National Curling Academy

I came home from Perth last night by way of Kinross and took in the open meeting about the National Curling Academy. Some seventy-five interested curlers attended in the Windlestrae Hotel. Jamie Montgomery outlined the history of the project. Significantly he emphasised that the Montgomery Hotel Group will have no involvement in the facility and no part in the running of it. It will be run by the Kinross Curling Trust.

I've talked about this in the blog (start here) and in the Scottish Curler magazine. A newsletter was sent out recently and is on the RCCC website, see here.

The projected cost is £3.2 million. Of this £1.5 million is expected from sportscotland. The Royal Club and the RCCC Trust will put up £300,000. A bank loan of £1.0 million, and contributions of £400,000 from 'other sources' make up the total.

The centre is not going to be a 'shed' - one would hope not with this price tag! Indeed, what it will look like is anyone's guess at the moment, as the plans for the building are just a blank page! It was announced last night that Turner and Townsend have been appointed as project managers. Ten companies applied, and five were shortlisted and interviewed. The design team has still to be put in place.

When it came to question time, Steven Kerr, the current ice manager at the existing Kinross four-sheeter, voiced his concerns that the design team, whoever gets the brief, will be competent enough to provide a building in which a world class curling ice pad could be laid and used for most months of the year. The very fact that the biggest criticisms were being voiced by the local expert whose knowledge and expertise have apparently not been saught by those already involved in the project, is worrying to an outsider like me.

On a more positive note, Alistair McCabe has been looking at needs of the users. The elite coaches at the Scottish Institute of Sport, the Royal Club and the Trust (which has the responsibility for the museum) have (or will be) consulted. Visits to Greenacres, the new Stirling rink, and to Curl Aberdeen have been arranged. The last facility is a good example of how mistakes can easily be made. No-one can deny that this is a fabulous rink, but remember the early problems with temperature control in the rink, and the lighting? Surely it should have been possible to get an even level of illumination over the full length of a sheet of ice! Yes, a competent design team is an imperative.

The people who will benefit most from the new facility are the local curlers. If all goes as it should, they will get the best rink in Scotland ... and hopefully the best ice. There was some surprise that local curlers will be targeted in the fund raising. That idea was not in the original submission. Jamie Montgomery addressed this point at length. He feels that it will be important that the facility "retains a club atmosphere," and that having curlers' contributions to the project, "will give all a sense of ownership." He has a point, although it was noted that these contributions are "not a crucial part of the fundraising effort." Quite different then from the Cupar approach, see here.

I have been following the NCA saga for seven years. That it might eventually happen is exciting. RCCC CEO Colin Grahamslaw outlined key dates. Design team appointed and working by late April. Planning application by mid-July. Contractor appointed by December. Building started by February 2010 and doors open in autumn next year. It got the biggest laugh of the evening!

But it was obvious that Grahamslaw is serious about making the NCA a reality this time. He recognised the failures of the past. He said, "What we're trying to do is keep the momentum going."

There was a plea for (local) people with the skills to come on board to help and push things forward. Let's hope they do. I continued my drive home rather more encouraged that I thought I might be. I really hope those with the vision are successful.

Jamie Montgomery

National Curling Academy to be run by Kinross Curling Trust

It is three months since the announcement was made that Kinross is to be the home of the National Curling Academy. The Royal Club has posted a newsletter today, signed by the Kinross Curling Trust Subscribing Trustees, outlining progress. It is on the RCCC website here, but because of its importance, I'll post the full text here. That's the proposed site in the photo above, across the road from the Green Hotel.

"We are pleased to report the progress since the RCCC Board’s decision of 16 October that Kinross Curling Trust was its preferred partner for the NCA. We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring this new facility to Kinross which will not only secure the future of curling in Kinross but also give an opportunity to further develop the sport.

Unlike the current rink which is owned by the Montgomery Hotel Group, the new Rink will be owned by the Kinross Curling Trust whose membership will be made up of the curlers using the facility. A long term lease has been offered on the Market Park site opposite the Green Hotel and plans are being developed for a new 6 sheet facility.

A meeting with local curlers is planned for Thursday 5 February at the Windlestrae Hotel (8pm) to provide a further update on progress.

Kinross Curling Trust
A Solicitor is finalising the Trust’s Memorandum and Articles of Association prior to incorporation as a company limited by guarantee. The Trust will then seek recognition as a charity. The Charitable purposes are all related to the development of curling. The Trust’s Memorandum and Articles of Association will be placed on its web site in due course.

The Trust will have 3 Directors appointed by the RCCC and 6 members elected as Trustees at the AGM of the Trust by the local curlers who make up the membership of the Trust. The Trustees will have power to co-opt up to a further 3 Trustees. Until the first AGM of the Trust is held, 3 subscribing Trustees will manage the Trust and be responsible for procuring the facility. They are Jamie Montgomery, Bob Tait (Chairman of the RCCC Board) and Colin Grahamslaw (Chief Executive RCCC). It is expected that additional trustees will be co-opted as required until the first AGM.

The Facility
The facility is expected to comprise of 6 sheets of ice solely for curling, a reception area, changing facilities, stone storage, technical support areas and storage, a spectators’ lounge with bar and catering on the first floor, a fitness suite/ multi use space, the RCCC offices where 17 staff will re-locate from Edinburgh and Stirling and the RCCC Museum and meeting rooms. The building will be fully wheel chair accessible and it will meet the latest environmental standards. There have been discussions with representatives of key users/occupiers and the outcome of these will be reported to the subscribing Trustees and the Project Manager to inform design.

The facility will replace the existing curling rink in Kinross and will obviously be used mainly by local curlers. It is expected to be open for curling for 10 months of the year.

Funding
Sportscotland, the government’s national sports agency, has been involved in the development of the project which has already passed its first level of approval. The Sports Minister is supportive of the project.

Seven figure grant support is expected from sportscotland and both the RCCC and the RCCC Trust are expected to contribute towards the costs of the office and museum.

Other grants from sources such as the Energy Savings Trust, European Community and local charitable Trusts are also being actively pursued. It is expected that some commercial borrowing will be required though obviously the aim is to minimise this.

As well as funding from local charitable sources and enterprise bodies, funders will expect to see contributions from local curlers. Fund raising initiatives are being developed and a target will be put in place for local fund-raising but, in the meantime, the subscribing Trustees would be happy to discuss or receive pledges, donations and bequests and ideas for raising money. Obviously the more funding that is raised through donations etc., the lower the level of commercial borrowing that will be required. As an example at Curl Aberdeen, the only recent new build curling rink in Scotland, curlers contributed around £500,000 or 20 % of the cost meaning the project was completed without commercial debt.

For large donations, some commemorative plaque could be incorporated into the building or a room / space in the facility named after the donor. The RCCC Charitable Trust is already looking at how to recognise the £100,000 donation from Mr Bob Gardner towards the development of a museum of curling.

Project Manager/ Cost Planner
10 companies were invited to compete for this key post and 5 were interviewed. The Interview Panel has recommended its preferred company to the subscribing Trustees. If the recommendation is accepted contracts will be exchanged as soon as practicable after the Kinross Curling Trust has been incorporated. The company appointed will be accountable to the subscribing Trustees and will be responsible for finalising the design and procuring the facility on time and on budget.

Timescale
The target is start on site during quarter 3 of 2009 with completion by August 2010. Delivery on this tight timescale will require early progress on all aspects although some are outwith the control of the subscribing Trustees, including funding and planning consent."

Pic by Bob

Will there be a new rink at Cupar?

There has been much interest recently in the decision of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club to back the bid by Kinross to be the site for the National Curling Academy, new offices for the governing body and a curling history museum. The bid to site the complex at Ratho was unsuccessful, and it seems unlikely now that this venture will go forward, to judge by the tone of the letter written by Michael Wood, President of Gogar Park Curling Club, on October 16, which can be downloaded from here.

He says, "We are, naturally, bitterly disappointed that, despite the perseverance shown over a number of years, we now appear to have reached the end of the road. I will meet with our Committee to consider our position fully early next month but I think it fairly clear that without the public funding that the award of the National Curling Academy would have brought there is no realistic prospect of being able to continue the project. The final decision in that regard will be taken at the continuation of our currently adjourned AGM."

The provisional date for that meeting is Tuesday, December 16, at the Braid Hills Hotel.

But what about Cupar? The bid by the Fife Curling Trust for the National Academy project was not shortlisted (see here), but that group's plans to build a new facility are still very much on the table. There is to be a public presentation on Tuesday, November 11, to review progress, present plans and discuss the way ahead for the provision of a new curling facility in Cupar.

The meeting is in the main hall of Elmwood College, Cupar, at 7pm. All are invited.

You can find out more about the Cupar venture here.

Kinross for National Curling Academy

The bid by Kinross to be the site for a new six sheet rink which will also provide facilities for Scotland's elite teams has been successful. The new complex will also be the new home for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the governing body of the sport in Scotland, and there will also be a small museum of curling history. The members of the NCA Working Group (Jeanette Johnston, Lockhart Steel, Anne Malcolm and Willie Nicoll with Colin Grahamslaw as Secretary) made the decision which was approved at a Royal Club Board meeting today.

Kinross has been chosen in preference to a site at Ratho, championed by the curlers from the Gogar Park rink which closed some years ago. See previous Curling Today posts on this subject here and here.

The full press release can be found on the Royal Club website here, but in view of its importance I have reprinted it verbatim below:

'Kinross Preferred Partner for NCA

At its meeting today the Board of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club unanimously approved the recommendation of the NCA working group that the Royal Club’s preferred partner for the national curling academy, offices and museum should be the Kinross Curling Trust.

The two bids were assessed by the working group against the NCA Criteria and the bid from the Kinross Curling Trust was viewed to be the better option for the future home of the NCA.

Jamie Montgomery the leader of the Kinross bid said, ‘The announcement that the Royal Caledonian Curling Club’s proposed new National Curling Academy is going to be located in Kinross is extremely exciting and will be a huge boost to the town. The local area has long had a strong curling tradition centered on Loch Leven and Kinross Curling Club is believed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest club in the world. The prospect of a state-of-the-art curling facility in Kinross, catering for both local curlers and national elite squads, furthers our aspiration to become the genuine curling centre of Scotland.’

Colin Grahamslaw, CEO of the Royal Club said, “We are delighted to be able to announce Kinross Curling Trust as our preferred partner for this project. Kinross’s historic location makes this a perfect home for the National Curling Academy and we are please that this decision will also have the benefit of securing the future of curling in Kinross for the long term.”

The new Kinross Curling Trust will be a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. The Board will be made up of at least eight trustees, two of which will be nominated by the Royal Club and six elected by the Members, who will be local curlers. The Trust will own the new property which is to be built on the Market Park site at the heart of Kinross secured on a long lease. The property is planned to comprise a six sheet curling rink with full supporting facilities, offices, meeting rooms and a museum. The property will be easily accessible from the M90 motorway. Funding is expected to be a mix of public funding, trust funding, loans and donations from local curlers. The Royal Club will be contributing towards the costs of the offices and the RCCC Charitable Trust will assist with the funding of the museum.

Whilst many challenges remain the aim is to have the facility open prior to the 2010/2011 season.

The Board thanks the bidders for their interest and hope that, with support from sportscotland, a meeting with Gogar Park Curling Club can be arranged to discuss the future of their plan. The Board thanks staff of sportscotland for their assistance in assessing the bids.'

I took this photo this summer from the car park of the Green Hotel looking over towards the Windlestrae Hotel. I believe the preferred location of the new rink is the open area in the centre of the pic. What a prestigious location!

National Curling Academy: Down to two

The preferred sites for the National Curling Academy have been reduced to a shortlist of two: Kinross or Ratho. The Centre of Excellence/National Curling Academy is a rink where Scotland's top curlers will have a base to train and practise. The NCA is not an ice rink for the exclusive use of Scotland’s elite curlers but will be built with their needs and requirements in mind. The NCA will also need to be a rink that serves the needs and requirements of local club curlers and provide them with a facility that they can use and be proud of.

So we were told. Since then ideas for the NCA have expanded to include space to house the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's headquarters, and a small curling history museum.

Curling Today described the history of the project, here.

Site visits and on site meetings were held with each of the bidders, and a preliminary assessment of financial plans was carried out by sportscotland.

At the meeting of the Board of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club on July 23, bids from Gogar Park curlers for a site at Ratho (six sheets) and from the Green Hotel/CIRCLE for Kinross (five sheets) were short listed as potential homes for the National Curling Academy.

According to the information on the Royal Club website (here), the bid from the Fife Curling Trust for a site in Glenrothes or Cupar was ruled out. It says, "They were commended for the high quality of their bids and the Royal Club will continue to work with them to look at the opportunities for a facility in the area."

The release says, "The Royal Club will now work with the short listed bidders to enable a final decision to be taken by the Board in October. The Royal Club will continue to be assisted in this process by sportscotland’s facilities team."

So, tune in for the next installment in this long running saga in October!

Where is Scotland's National Curling Academy going to be?

Remember the Centre of Excellence/National Curling Academy - a rink where Scotland's top curlers have a base to train and practise? For a (long) while it was hoped that Stirling would be the venue, but that fell through in November last year, see here.

Late last year the Royal Club was asking for expressions of interest from individuals or groups, with a deadline of December 31. Information packages were distributed. Specifications were issued.

What is the Royal Club is looking for?

This is from the specifications: 'It is important to realise that the NCA is not an ice rink for the exclusive use of Scotland’s elite curlers. It is a rink that is built with their needs and requirements in mind. The NCA will also need to be a rink that serves the needs and requirements of local club curlers and provide them with a facility that they can use and be proud of. What the NCA will provide is an identified centre at which Scotland’s top curlers can work with their coaches in favourable conditions at suitable times to help them continue to achieve the medal results that they have achieved over the past few years. Squads working at the NCA would include those from the Scottish Institute, the local Area Institute, National Academy and the local Regional Academy. It would also provide a base for the British Olympic and Paralympic programmes when they are running.'

A closing date was set of the end of March for those serious in taking a bid forward. So what's happened since then?

Well, four applications are currently being looked at. The idea is to find a preferred venue that the Royal Club can support in its dealings with sportscotland to get the funding that is available for the National Curling Academy project.

Two of the four possible venues have been talked about for a while. A six sheet rink at Ratho, a replacement for the much missed Gogar Park, has received planning permission and was described on Curling Today in August 2007, see here. The history and development of the project can be found on the Gogar website here.

The Fife Curling Trust wants to build a new rink at Cupar .... or perhaps at Glenrothes, and fundraising activities are underway. In a news item in April those behind the project say, "The facility is a 6 sheet rink housed in a building that uses innovative design and technology. At either site, the rink would be situated as part of a larger sports campus and ancillary sports resources." The website with more details is here.

The third bid is from Midlothian Council, and I have not been able to obtain any information of this.

The fourth, revealed here for the first time, is from the Montgomery Hotel Group, the parent of the existing four sheet rink at the Green Hotel in Kinross. The new five sheet rink will implement the ideas laid out for the Circle Project, see here. The ethic of the Scottish Curling Ice Group is to provide 'excellent curling ice'.

In terms of location, accommodation, and a successful record of curling at Kinross, this last proposal is an exciting one.

The Montgomery Hotel Group bid may have another advantage. The specifications for the NCA raised the possibility of the venues providing office accommodation for the Royal Club as a replacement for Cairnie House, and accommodation for a permanent curling museum. Additional funding would be available for this. The Kinross submission has both as an integral part of its plans, although both Gogar and Fife have indicated that space could be provided for these too.

Currently Royal Club Board members Anne Malcolm, Jeanette Johnston, Lockhart Steele, and Mike Ferguson are looking at the submissions from each of the potential venues, including their business plans. Site visits are about to take place.

What's the timescale for an announcement? "Sometime over the summer," according to CEO Colin Grahamslaw. We have to be patient for a bit longer to find out where the National Curling Academy is going to be!