National Academy Squad at Inverclyde

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club's new performance development assistant Brad Askew (left) was helping performance coach Rhona Martin at the National Academy squad training weekend at sportscotland's National Centre at Inverclyde. Brad's appointment was announced by the Royal Club on Friday, see here. His role is to assist and support Rhona with the National Academy teams.

Brad, who is originally from Canada, competed at Provincial level for Nova Scotia. He has been playing and coaching at Greenacres since moving to Scotland five years ago.

The curlers enjoyed a mixture of fun and serious team building activities, including watersports on Cumbrae, as well as strength and conditioning training, and lectures during the weekend.

Top: Royal Caledonian Curling Club President Matt Murdoch joins curlers and coaches in the sun at Inverclyde.
Above: Alan Smith enjoying his birthday! Hannah Fleming with her new team for next season, Rebecca Kesley, Alice Spence and Abigail Brown, solve a problem with the hoops. Scott Andrews, Greg Drummond, Rhiann Macleod and Scott Macleod working as a team!
Photos by Bob.

Team Edwards to National Academy

David Edwards and his team of Moray Combe, Gavin Fleming and Graham Sloan have belatedly been included in the Royal Club's National Academy Squad, see the post on the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's website here.

When the athletes selected for the Squad were named last month (see here), several names were missing. The Edwards team lost out in a tiebreaker for fourth place in the Bruadar Scottish Championship last season, and many thought that such a good performance deserved Royal Club support this season. Today's announcement indicates that others agree, and that funding is now in place for them to be included. That brings the National Academy Squad teams to eight.

David Edwards' pic is by Bob.

Supported curlers in Scotland 2

The official list of supported curlers has now been officially released and can be found on the RCCC website here.

In addition to what I posted on Curling Today yesterday, all the Regional Academy athletes are named. There is also the info that Logan Gray and Alistair Guthrie will receive partial support from the National Academy. Both of them, plus Ross Paterson, will also receive support from their local Area Institute. There are also quotes from Royal Club Performance Development Coach Rhona Martin and CEO Colin Grahamslaw.

In summary then, there are three levels of squad support: (1) Regional Academy, supported and funded by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and sportscotland; (2) National Academy, supported by the Area Institutes and funded by sportscotland; (3) the Elite Scotland squad, supported by the Scottish Institute of Sport and funded by sportscotland.

My count is that one hundred and eighteen curlers are receiving support in one form or another.

Supported curlers in Scotland

The full list of curlers who will receive support under the various headings of British Curling, the Scottish Institute of Sport, the National Academy, the Area Institutes, and the Regional Academies has been announced today and may be found here. (Added 19.45. This link no longer goes to the information. It has apparently been removed. Don't know why. However, the information below should be taken as provisional)

It's a big list, and no doubt will be the subject of much comment on the Scottish Curling Forum.

I'll not list all everything here. I've already posted the Olympic Squad athlete names (here). They are Euan Byers, Ewan MacDonald, David Murdoch, Peter Smith, Warwick Smith, Craig Wilson, Karen Addison, Lynn Cameron, Jackie Lockhart, Eve Muirhead, Lorna Vevers and Kelly Wood. The others, supported by the Scottish Institute of Sport and named today, are Vicki Adams, Kerry Barr, Ron Brewster, Tom Brewster, Colin Campbell, Anne Laird, Sarah Macintyre, Duncan Fernie, Ross Hepburn, Barbara McFarlane, Claire Milne, Mairi Milne, Sarah Reid, Rachael Simms and Lindsay Wood.

The seven teams receiving support in the RCCC's National Academy are:
Gillian Howard, Kay Adams, Linsey Spence, Jennifer Priestley
Hannah Fleming, Rebecca Kesley, Alice Spence, Abigail Brown
John Hamilton, Philip Garden, Iain Chalmers, Graeme Copland
Glen Muirhead, Greg Drummond, Scott Macleod, Scott Andrews
Claire Hamilton, Lauren Gray, Rhiann Macleod, Caitlin Barr
Alan Smith, Neil McArthur, David Reid, Mark Fraser
Kerr Drummond, James Dunn, Thomas Pendreigh, Blair Fraser

A description of the Performance Pathway for curling in Scotland is on the Royal Club website here.

Proposed National Curling Academy at Stirling is dead

So, here I am, the December Scottish Curler safely in the hands of the printers and the proofs all signed off, on my way to Aberdeen to spend an enjoyable day watching the first round of the Gold League, and this bombshell arrives in my email! The proposed National Curling Academy, to provide a home and training base for Scotland's top curlers, and which was to be built in association with Stirling's new rink, is not now going to go ahead. The news is on the Royal Club website here.

You may have been following the saga. Some five years ago Greenacres and Braehead were bidding for the project. Then Stirling wanted it. Not all who would supply the funding though, were fully on board. Various excuses were offered, and months (make that years) have gone by. Now it's not going to happen, and the whole process is right back to square one with the Royal Club now seeking expressions of interest from other rinks.

I would not normally reproduce verbatim the Royal Club announcement on the blog, but this is so important that I've included it below. Check out the Scottish Curling Forum where there will no doubt be a thread on this. If there isn't already, then I'll start one. Please contribute to the discussion. What do you think of the whole sorry business (apologies, I'm editorialising already)? Is anyone to blame for the five wasted years? Do we really need a National Academy facility (or Centre of Excellence as it used to be called)? If we are going to have one at all, should it go to Gogar, to Pitlochry, to Aviemore, to Cupar .......... Get talking on the Forum!

Here's the announcement:
Alternative Locations Sought for National Curling Academy

Following a lengthy process, the partners involved in the development of the National Curling Academy at Forthbank, Stirling have decided that they are not in a position, at this moment in time, to move forward with the project. Despite great efforts by all of the partners it was not possible to achieve the aims of the project in the immediate future. This decision does not effect the replacement for the current Stirling Ice Rink, work on which has already started and is hoped to be completed early in 2009.

Royal Club CEO, Colin Grahamslaw said “We are naturally disappointed that we are not able to progress the NCA project with Stirling at this time. We will be meeting with sportscotland in the next few days to discuss the implications and look at potential alternative sites for the NCA which we believe would be an important addition to the stock of curling facilities in Scotland.” Grahamslaw continued “As we look at alternative plans we need to ensure that the Academy provides not only top class facilities for our squad players but also gives first class ice provision for club curlers in the area in which it is built”

Although the process for assessing alternative locations will not be decided until after the meeting with sportscotland, who are the major funding partners in the project, any rink or group interested in discussing this opportunity should note their interest in writing with the Royal Club CEO before December 21st.

National Academy training camp at Inverclyde

Scotland's very best teams are members of the Elite Squad and are supported by the Scottish Institute of Sport. The next 'layer' are the eight teams which make up the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's National Academy Squad and they met at the weekend at sportscotland's National Centre at Inverclyde. As described previously, the National Academy has evolved from the National Junior Squad and involves more than junior teams. This year the National Academy includes one 'older' team, skipped by Alan Smith who is 32. Also in the squad is Logan Gray's side which is just out of juniors, and junior teams skipped by Anna Sloan, Eve Muirhead, Claire Hamilton, Glen Muirhead, Jamie Dick and Greg Drummond. All are members of various Area Institutes of Sport.

Alan Smith has had to make a change to his lineup for this season because of injury to Ross MacDonald. David Reid joins the team as second with Mark Fraser at lead and Neil McArthur at third.

Lectures and practicals from John Bradley (exercise physiologist with the Scottish Institute of Sport) and Mandy Belch (physiotherapist on the curling programme at the Scottish Institute of Sport) were complemented by talks from Tom Pendreigh on 'The modern world of curling equipment and practices' and from Andrea Faull (sports psychologist with the Scottish Institute of Sport) on 'Mind over matter'. Team activity games and team building activities filled up a packed two day programme. The weekend was organised by the Royal Club's Performance Development Coach Nancy Murdoch (right).

Top: RCCC President Tommy Hinnigan and Ladies Branch President Patricia Thompson join National Academy athletes, team coaches, lecturers and trainers outside sportscotland's National Training Centre at Inverclyde. Middle: Team Smith L-R Mark Fraser, David Reid, Neil McArthur and Alan Smith. Above: Physiotherapist Mandy Belch in action in a training session with the athletes, RCCC President Tommy Hinnigan observing in the background.

Supported curlers In Scotland

Yesterday new structures were announced for supporting Scotland's top curlers. Enter 'Elite Scotland Squad' and 'National Academy' into curlers' vocabulary. A list of all seventy-one athletes, supported fully or partially, was published by the Royal Club today. Let's try to make sense of what are undoubtedly complex arrangements between the Royal Club and the Scottish Institute of Sport. Both teams and individual curlers will be supported in the 2007-08 season.

Elite Scotland Squad - names in bold are full members of the Scottish Institute of Sport. The names in brackets are NOT full members of the Institute, although some are members of the National Academy (see below).

David Murdoch, Ewan MacDonald, Peter Smith and Euan Byers
Warwick Smith, Craig Wilson, (David Smith and Ross Hepburn)
Tom Brewster, (Hammy McMillan), Ron Brewster and Colin Campbell
Duncan Fernie, (Gordon Muirhead, Graeme Prentice and Richard Woods)
Kelly Wood, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood
Claire Milne, Lynn Cameron, (Jacqui Byers and Rachael Simms)
Sarah Reid, (Jennifer Morrison, Alison Black) and Barbara McFarlane
Eve Muirhead, (Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams), and Sarah Macintyre

Seven of the eight teams listed above will receive full Scottish Institute of Sport support at squad days and at overseas competitions. As will Edith Loudon's team: (Edith Loudon, Mairi Milne, Judith Marshall and Katie Loudon) even though these four are not full Institute athletes.

Eve Muirhead's team will receive support from the RCCC National Academy at squad days and at overseas competitions (see below).

So, that's the Elite Squad curlers. What about the National Academy? Let's look at the teams we know, all the members of which are members of the National Academy and are also members of the various Area Institutes of Sport.

Anna Sloan, Lauren Gray, Rhiann MacLeod and Caitlin Barr
Claire Hamilton, Claire MacDonald, Linsey Spence and Jennifer Priestley

Alan Smith, Ross MacDonald, Neil MacArthur and Sandy Reid
Logan Gray, Alasdair Guthrie, Ross Paterson and Keith Duncan Millar
Jamie Dick, Andrew Williamson, Colin Dick and Andrew Noble
Greg Drummond, James Dunn, Tom Pendreigh and Kerr Drummond
Glen Muirhead, Scott MacLeod, Scott Andrews and Gordon McDougall

plus Kerry Barr and Vicki Adams who are members of Eve Muirhead's team. These eight teams will receive support from the RCCC National Academy at squad days and at overseas competitions.

The other individuals who are members of the National Academy Squad are Kay Adams, Iain Chalmers, Graeme Copland, Andrew Craigie, David Edwards, John Hamilton, Nicola MacDonald, Jennifer Morrison (playing in Sarah Reid's Elite Squad team), Jacqui Byers and Rachael Simms (both members of Claire Milne's Elite Squad team).

Complicated, yes. But the end result sees support for more teams than last year, and that must be a good thing. Apologies if I've got any of this info wrong and any names misspelt. Let me know.

The photo shows Tom Brewster and Alan Smith at the Bruadar Scottish Championship last season. Both skips receive support this season - Team Brewster from the Scottish Institute and Team Smith from the National Academy.

Expanded support for Scotland's top curlers

More funding, support for more curlers, new squad names - these are the highlights of the new initiatives for 'performance' curling in Scotland, revealed today by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. Key too is 'flexibility' and close working relationships involving the Scottish Institute of Sport and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, with the Area Institutes, sportscotland and British Curling Ltd.

For the 2007-08 season, top curlers in Scotland will be supported in one of two ways. The very best have been invited to become members of the Scottish Institute of Sport. No change there, you may say. But wait. This group will now be known as the Elite Scotland Squad, the name change reflecting a new funding partner, British Curling Ltd, as well as sportscotland as before. And support will not just be restricted to full teams as in the past. Some individuals will receive the full Institute benefits too. This involves sports medicine and sports science, technical support, squad training, and overseas competition funding. Derek Brown and Cate Brewster, who are employed by the Scottish Institute of Sport, have the prime responsibility for the Elite Scotland Squad.

The National Junior Squad, which last year encompassed eight junior teams, is no more. In its place is the RCCC's new 'National Academy' supported by the Area Institutes and funded by sportscotland. Nancy Murdoch (photo), the Royal Club's Performance Development Coach, has brought forward an initiative to support not just juniors but also teams and individuals who are no longer under-21.

The National Academy Squad comprises eight teams and twelve individuals. Members will receive individual and team support from the Area Institutes and the RCCC, including technical on-ice coaching support, strength and conditioning training, as well as providing opportunities for their teams to compete internationally. In contrast to the Elite Scotland Squad, which was by invitation, National Academy Squad members have been selected after an application and interview process.

Names of curlers in the two squads will be announced tomorrow on the RCCC website.