here at Perth.

Please allow me a wee rant. Timeclocks. What's the point of them if they don't work? Three went down last night, for different reasons apparently. There were problems at the Junior Championships. Many thought that Scott Hamilton was about to run out of time in the Hamilton v Hamilton game (above), but in fact the clocks had gone awry earlier and were only kept going to give the timekeeper some practice.

We need equipment that works! That is easy to operate. And is reliable. And also a system of timekeeping that counts thinking time, not playing time. I hear that's coming. I hope by then we'll have the equipment and personnel to do a professional job. Is anyone listening to me?

Statistics at the Scottish

I wasn't at Perth for the first round of the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship and have been following the end by end scores online, here.

It was interesting to see the shooting percentages which are also published online here. I previously posted the request for volunteers to do the stats at the event.

Can we tell anything from the first round stats? Well, Team Murdoch, at 87%, had the best average total, of any team on the ice, on their way to defeating Logan Gray. Murdoch himself was recorded at 96%, the second highest percentage of any player, behind David Smith at 98%. I think you can say that Smithy had a good game, as Warwick's team beat Scott Hamilton's side!

So who's going to have to play better? Allan Chalmers team had the poorest stats in the first round.

I look forward to seeing some curling, on the ice, tomorrow!

Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship

The first games in the Bruadar Scottish Championship are this evening (Monday) at 7 pm at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth. The draw is here. I am looking forward to seeing how the week will unfold! Who will be the men's champion at the end of the week? Warwick Smith again? David Murdoch, the Euro Champs? Could it be Tom Brewster's year? Gordon Muirhead? Or will one of the younger teams come forward?

I think though that this is the first time that we have had a father (Colin Hamilton) skipping a team in the finals, where his son (John Hamilton) is also taking part.

Mention of Colin, the RCCC Competitions Manager, allows me to say something about the changes that are being proposed for future Scottish championships. One part of the suggested proposals is that next year there will be one long weekend qualifying competition involving just twenty teams. These will play in two sections of ten, and the top five in each section will go forward to the finals week. I must say that's a better system than what happened this season, with the three sections, and seems to have found favour.

However, the problem for Colin - and this is why he would like to get feedback from ALL those playing competitively - is how to get these top twenty teams. One suggestion is that the top eight from this season's Scottish Finals will go directly to the top 20 qualifier next year. The remaining twelve could be the top four from the Mini Tour and the rest from a prequalifier OR the Mini Tour could act as the prequalifier to find all twelve teams.

I must admit that this latter idea is the one I would favour (for what my tuppence is worth). It would make the Mini Tour something really worth playing in, and, assuming the venues all provide good ice, that would be a good thing.

There are cost considerations in all this, as without the sponsorship to cover ice fees, playing in the Scottish is expensive!

A further suggestion is that the two Scottish Junior Finalists would be offered berths in the top 20 qualifier.

Can I stress that Colin H is really looking for feedback on this. Contact him through Cairnie House. There is a thread on the Scottish Curling Forum this morning. Contribute here.

The final round of the Columba Cream Gold League, the women's championship, gets underway at Perth on Tuesday.

John Hamilton at this year's prequalifying competition. Pic by Bob.

Colin Hamilton at last year's Scottish Championship. Pic by Richard Gray.

Rhona Martin and Scottish Liqueur Centre's Kenny MacKay show another of the '101 things to do with a curling stone' as they launched the second year of the Centre's support for Scottish curling recently! RCCC photo.

Scottish Senior Champions

RCCC President Tommy Hinnigan presents the trophy to the winners of the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Women's Curling Championship. L-R Anne MacDougall, Pat Orr, Judy Makenzie, Kirsty Letton.

RCCC Ladies Branch President Patricia Thomson presents the trophy to the winners of the House of Bruar Senior Men's Curling Championship. L-R Allan MacLennan, Stuart Naismith, Ken Horton, Graeme Adam.

Pics by Bob

House of Bruar Scottish Senior Men's Final

The House of Bruar Senior Men's Final was a great game with fortunes swinging back and forward. The end by end is here. Graeme Adam, Ken Horton, Stuart Naismith and Allan MacLennan needed to steal in the last end to win. With his last, Graeme hit and stayed to lie two. Barton Henderson was looking for a piece of the eight foot to send his team to Vierumaki, but he was too heavy, and it will be Team Adam Scotland in Finland!

Photo by Bob. Presentation pic later.

House of Bruar Scottish Senior Women's Final

They are Kirsty Letton and her team's lucky tops. With the cartoon (who was the model I wonder?) by the late (and much missed) Rod McLeod of the Nondies CC! The tops certainly brought Kirsty, Judy, Pat and Anne luck today. Or maybe it was the twenty-seven years they have competed as a team together. They played well and after counting a three at the first end always looked as if they were going to beat the Jeanette Johnston team in the final of the House of Bruar Scottish Women's Senior Championship! The linescore is here.

The hard working front end of Pat Orr and Anne MacDougall.

Pics by Bob. Presentation photo later!

Random musings at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink

It just seems to be inadequate to say to losing teams, "Hard lines on coming second." Such is sport. Someone has to lose. But losing doesn't get any easier as you get older! I can vouch that it's much more fun to be on the winning side. Still, my thoughts go out to all those who have played in the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Championships this week at Hamilton, and have come second.

So before the final games get underway, here are a few pics which attracted the camera over the last few days.

Most people have been told, at one time or another, what they should do with their curling brush, but Hamilton had a new variation on "101 things to do with a curling stone!"

Losing semifinalist skip David Clydesdale

Mary Barr's team lost in the semifinal.

You know, I think I might have been wrong. Black is a great colour! Here the team in black is playing against the team in black. Both skips are obviously really enjoying the game! (As is umpire Jack Muir, in the background) Let's have more BLACK on the ice. I think the Royal Club should insist that ALL teams in major competitions should wear all black uniforms. Should I start a petition?

Marion Murdoch, whose team lost in the semi, is a study in concentration!

Allan MacLennan preparing to roll his stone down the ice. "I'll just give it a little pat on the bottom, before I set it off."

It would be remiss of me if I didn't mention the number of Reform CC members on the ice at Hamilton this week. Reform is my mother club!

It will be small consolation to the Prentice team that they are still World Senior Men's Champs for a few weeks yet! (And here are more of Ali Taylor's daffs!)

"Go gramps go!!" I just love this of Toby, Ken Horton's grandson. (Ken's playing third for Graeme Adam in the final and is the only person that I know who wanted to be older than he was - so he could play in the Seniors!) Now, not a lot of people know this. I babysat Lindsey, Toby's mum, when we were at the Regina Silver Broom in 1983. Liz Horton - a grandmother, hard to believe. Still looks as she did twenty five years ago! And her daughter is her double!

Right, I'm off to buy an air horn.

Pics by Bob

Scottish Seniors Semifinals 2

I try not to have favourites in this business, but it was great to see some (old) teammates on the ice this morning! My skip and third (from 1983), Graeme Adam and Ken Horton, were on the ice with Stuart Naismith and Alan MacLennan in the semifinal of the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Men's Championship, having come through the five-way tiebreakers last night. And they defeated David Clydesdale's team to get to the final.

Who will they meet? The defending champions are out! Keith Prentice's side lost to Barton Henderson in the other semi. The World Champions will not be defending their title in Vierumaki at the World Seniors next month.

Find all the linescores here.

Graeme Adam

Team Will Davidson-Gall, David Kelly and Greg Henderson work on a Barton Henderson stone.

Pics by Bob

Seniors Sunday Semifinals 1

Jeanette Johnston, Christine Hamilton, Agnes Barr and Margaret Hogarth have made it to the final of the House of Bruar Scottish Seniors Curling Champiopnship, defeating Marion Murdoch's side in the morning semi.

Kirsty Letton, Judy Mackenzie, Pat Orr and Anne MacDougall, former champions and with the experience of playing together for more years than most can remember, are also through to the final. They beat Mary Barr's side.

Find the linescores here.

Kirsty Letton

Jeanette Johnston and third Christine Hamilton

Pics by Bob

Scottish Seniors Saturday update update update

You can find the results of the quarterfinals of the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Women's Championship here. Tomorrow's (Sunday's) semifinals are Marion Murdoch v Jeanette Johnston and Mary Barr v Kirsty Letton.

And the men's...........? Tiebreakers still ongoing. The editor is heading for his bed. See you tomorrow. But who comes through to meet David Clydesdale will be found here.

It's been an interesting day at Hamilton!

Scottish Seniors Saturday update update

My head hurts! It's a five way tie for the second place in section A in the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Men's Championship! Find out how it happened here. How does that get sorted out? There was Team Draw Shot Distance for all five teams. The two who finished worst off, Graeme Govan and Iain Baxter, play a four end tiebreaker. The winner of that game will play the team with the best TDSD, Andy McGlynn, and the winner of that game will match up against the winner of the game involving the two teams who had the second and third TDSDs, ie Graeme Adam and Jim Beckett. Are you with me?

The best team to emerge from all this will face David Clydesdale tomorrow in the semifinal. Keith Prentice will play Barton Henderson (who beat Bob Kelly in a tiebreaker) in the other semi.

Meanwhile, in the women's event, Helen Burton's team came through the tiebreakers in Section C, and Isobel Waddell won through the tiebreaks in Section B. Margaret Gibb's and Kirsty Letton's side qualified as highest up third placed teams. So the lineup for the quarterfinals, which are just underway now, is:

Marion Murdoch v Margaret Gibb (Margaret Cameron's team)
Mary Barr v Helen Burton
Jeanette Johnston v Isobel Waddell
Janice Manson v Kirsty Letton

I'm going to lie down in a quiet corner! You can follow the end by end scores here on the Royal Club website, all posted by RCCC Competitions Manager Colin Hamilton (below) who has had the difficult job of making sure all the above has been carried out correctly!

Pic by Bob

Scottish Seniors Saturday update 1

Right, now. Tiebreakers are filling the ice this Saturday evening. We've already posted about the logjam for second place in Section C of the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Women's Championship. Section B turned out similarly. Mary Barr's team finished top. Isobel Torrance, Margaret Gibb (skipping Margaret Cameron's entry) and Alison Petrie were tied for second place. Team draw shot distance gave Isobel the bye. Margaret and Alison are playing their four-end tiebreaker at the moment. The winner will play another four end game against Isobel for a place in the quarterfinals later this evening.

The results are all here.

In the men's event, David Clydesdale and his team finished top of Section B to book a place in tomorrow's semifinals. Barton Henderson and Bob Kelly are playing off for the second qualifying place from that section.

In section A, Keith Prentice and his team are through, but there is a possibility there could be a five way tie for the second qualifier. You can work it all out here!

They will be sweeping people out of the Lanarkshire Rink in the early hours of tomorrow morning!

Scottish Seniors Saturday

Why is umpire jack Muir surrounded by all these women? Answer: He was trying to get organised a TEAM DRAW SHOT DISTANCE (we don't like the terminology Draw Shot Challenge as it's too easily confused with Draw Shot Distance so we prefer TDSD and Individual Draw Shot Distance - I hope you are all clear). Anyway, the problem was in the Women's Section C, where three teams were tied for second place. Short tiebreaking games were in order and the TDSD was called for to decide who plays who. Annette MacDonald's team did best, and will meet the winner of Helen Burton and Kathy Cameron to decide who progresses to the quarterfinals. Not full games, but four-end tiebreakers.

Janice Manson's team is through to tonight's quarterfinals. So too is Mary Barr's team from Section B, but this section is ongoing as I write this. All the results are here.

What of the men? Keith Prentice's team, the defending champions are also through to the semis, undefeated with a game still to play. Who will be the other three qualifiers? Looks as if it will be close.

Janice Manson has skipped her team through to the quarterfinals.

Keith Prentice and his team are through to tomorrow's semis.

David Kelly, one of the most colourful of Scotland's curlers, was the one with the red trousers!

Mary Robertson is saying to her skip, "Aw, Janice, don't remind me I've got a BIG birthday this week!" Or have you got a better caption?

Pics by Bob.

Controversy at the Seniors

A case of 'Oops!' Ladies Branch President Patricia Thomson has been told to withdraw her rink from the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Championships after it transpired she has been playing with an ineligible team member this week at Hamilton. Patricia was called in to skip Norma Gourlay's team when the skip was unable to play because of illness. But a player in the team had already competed for Ireland this season, at the European Championships in Fussen. Not allowed!

This has meant that we already know two of the qualifiers for tonight's quarterfinals in the women's event: Marion Murdoch and Jeanette Johnston.

All the results are here.

Jeanette and Marion and battling against each other this morning, but both teams are through to the quarterfinals tonight.

Ali Fraser (Make that Ali TAYLOR, sorry Ali) had an early start this morning, jumping over the fence in the local park to get some daffodils to brighten up the rink! Here she is making sure that they have enough to drink. It's the little touches that all go to make an event a success.

So who is wearing the red trousers? Only one correct answer so far. Clue? His/her little brother is also competing in the event!

Pics by Bob. More later.

Scottish Seniors 2

I'm busy today working on the March Scottish Curler magazine so I'm not at Hamilton watching the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Curling Championships. But all the results are here.

Here are some photos from yesterday to give you a flavour of the Lanarkshire Rink. Hopefully I'll have more at the weekend.

The mirrors are a feature of the Hamilton rink.

Alan Stanfield, chief umpire at the Scottish Juniors last week, gets to play the game himself.

Ladies Branch Past-President Marion Craig demonstrates HER umpiring skills. But who is that in the red trousers behind her?

No trousers for Maggie Rutherford, and well done to her! Bring back the mini kilts is my thought for today!

Gary Macfarlane in reflective pose.

Men in Black Tom Pendreigh and Robin Copland, or are they the aliens? Actually, they tell me the tops are NOT black (they're just a dull depressing dirty charcoal colour). Bob Kelly, Gordon Muirhead, Tom and Copey were upset in their first game by Gordon Butler's side.

So who was at Hamilton to see some of the play? That's Bill Horton on the left. Bill was my first skip when I was at school and is responsible for the love I have for the game. Robin Campbell was skip of the first winners of the TB Murray trophy (now the Scottish Junior Men's Championship trophy, seen here) when it was reintroduced for competition amongst young people under 25, in 1959. Moira Craig (who became Robin's wife) was in the team then and she remains the only female name on the trophy. Lack of modesty allows me to say that Bill with his brother David, Martin Bryden and myself won the Murray trophy three times with that team! How quickly the years have passed by! Oh, forgot to mention that David Horton and I have our names on the trophy FIVE times - the punishment of course is that it was extremely hard to polish!

Annette MacDonald. Caption required.

Senior Championships 1

The House of Bruar Senior Championships are underway! Below are a few shots taken earlier today at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink. Defending champions skipped by Keith Prentice were taken to the last stone by Jim Beckett's side before securing their first win.

All the results are here.

RCCC Board member Jeanette Johnston in the head.

Beckett v Prentice

Kirsty Letton and Ladies Branch President Patricia Thomson

This pic of Judy Mackenzie is crying out for a caption!

World Senior champ Keith Prentice. What's he watching?

Answer: The umpire showing just how accurate the circles are!

Olympic curling anniversary

There's a significant Olympic curling anniversary tomorrow. Ten years ago on February 15, official gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to Olympic curling athletes for the first time. Then International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch presented gold medals to the Swiss men's team, skipped by Patrick Huerlimann. Canada's Mike Harris earned silver while Norway's Eigil Ramsfjell took the bronze. The women's champions were skipped by Saskatchewan's Sandra Schmirler, who died of cancer less than two years later. Denmark's Helena Black-Lavrsen won her country's first-ever Olympic Winter Games medal, a silver, while Sweden's Elisabet Gustafson and her team won the bronze.

"The World Curling Federation pays tribute to the members of the NAOC organizing committee, the volunteers and to the town of Karuizawa, hosts of the 1998 Olympic curling event," said Les Harrison, WCF president, in a WCF press release, the full text of which can be found here.

Every year since the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, Karuizawa has hosted an International Bonspiel, an invitational tournament organized as part of the annual Karuizawa Winter Festival. Sponsored in part by the Japan Curling Association, this year's tournament began on February 13, featuring sixteen teams from seven countries, details here.

I visited Karuizawa when the venue hosted the World Junior Championship as the Olympic test event in 1997. What a most enjoyable week that was! Amongst other things it left me with an appreciation of taiko, the traditional Japanese drums! Here's a taster of what modern taiko is all about.

The venue for the Olympic curling championship in 1998.

Taiko at Karuizawa, 1997. Pics by Bob.

Scottish Seniors Championships

The first draws of this year's Seniors Championships are tomorrow (Thursday) at 08.45. The event goes ahead at a new venue (the Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton) and with a new sponsor (the House of Bruar).

There will also be a new women's champion. Carolyn Morris skipped her team to victory three years in a row, and has now returned to Canada. In the men's competition Keith Prentice and his team have qualified in their attempt to defend the title they won last year at Greenacres, and then went on to take the world title in Edmonton. This year's world championships are in Vierumaki, Finland.

The full draw for the Scottish event is here, and the results will be here. There has already been men's qualifiers, and so twelve men's teams are left to play in two sections with the top two in each to qualify for the semifinals. There are eighteen women's teams in three sections. The top two from each qualify, with the two highest up third placed teams, for quarterfinals.

Keith Prentice at last year's finals at Greenacres. Pic by Bob.

World banner presentation

Just to tidy up on all that happened last weekend, the WCF's World Junior Championship banner was presented to Sarah Reid and her team which won the 2007 event in Eveleth.

L-R Eve Muirhead (3rd), Barbara McFarlane (2nd), Sarah Macintyre (lead), Sarah Reid (skip), Alison Black (5th player), Sheila Swan (coach). Pic by Bob

Fifth players for World Juniors

Glen Muirhead's team will take David Reid to Sweden for the World Junior Championships in Ostersund as their fifth player. Gordon Muirhead is coach.

Eve Muirhead's side will take Kay Adams as their fifth player. Isobel Hannen is the team's coach.

The championships will be held March 1-9. The venue hosted the event previously. Photos from 1999 are here. Ten years ago David Murdoch's team finished fifth, and Kelly Wood's side also placed fifth in the junior women's event.

Lockerbie rink to receive funding from sportscotland for improvements

Curlers and skaters who use the South of Scotland ice rink at Lockerbie have been hoping that their fund raising efforts to upgrade the facility would be seen sympathetically by sportscotland, the sport funding body. The good news of the success of their grant application was made public this morning. The full release is here.

The five sheet Lockerbie rink will receive £214,151. The upgrade will include improved insulation, the installation of an upgraded refrigeration plant (the plant is the original from when the rink was built forty years ago), installation of energy efficient lighting, a lift for wheelchair users and the upgrading of changing facilities.

There are currently fifty-three curling clubs using the rink which has produced a number of Scottish, European and World champions. It is the home rink of the current European gold medallists David Murdoch and Euan Byers. A significant percentage of the juniors playing in the Scottish Finals this past weekend were from the Lockerbie area.

Alistair Stevenson, Chairman of the Lockerbie Ice Rink, said, “All those involved at Lockerbie Ice Rink are absolutely delighted with the news that sportscotland has chosen to support the rink. The ice rink has been an asset to the community for over forty years and this announcement will ensure that it will continue to be enjoyed for many years to come.”

With many curling rinks throughout Scotland needing investment to improve their facilities, today's announcement will be seen as an important development by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and curlers throughout the country.

Captain Jack Anderson, Vice-president of the Royal Club, throws the opening stone at the rink on January 20, 1967. From the Scottish Curler archive. Other pics by Bob.

Sportsmanship awards at the Scottish Junior Championships

Jennifer Martin receives the Scottish Curler/Edinburgh Crystal sportsmanship award from Scottish Curler depute editor Christine Stewart.

Libby Williamson presnts the Jim Aitken trophy, the sportsmanship award in the Junior Men's Championship. Three curlers share the award this year L-R Ally Fraser, Andrew Noble and Graeme Black.

Pics by Bob.

Finals day

The stage is set!

Anna Sloan and Eve Muirhead

Greg Drummond

Eve Muirhead

James Dunn in the head, with Glen Muirhead and Scott Macleod watching behind.

Vicki Adams

Caitlin Barr

Scott Andrews
Rhiann Macleod

Vicki Adams and Sarah Macintyre

Lauren Gray

Anna Sloan

Kerr Drummond and Thomas Pendreigh

Kerry Barr

Scott Andrews and Gordon McDougall

Brother and sister Champions - Glen and Eve Muirhead

Junior women's final

Eve Muirhead, Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams and Sarah Macintyre had not lost a game at Perth in this year's championships. Eve and Sarah of course are world junior champions, but this was the first time for Eve to skip a team in a Scottish final. Their opposition, Anna Sloan, Lauren Gray, Rhiann Macleod and Caitlin Barr had come though against Claire Hamilton's team in the semi, to make the Scottish Championship final for the first time, having lost in the semi last year.

The game was well fought. Muirhead stole a single at the third for a two point lead, and held the advantage thereafter. The Atholl skip stole a further two at the sixth and when she doubled out two Lockerbie counters in the eighth, that effectively put an end to a Sloan comeback. Nothing daunted, Anna counted a two and the ninth and it took a skinny double from Kerry Barr to put them out in the tenth.

Muirhead, Barr, Adams and Macintyre would be the team in Scotland's colours at Ostersund.

The linescore is here.

L-R: Eve Muirhead, Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams, Sarah Macintyre.
Pic by Bob. More later.

Junior men's final

Greg Drummond, James Dunn, Thomas Pendreigh and Kerr Drummond had earned their place in the final by finishing the round robin on top of the standings. Glen Muirhead, Scott Macleod, Scott Andrews and Gordon McDougall won the semifinal against Graeme Black's side.

When the two teams met in the round robin it had been Drummond who won, with a scoreline of 2-1 after an extra end. Would the final, with representation at the Ostersund World Juniors at stake, be an equally negative affair?

No. The Muirhead team came out confidently, fired up from their semifinal win. They romped away to a 4-1 lead. When Drummond was just too heavy with his last stone draw in the fifth to allow Muirhead a steal to go 5-1 ahead, there was no way back. Down 7-3 after nine, Greg and his team offered the handshakes.

Muirhead, Macleod, Andrews and McDougall were on their way to Sweden.

The linescore is here.

L-R: Gordon McDougall, Scott Andrews, Scott Macleod and Glen Muirhead.
Pic by Bob. More later.

Junior men's semifinal

Glen Muirhead with Scott Macleod, Scott Andrews and Gordon McDougall matched up against Graeme Black with Steven Mitchell, Robert McBride and Thomas Sloan who had come through a tiebreaker against Lindsay Gray to qualify for this morning's playoffs.

The game was a tight affair. Graeme drew against five in the third, and played a raise double for a threee in the sixth to take the initiative. Glen came right back with a similar count in the seventh and was one up coming home with the hammer. His team were able to keep the front clear in the tenth, although when Graeme was short with his last stone freeze attempt, Glen was in the final against Greg Drummond with no need to play his last.

The linescore and all the previous results are here.

Glen Muirhead and Graeme Black. Pic by Bob.

Junior women's semifinal

Anna Sloan with Lauren Gray, Rhiann Macleod and Caitlin Barr faced Claire Hamilton, Claire MacDonald, Linsey Spence and Jennifer Priestley. Claire's team grabbed the advantage in the seventh for a 3-2 lead, but Anna hit right back with a three in the eighth and was one up coming home with the hammer. Claire played a super draw to the four foot behind cover with her first, and Anna was left with an angled raise takeout for the win, and she made this perfectly.

It will be a Sloan - Muirhead final this afternoon.

The linescore and all the previous results are here.

Anna Sloan

Lauren Gray delivers with Caitlin Barr and Rhiann Macleod her sweepers.

Claire Hamilton

Pics by Bob.

Junior men 6th post: Black and Gray

Graeme Black with Steven Mitchell, Robert McBride and Thomas Sloan matched up against Lindsay Gray, Michael Goodfellow, Peter Macintyre and Ian Copland, in a decider to find who would meet Glen Muirhead's team in Sunday's semifinal. Both teams had completed the round robin on a 4-3 win-loss record.

Now, pay attention. Black, in salmon, were playing red. Gray, in white, were yellow.

It was a real nailbiter.

The score was 3-3 after six.

Lindsay is not convinced by Michael's opinions on the relationships between space and time. Oh, did I mention that when the teams had to play a hurry-up end with time getting short in the ninth, the timeclocks went awry?

Did I mention that Team Black played a great game and threw everything into it? Robert McBride illustrates his effective sweeping style.

L-R Thomas Sloan, Graeme Black, Steven Mitchell, Robert McBride who will be playing in the semifinal tomorrow. One up coming home, they left Gray with an angled difficult run back to take the game into overtime. He made the hit but jammed the Lockerbie shot. Game to Black.

But congratulations to both teams on great entertainment. Let's hope the semis and finals are as good!

Pics by Bob. Linescores are here.

Junior men 5th post: Tiebreaker needed to decide semifinal place

This was the position going into the final round of games at the Scottish Junior Men's Championship. Greg Drummond was up against Ally Fraser, and secured a win, just. It looked as if Ally was set to score a big end in the ninth! But he didn't. So, Drummond goes directly to tomorrow's final.

Glen Muirhead faced Jamie Dick and that game went to an extra end before Muirhead was able to secure his team's place in the semifinal.

Graeme Black's team kept themselves in contention by beating Paul Russell. The Gray-Penny game was clear. The winner would be involved in a tiebreaker at the very least. Lindsay Gray's team come out strong and ran out easy winners after they picked up a four at the fifth end.

Gray will play Black in a tiebreaker at 6pm tonight, the winner to face Muirhead in tomorrow's semifinal.

Greg Drummond and Ally Fraser

Lindsay Gray

John Penny watches his final stone at the fifth end, realising it wasn't going to be good enough. Indeed, Gray removed it to count four, and dashed Penny's hopes of reaching the tiebreaker.

Pics by Bob

World Wheelchair Curling Championship

Korea and Norway contested the final of the World Wheelchair Championship in Sursee. Norway's Rune Lorentsen was the defending champion and held last stone coming down the final end 3-2 ahead. A miss gave Korea's Hak Sung Kim and his team another chance in an extra, but they could not get a stone hidden. Norway had won the 2008 title.

The United States won bronze when their team skipped by Augusto Perez beat Canada's Gerry Austgarden 8-1.

You can find all the results here, and stories here and here. And you can see Nadine Saager's photos of the event here.

Junior women 5th post: Last round robin games

The Eve Muirhead team of Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams and Sarah Macintyre (photo here) finished the round robin with an unblemished record and are straight to the final tomorrow. The results and linescores are here.

Anna Sloan and her team also won their seventh round tie, a closely fought match against Jennifer Dodds' side and are through to the semifinal.

The key game this morning was the Claire Hamilton - Hannah Fleming tie. Hannah needed to win to force a tiebreaker. But Claire's side was up for the challenge. Strong play saw them cash in on opposition errors in the third to count three shots. Two more were on the board in the fourth when Hannah's last draw to the button was overswept. So, Hamilton faces Sloan in a single semifinal game, scheduled for tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 10.00.

Rivals from the Lockerbie rink. Claire Hamilton and Hannah Fleming.

Claire MacDonald joins Linsey Spence and Jennifer Priestley to work Claire Hamilton's final stone of the third end in for a count of three shots.

Kisten McNay and Alice Spence work on a Hannah Fleming stone. Pics by Bob.

A day in the life of a junior championship

What is Susan Kesley saying to her team here? L-R Gina Aitken, Rebecca Kesley, Abi Brown and Mhairi Baird. How about, "I used to release my inturns like this." Or, "Just put it ANYWHERE!"

Making Bob happy. Daffodils at Perth.

Ally Fraser, Colin Howden and Grant Fraser have a pow wow.

Louise MacColl, Emma Craig and Jennifer Martin.

Michael Goodfellow

Kerry Barr. Grrrrrrrrr.

Lindsay Gray, as Ian Copland checks what time the cafe closes.

The youngest competitor, fourteen year old Gina Aitken, discusses the finer points of member representation in the Royal Caledonian Curling Club with teammates Mhairi Baird and Rebecca Kesley.

Kerr Drummond and Thomas Pendreigh, staunch members of the Front End Union.

It's a long way from the coaches' positions in the club lounge to the ice area. Here Marion Murdoch completes the 400 metre dash to talk to Hannah Fleming's team at a timeout!

Photos by Bob.

Junior women 4th post: Muirhead top

Eve Muirhead and her team were on top of the standings after the sixth round of the Scottish Junior Women's Championship at Perth today. They kept their unbeaten record by beating Rebecca Kesley's team decisively.

Anna Sloan had to play a peach of a last stone takeout to win against Hannah Fleming, and the Sloan team are in second place in the rankings with just one loss in six games. Kay Adams beat Emma Craig 10-5. Claire Hamilton was taken to an extra end by Jennifer Dodds. An exciting evening for all watching at the Dewar's Rinks!

The last round draw tomorrow sees Muirhead play Adams. Hamilton plays Fleming, Sloan matches up against Aitken, and Craig is against Kesley. Check out the results here, and work out the permutations for a third place tie!

Junior men 4th post: Things become clearer

Greg Drummond's team are top of the standings at Perth with one game still to play (got it right this time!). They beat John Penny 7-3 in the sixth round.

Lindsay Gray's side kept themselves right in contention with a win over Ally Fraser. It was tight though. One up with the hammer coming home, Gray had to use his last stone to hit and stay for the win.

The full standings and results are here. In summary Drummond is on 5 wins, Muirhead 4, Black Gray and Penny 3, Fraser, Dick and Russell 2.

Tommorrow it's Gray v Penny; Drummond v Fraser; Russell v Black; Muirhead v Dick. Three teams will be involved in the playoffs. So there could be tiebreakers. You work it out!

Junior women 3rd post

Eve Muirhead's team held on to their undefeated record at the Scottish Junior Women's finals at Perth this afternoon, but Emma Craig's side pushed them hard for six ends. Eve's last stone in the sixth was perfectly played, scraping past a guard to pick out Craig's lone counter for a four, and it was game over. All the results are here.

Eve Muirhead

Louise MacColl, Jennifer Martin, Emma Craig and Eilidh Templeton with coach Stuart Templeton at a timeout during their game with Eve Muirhead.

Emma Craig with Eve Muirhead in the background.

Pics by Bob. More later.

Junior men 3rd post

Five of the seven rounds are gone in the Scottish Junior Men's Championship at Perth. And there's a lot still to be decided! One thing is (fairly) sure. Jamie Dick's team, one of the pre-event favourites and runners-up last season, is not likely to be in the mix when it comes to the finals on Sunday. This morning it was Graeme Black's team that sealed Dick's fate.

Top of the standings is Greg Drummond's team with just one loss in five games. All the results and standings can be found here. (Apologies for the mistake if you saw this post earlier - corrected at 4pm. Old age the only excuse!))

Coach Colin Morrison with L-R Steven Mitchell, Graeme Black, Thomas Sloan and Robert McBride.

Andrew Williamson calls line on Jamie Dick's last stone of the fifth round game. Andrew Noble and Colin Dick are the sweepers. Jamie needed to hide on the button to have a chance of an extra end. Didn't make it and Graeme Black had no need to play his last.

Pics by Bob. More later.

News from England

Regular readers of Curling Today will recall that we trailed with some enthusiasm back in November the fact that the Fenton's rink in Kent was to stage the Ramada Jarvis Cashspiel. That would have been this coming weekend. We were disappointed to learn that the event has been cancelled. Not enough support apparently. That's a pity.

Happier news is that the rink hosted the English Championships successfully last weekend. Andrew Reed and Kirsty Balfour defended their titles. Details are here. These teams will represent England at the Le Gruyere European Championships in Sweden in December.

A professional photographer Gerry Walden was at the English Championships and you can see his efforts on his website www.gwpics.com by entering the word 'Fentons' in the password box.

Kirsty Balfour and Andrew Reed practising at the Euro Championships in Fussen, December 2007. Photos by Bob.

Rusty Drew and the cue

I heard this morning of the death of Rusty Drew, the inventor of the Extender cue used by many Scottish curlers. I met Rusty in November 2005. He had been invited by Kate Caithness to attend the British Open Wheelchair event at the Kinross rink and meet the curlers using his cue here. Indeed, Maryel interviewed him for the Scottish Curler magazine. What an enthusiast! Many of us 'standy uppies' who use the cue also have a lot to thank him for.

I'll be thinking of him when I take to the ice on Monday with my own Entender cue in hand!

This seems to be a good a time as any to highlight the rule change that was adopted by the World Curling Federation last year concerning the delivery stick. Even though this cannot be used in any WCF competition (apart from the wheelchair events) Rule 10e (iv) says:

'The stone must be clearly released from the delivery stick before
either foot of the player delivering the stone has reached the tee line
at the delivering end.'

The Royal Club has not adopted this rule, neither has the CCA, yet. Indeed SWEEP magazine is currently carrying out a poll to garner opinion. I have seen just how much enjoyment that cues can make in extending (indeed that's why the Extender cue is so called) a curler's playing career. It now seems to me that those of us with a disability that does not allow us to slide, as we once did, would be penalised by the implementation of the WCF rule. Time for some debate on this, I feel.

Actually, when I began to play in the early 60s, the RCCC rules stated that all stones had to be released before the tee! I wonder if the WCF plans to go back to this for everyone?

Rusty at Kinross, 2005. Pic by Bob.

World Wheelchair Curling Championship

Scotland beat Canada in the last round of the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Sursee, and by doing so avoided being relegated and having to face the qualifying competition to get back into the world event next season.

With one game of the round robin still to play, Michael McCreadie and his team of Aileen Neilson, Tom Killin, Jim Sellar and Rosemary Lenton were bottom of the table jointly with Japan and Russia on two wins and six losses. All three countries won their final games, giving them a round robin record of three wins and six losses. Switzerland also finished with the same 3-6 record.

On the basis of who had beaten who, Russia was placed in tenth place. The oher three teams had all defeated each other, so ranking was decided by the teams' draw shot challenge distances, carried out before the competition got fully underway. Scotland had the best distance (worked out on all four players making one draw to the circles) of 328 cm. Switzerland had 525 cm and Japan 598 cm. So, 73 cm means that Japan gets relegated, loses Olympic qualifying points and the country has the expense of travelling halfway round the world to play in the qualifying competition at Inverness next season. (Added at 14.45. Apparently the wheelchair qualifiers next season are in Prague. Apologies, Bob)

Am I alone in thinking that this is wrong? Surely the use of draw shot challenge distances to decide ranking should not mean that you are eliminated/relegated when you won the same number of games as other competitors? No, something is wrong. The WCF rulebook states clearly that a team tied for a place in the play-offs is not eliminated in any way other than by losing an extra game. But apparently this does not apply to ties at the bottom of the table when relegation is a possibility. So, in Sursee, DSC distance alone determined not only that Scotland finished ranked seventh, but that Japan was ninth, and consequently relegated. Should draw shot challenges be that important? I don't believe they should.

At the top of the table Korea, Canada, Norway, Italy and USA are still in the hunt for the world title. Follow the results here. And for more details of the action check out wheelchaircurling.com here.

The pic above shows Michael McCreadie in action alongside Rosemary Lenton and Jim Sellar. WCF photo by George Karrys.

Junior women 2nd post

Anna Sloan v Emma Craig

Kay Adams

Jennifer Dodds skips the Tasha Aitken team, here against Rebecca Kesley

Hannah Fleming

The two Claires - MacDonald and Hamilton

"But you said you wanted to be our coach."

No, there was no violence! It belongs (or should that be belonged) to Louise MacColl, in Emma Craig's team. A Christmas present! Used previously only for one competition. It broke when she was sweeping the draw shot distance stone. Too much spinach, Louise. But seriously, brushes like this should not break. Anyone else out there had this problem?

All pics by Bob. More on Friday. Meantime follow the competition results, and live end by end scores, here.

Junior men 2nd post

Well, this was a game! Ally Fraser (top photo) beat favourite Glen Muirhead after an extra end in their second round match. That's coach Gordon Muirhead in a timeout before Glen's last stone of the extra! Pics by Bob.

Junior men 1st post

Lindsay Gray's team fell to Glen Muirhead in their first round tie.

This was a battle! Greg Drummond took this one against Jamie Dick.

Team Black pinched this one in an extra end against Ally Fraser.

John Penny against Paul Russell. Penny took this one.

Above are a few of Bob's pics from the first round of the Scottish Junior Men's Championship. All the results are here.

Sunshine at Perth

The play in the Scottish Junior Championships got underway at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth today. Eve Muirhead's team had a lovely surprise for this grumpy old editor! Their new uniforms are a delight for all those who subscribe to the 'Black OUT' and 'Ban the Drab' campaigns to bring more colour back into the sport of curling.

Well done girls, and I promise not to reveal how much they cost in the sale!

More pics to follow later. In the meantime you can see all the results here.

L-R: Eve Muirhead, Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams and Sarah Macintyre. Photo by Bob.

Dumfries Junior International 2008

For those junior teams for whom this week's action at Perth has no longer any interest, and for those who will soon be looking ahead to next season and are perhaps looking to try out a new team, or just for those teams wanting some fun curling.... this post is for you.

The date for your diaries is April 4-6. The Dumfries Junior International will have thirty-two teams competing in four events: the Globe Trophy, the Low Road Cup, the Challenge Cup, and the Pot Lid.

Organiser Graham Sloan has been in touch to say that seven international teams have entered - two from Canada, two from Holland, and one each from Poland, Sweden, and Denmark. There are still places for Scottish teams. Contact Graham at the Dumfries Ice Bowl (or he'll be at Perth this week as coach to the Anna Sloan team) if you want to enter.

The two main sponsors of the event are David Hardie Engineering and Grierson and Graham Honda.

Above: A Swedish side skipped by Oskar Eriksson won the Globe trophy last season, here with Fiona Hardie, representing the sponsor. Pic by Bob.

Sursee update

Have you been following the results from the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Sursee? It's not made easy reading for the Scottish fan, nor, I suspect, has it been a happy time for the squad there in Switzerland. Scotland have won just two games from seven, and are propping up the bottom of the table with Japan and Russia. Read about the event here and here.

Michael McCreadie's side must win their next games tomorrow against Norway and Canada if we are to avoid relegation and have to prequalify for the World Championships next year. Looking to the future, Scotland gained eight Olympic qualifying points by reason of McCreadie's bronze place last year. Will these be enough to ensure Scotland's - and Britain's - place in the Vancouver Paralympics? I don't know.

But let's wish the team and their support staff the best of luck in their remaining games in Sursee.

The word is that the standard of play is better than in previous years. That's shown in the stats produced by Curlit for the competition. Average team stats for the first seven games show Scotland in fifth place, but of course it's the game results that count, not the stats.

Edinburgh International to become a WCT-e event

I've just received the confirmation that the Edinburgh International at Murrayfield has been accepted as a new World Curling Tour-Europe event. The official announcement is awaited, so consider this a Curling Today newsflash!

It is great news indeed! It will be super to see the Edinburgh event regain the status and class that it once had. And certainly Scotland needs another top men's event, in addition to the Ramada Perth Masters, where we have the chance to see the top teams from Europe, and North America, in action.

It will be a big job for the organisers though. Sponsorship will have to be obtained, and prize money secured. Still, the Glynhill Ladies International showed what all could be accomplished from scratch, given enthusiasm, a good organsing committee and the support of volunteers. And the key issue - the Murrayfield rink has shown recently that it can provide ice that is as good, if not better, than any in Scotland, despite being the busiest rink in the country! Yes, next season already has lots to look forward too.

Olympic coach appointments

David Hay and Nancy Murdoch are to be the coaches for the British curling teams at the Vancouver Olympics. The announcement was made by British Curling today, following interviews last month. The posts were originally advertised in November. The full press release is printed here.

David Hay was the coach of David Murdoch's team at the 2007 European Championships, bringing home the gold medals.

Nancy Murdoch is currently the Royal Club's Performance Development coach, a job she will have to relinquish when the two coaches take up their posts in March.

In addition Gary Anderson has been appointed as High Performance Advisor for the Olympic Programme. Anderson is currently a Performance Director with Elite-Performance which offers performance coaching, testing and training camps for athletes of all abilities. He has an extensive background in world class sport including athletics and professional football. Gary was Performance Manager for judo at the 2004 Olympic Games and was Programme Advisor to the Great Britain Olympic Curling Teams in 2005-6. His photo is here.

All three will work alongside Derek Brown, British Curling’s Performance Director, in the run up to the Vancouver Games. Tom Pendreigh, Team Coach for Paralympics, and Hew Chalmers, British Curling Team Co-ordinator, complete the Performance Team for the next Olympics.

Now that the administrative and coaching positions have been filled, it remains for the curlers to be selected to the squads. There will be a maximum of eight athletes in each of the men's and women's squads. According to the information published previously by British Curling, the squads will be selected in May 2008, and each squad will then be reduced to five in May 2009, allowing time to compete as a team in the build up to the 2010 Games.

Pics of David Hay and Nancy Murdoch are by Bob.

Scottish Junior Championships

I'm looking forward to the Scottish Junior Championship finals which get underway tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth. This competition usually sees the most passion and excitement on and off the ice! You can find the draw here, and the results here.

No, I'm not going to pick my favourites. Suffice to say that the supported squad teams are those skipped by Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan and Claire Hamilton in the girls' event, and Glen Muirhead, Jamie Dick and Greg Drummond in the boys'. Will there be an upset?

A large crowd watched Sarah Reid's last stone to win the final last season, as seen in Richard Gray's photograph. Here Sarah Macintyre and Barbara McFarlane sweep the tap back through the port to remove Team Morrison's counter.

February's Scottish Curler

February's Scottish Curler magazine has been published and is on its way to subscribers this week. On the cover is Gail Munro whose team won the inaugural Glynhill Ladies International last month. There are lots more of Richard Gray's photos from the event inside, and also some from the Ramada Perth Masters, including February's Photo of the Month.

Curling outside is a rare occurrence these days, but the February magazine has photo evidence from Royal Deeside.

Mike Ferguson, the Royal Club CEO, has an unusual challenge for everyone in his Chairman's View. Copey reveals the Royal Club plans to bring curling's major events to Scotland. There is a feature abut the World Curling Tour-Europe and how David Murdoch is the players' representative. Moray Firth Ladies CC is Club of the Month and David B Smith describes a pair of most unusual handles in The Historical Bit!

Plus the regular Curling World, Looking Back, iCurl, Rock Rules, Sweepings and The Extra End features. Enjoy!

And if you are not a subscriber, you can download a subscription form here.

Royal Club Development

Applications are invited for a Part-time Curling Development Officer for the Waterfront rink in Greenock. Applicants must have 'a high level of motivation and commitment to the development of the sport' and will be responsible for developing and promoting involvement and participation in curling, at all levels, throughout Greenock and Inverclyde.

The full details of the job, which arises because of David Horne's move to Braehead, may be found on the RCCC website here. Closing date is February 15.

Moving on to arguably the Royal Club's most successful development initiative, Development Manager Judith McFarlane reports that the camp scheduled for this summer is full with 28 participants and she has provisionally booked a second camp to run from August 3-8. If you are reading this and know of any young curler (aged 12-17) who would like to participate then more information can be obtained from Cairnie House. All of which gives me an excuse to post a couple of photos from last summer!

The summer camp is based at the Galleon rink in Kilmarnock and the Dolphin Centre at Culzean (above) and mountain biking was just one of many off-ice activities last year.

Sweeping practice is hard work!

It's not all hard work. Jennifer Paul in a fun delivery drill!

Photos by Bob. More here.

Gold League at Kinross

There were four more rounds of the Columba Cream Gold League this weekend at the Kinross rink. The anticipated clash this evening between Gail Munro and Kelly Wood saw the former repeat her Glynhill win over the champion side, the Wood team's first loss in this season's Gold League. Munro finished 9-2 up after seven ends.

The results and standings can be found on the Royal Club website here. Here are some pics from Saturday.

Edith Loudon and Mairi Milne in discussion, but just what is Kelly Wood saying to Jackie Lockhart in the background?

Life can be tough sometimes, Mairi! With Katie Loudon on the left.

An excited Lorna Vevers.

Alison Kinghorn and Gillian Howard in conference.

Gail Munro has indicated her intention to stand down as players' representative.

Claire Milne (with Rachael Sims in the background).

Claire Hamilton (with Jennifer Priestley ready to sweep).

Photos by Bob.

Scottish Championship qualifiers

The qualifiers for the Bruadar Scottish Curling Championship were completed today.

Undefeated in their sections were the teams skipped by Tom Brewster, Gordon Muirhead and John Hamilton, the last defeating David Murdoch's side at the last stone when they met on Friday night. Murdoch's team are also safely through. Defending champion Warwick Smith and David Edwards are both qualified from section B. Colin Hamilton and his team are also through.

Craig Reid and Alan Chalmers had to play a tiebreaker for the second place from Section D. Chalmers' team won that. Reid's team then joined the draw with Logan Gray, Alan Smith and Scott Hamilton to battle it out for the two remaining places in the Bruadar Scottish Finals, February 18-24. Who played who was decided by lot. Hamilton then beat Reid and Gray beat Smith, the latter result a disappointment for the National Academy side.

The linescores and all the other results are here.

Top: John Hamilton beat Logan Gray on Saturday to retain an undefeated record and gain a place in the finals. Above: The youngest on the ice was Grant Hardie, at 15, playing second stones for Robin Halliday. The oldest? It would appear that this honour goes to Bob Kelly (52) who, with Gordon Muirhead, is also playing in the House of Bruar Seniors Championship next week. Photos by Bob.

New WCT-e event in Prague

So, there are no Scottish teams in the draw due to the clash with the Bruadar playdowns but I thought I would just flag up the Prague Grand Prix this weekend, the last of the WCT-e events of the season. It's a twenty-four team triple knockout, in the splendid four-sheet facility in the city suburbs.

The results are on the event website here.

Fancy a flutter? A significant development is that you can bet on the games! Bwin is the partner and you should be able to find more information here.

World Wheelchair Curling Championship

It all begins for Scotland's wheelchair curlers tomorrow, Saturday. Michael McCreadie (left), Aileen Neilson, Tom Killin, Jim Sellar and Rosemary Lenton play the host nation Switzerland in the evening first round game. The Swiss skip is Manfred Bollinger, who was runner-up in 2007.

You can follow the results here.

The final is February 9. The International Paralympic Committee is set to broadcast some of the semifinals and finals. For details check www.paralympicsport.tv.