European Championships in Aberdeen

There's not been a lot of publicity yet for the next European Curling Championships which will be held in Aberdeen, December 4-12. There is a link now from the European Curling Federation's website to the Aberdeen event's site here, where you can download a season ticket application form, and details of how to be a volunteer.

I had the opportunity to talk briefly to George Esson, the chaiman of the local organising committee, last week. He confirms that arrangements are forging ahead on all fronts, and that Aberdeen will host a successful Championships.

Curling Today can reveal that the Linx Arena, on the beach front, is now being considered as the venue for the A Division games. Originally, these were going to be in the new Curl Aberdeen facility in Eday Walk, off the Lang Stracht, with the B Division in the Linx. However, in the current economic situation, the costs of putting in temporary seating, with provision of a marquee to provide additional space for spectators to meet and mingle, have increased. The Linx Arena, on the beach front, already has seating. This arena is currently closed for refurbishment (see the story here), but Esson has no doubt that it will be ready in time for the Championships.

ECF President Andrew Ferguson-Smith and representatives from WCTV, who will provide the television feed from the event, visited Aberdeen last week and have concluded that both venues could be successfully covered from a TV point of view. Esson's team are now looking at the cost implications and a decision on what will be held where is expected soon. Watch this space!

Pics by Bob

Fussen Reports 2: Scotland's men against Italy

David Murdoch with Graeme Connal, Peter Smith and Euan Byers took on Italy in their first game at the Le Gruyere European Curling Championships in Fussen, Germany.

This was not a hard game for the Scots, they led by four shots after six ends and never looked to be in any trouble. Italy managed a single in the sixth end, Scotland got that back on the eighth, Italy conceded when the ninth end was blanked. Final score 6/2 to Scotland.

For full results click here

European Championships

The European Curling Championships kick off in just over a week on 1st December in Fussen, Germany, in draw 1 Scotland's women's team take on Germany. If you can't make it to Fussen you're not going to see any of draw 1.

Thereafter just make sure your TV and computer screens are set up and sit back and enjoy the rest of the Championships.

Eurosport will be covering many of the games live while CurlTV will be filming other games for webstreaming. Over 20 games in the round robin stage will be covered one way or the other. The closing stages, the page playoff, bronze medal games and the finals will be live on Eurosport.

Featured games could change during the week depending on results but one date for your diary is Sunday 2nd December, that's the day David Murdoch's team take on Germany in the afternoon, the women meet Sweden, skipped by the legendary Anette Norberg, in the evening, both should be great games to watch.

The likely schedule has been posted on the ECF website here.

European qualifiers at Perth

So, what's going to happen this weekend? Four men's teams fight it out in a double round robin to decide who will represent Scotland at the European Championships in December. Warwick Smith's side are the Scottish Champions. Tom Brewster was beaten in last season's Scottish Championship final. Gordon Muirhead, with Duncan Fernie playing the last stones, placed third in the Scottish. David Murdoch's side was fourth in the round robin and out of the playoff stages of the Scottish. His team is here at the Euro Qualifying as a wild card entry.

Which team is shouldering the most pressure? Surely the Murdoch four. The team is without regular third Ewan MacDonald, hoping now that a further operation for a knee injury will see him back on the ice by the New Year. With Graeme Connal, 'borrowed' from Peter Loudon's side, Murdoch, Peter Smith and Euan Byers have been playing well in Europe so far this season. Still, David and Euan will feel they have to provide results to justify their UKSport funding as the country's only full time curlers.

Whichever team wins has got to do well at the Europeans to qualify for the World Championships where Olympic qualifying points are at stake. Currently, following Warwick's eighth equal placing at Edmonton, GB has 3.5 points.

Brewster plays Muirhead, and Murdoch plays Smith at 3pm Friday. Follow the results here.

Just two teams are involved in the women's playoff. Kelly Wood's side are the Scottish Champions and their bronze medals at the World Championships in Japan put a goodly number of Olympic qualifying points (10 of them) into the GB pot towards 2010. As Rhona Martin's team, losing finalists last season, have split up and Claire Milne's and Lynn Cameron's new team is not eligible for this event, Kelly is playing the best of five games against Edith Loudon's side, who placed third in the Scottish last season, to find the team to go to the Fussen Europeans.

Their first game is at 8.30pm Friday. You will be able to follow the results here.

Check back on Monday for some pics and my take on how it all went!

Top clockwise: Duncan Fernie, Tom Brewster, Warwick Smith and David Murdoch
Above: Edith Loudon and Kelly Wood
Photos by Richard Gray and Bob Cowan

Aberdeen looks forward to 2009 European Curling Championships

It's a day for European Championship news! The Championships are set to return to Scotland in 2009 and the arrangements for the event in Aberdeen have taken another step forward with the first meeting of the new company which will be the legal vehicle charged with delivering the event.

Curling Championships (Aberdeen) Ltd is jointly owned by Curl Aberdeen and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and its role will be to oversee the work of the Organising Committee led by George Esson. The Directors of the new company are Sheena Anderson (Curl Aberdeen), Mike Ferguson (RCCC), Ken Irons (Curl Aberdeen), Edward Johnston (Curl Aberdeen), Anne Malcolm (RCCC) with one further Director from the Royal Club still to be confirmed.

The Championships in 2009 will be staged December 5-12, 2009, at Curl Aberdeen (above) and the Beach Linx Centre, Aberdeen (below). The Championships have already attracted significant financial support from Aberdeen City Council, Event Scotland and UK Sport.

Next year, the European Curling Championships 2008, will be held in ÖRNSKÖLDSVIK, Sweden, while in December the event is in FUSSEN, Germany - see today's earlier post.

New countries enter European Curling Championships 2007

Iceland and Ukraine have entered European Curling Championships for the first time. The two countries will field men's teams at Le Gruyere European Championships in Füssen, Germany, December 1-8, 2007.

A record number of nations have entered this year. A total of fifty-six teams (33 men’s and 23 women’s) from thirty-three of the thirty-five ECF member nations will participate. The ECF website is here.

Last year, thirty men's teams took part in Basel. Andorra will compete this year again in addition to the two new countries mentioned above. The A league in 2006 was won by Andi Schwaller's Switzerland. The Czech Republic and Italy gained promotion from the B league to this year's ten-team A league.

The Irish women join the twenty-two other countries which competed last year. At Basel 2006 the A league was won by Ludmila Privivkova's Russians. Austria and Finland gained promotion from the B league and will compete in the A division this season in Fussen.

The sponsorship of the European event by Le Gruyère AOC was recently renewed.

Who will be Scotland's representatives at the European Championships?

Four men's teams will contest the right to be Scotland's representative at the European Championship 2007 in Fussen, Germany, in early December. According to the rule book the top three teams in last year's Bruadar Scottish Championship should play a double round robin to find the winner. These were Warwick Smith (with Craig Wilson, David Smith and Ross Hepburn); Tom Brewster with Hammy McMillan, Ron Brewster and Colin Campbell; and Gordon Muirhead (with Duncan Fernie, who plays last stones, Graeme Prentice and Richard Woods). The rules allow a wild card entry, and it can be no surprise that those who make such decisions have included David Murdoch's side (Ewan MacDonald, Peter Smith and Euan Byers) in the lineup. The RCCC Rule Book says: The top three teams from the previous season’s Scottish Championships shall qualify to play in the European Playdowns excepting in a Winter Olympic Games season these play-offs may not take place. The National Coach, along with an R.C.C.C. Committee, may select a fourth team if they feel it would be beneficial to do so. The qualified teams must have at least three members from last season’s Scottish Championship team and have signed the Players International Participation Agreement to be eligible to play.

The women's event is a two horse race. Kelly Wood (with Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood), winners of the Scottish Championship and bronze medallists at WWCC07 in Aomori, will match up against Edith Loudon (with Mairi Milne, Judith Marshall and Katie Loudon) who were the beaten semifinalists in the Columba Cream Gold League finals. The two teams will play best of five to find the one to don Scottish jerseys in Fussen. What of the beaten finalists? With Rhona Martin and Debbie Knox now retired, Claire Milne and Lynn Cameron have teamed up with Jaqui Byers and Rachael Simms for the new season, but according to the rules (above) this team are not eligible to compete in the Euro playdown, having only two of last year's side.

The draw for the European Qualifying Competition at the Dewars Rinks, Perth, October 26-28, can be found here.

Photo of Edith Loudon is from last season's Gold League weekend at Aberdeen.

Le Gruyère AOC renews European curling sponsorship

The Scottish Curler team has become rather partial to Le Gruyère cheese (for evidence see below). So we were more than pleased to learn today that the World Curling Federation has announced that Le Gruyère AOC has renewed its title sponsorship of the European Curling Championships. The two-year agreement confirms that the 2007 and 2008 events will continue as the Le Gruyère European Curling Championships.

"We are delighted to have Le Gruyère AOC continue its strong partnership with the world's fastest-growing winter sport," said WCF President Les Harrison. "The Le Gruyère European Championships are a highlight of Europe's sporting calendar."

"This is a great day for curling," said Malcolm Richardson, President of the European Curling Federation (ECF). "We have seen the men's and women's Le Gruyère European Championships grow with astonishing speed, with upwards of 30 countries participating in what is now two pools of competition. The partnership of Le Gruyère and this critical championship also grows in strength each year, and we are most pleased with this announcement."

The 2007 Le Gruyère European Championships take place from December 1-8 in Füssen, Germany, with the 2008 event scheduled for December 6-13 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.

The 2009 championships are scheduled for Aberdeen. The title sponsorship then has not been announced, today's news only covering the next two championships.

Andy Kapp, 2007 silver medallist at last March's Ford World Curling Championship in Edmonton, will serve double-duty in Füssen. Kapp is the vice-chair of the organizing committee and will also represent Germany on the ice during the men's side of the Championship.

"We are pleased to renew our association with this great sport and these great Championships," said Pierre Dubois, President of Le Gruyère AOC. "As curling athletes strive for Olympic and World Championship success it is our pleasure to support their efforts, and accompany them on their road to victory."

Le Gruyère AOC is a hard cheese produced in the Western part of Switzerland, with a characteristic taste obtained from the best quality of "not pasteurized" milk, coming straight from cows fed on grass. Depending on the age of the cheese (maturation of five to 18 months) it has more or less character. Le Gruyère AOC has won numerous global awards for its product including World Champion of "all Categories" at the World Cheese Awards in London in 1992, 2002, 2005 and most recently in March of 2007. The website is here.

Photo of John Brown at Basel in 2006 is by Alan Stanfield. Could this be the first caption competition to run on Curling Today?