What else happened at the weekend?

The ROK Highland Junior International at Inverness occupied my attention at the weekend, but curling life was still going on elsewhere.

At Greenacres, Midlothian Province won the National Province Championship. Mike Dick's winning rink from Carrington CC comprised Alastair Galloway and Kirsty Galloway with a substitute - none other than RCCC Competitions Manager Colin Hamilton in place of Trevor Dodds, who was in Inverness coaching his daughter Jennifer's team. Mike Haggerty's roundup of the event is here. (Hugh Stewart's photo above shows L-R Kirsty Galloway, Alastair Galloway, Colin Hamilton, Bill Marshall, RCCC Vice-president, Mike Dick and Elma Paterson of Greenacres)

Five men's teams competed in the WCT-e Lucerne Trophy. Three (Team Murdoch, Team Brewster and Team Smith) made it to the quarterfinals, although only the GB Squad made it any further, bowing out in the semi against Andi Schwaller, who won the event. The Lucerne website has Ewan MacDonald as skip of the GB Squad at the weekend. If anyone can confirm this before I can find out for sure, then please use the comment box! For the linescores, the event website is here.

The World Wheelchair Curling Qualifying Competition is well underway already in Prague. The results and standings are here. There are ten teams involved. The top two will qualify for the 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Vancouver, February 21-28. This will be a test event for the 2010 Paralympics.

The teams are playing a round robin, then a Page playoff where 1 plays 2, with the winner qualifying as No 1. The loser plays the winner of 3 v 4 and the winner of that game also qualifies.

Just a final note from Inverness. I posed a question about the connection between Marco Pasquale, skip of the Italian junior men's team, and the Greenacres rink. The answer is below, and makes me feel very old!

The Editor used to help out with the coaching at the Greenacres rink in the early 1980s. One family, the Simpsons, were very supportive at the rink and there were two daughters who both took up the sport and became good curlers. One of them, Fiona, was the best ever student - mastering the sliding delivery as fast as I've ever seen it done. You see, she was a ballet dancer! Her career took her to Italy working with her dance company, she met an Italian policeman, fell in love...... (I do like a good romance), married, had a family, and lived happily ever after. That is, until the curling rink opened in Pinerolo, near where they lived. Then it got even better.

Cutting a long story short, this is their son Marco, skipping the Italian team at Inverness!

The other sister, Morna Simpson, married World Junior Champ David Aitken, and the curling genes from that partnership can be seen in their daughters Gina and Tasha who, alongside their cousin Marco, were both competing at Inverness. This pic is Gina who substituted for Vicki Adams in Eve Muirhead's team yesterday. Sarah Macintyre and Anna Sloan are the sweepers. Her birthday is today, so 'Happy Birthday Gina' from us all!

Photos by Bob and the third episode of 'Curling Family Trees' is next month!

Inverness report

Just a quick update from Inverness. This is the Swedish side (L-R: Kristian Lindstrom, 4th, Oscar Eriksson, skip, Henrik Leek, alternate, Alexander Lindstrom, 2nd, and Christoffer Sundgren, lead) who won the ROK Highland Junior International at the weekend, defeating Kerr Drummond, Blair Fraser, Tom Pendreigh and James Dunn in the final. All the linescores are here.

Hannah Fleming, Rebecca Kesley, Alice Spence and Abi Brown beat Claire Hamilton, Lauren Gray, Rhiann Macleod and Caitlin Barr in the Junior Women's final, Hannah playing a memorable double takeout for the two she need to win with last stone of the game.

Photos by Bob, apologies not up to standard, must do better. A fuller report in next month's Scottish Curler!

Saturday's Northern Lights

It was a hard day at the ROK Junior International at Inverness. You can find the results and standings here.

Paul Russell

"Can you pass me the baby powder please," says Jamie Dick.

It's a long story but this life size wooden native American is a fixture in the bar at the Inverness Ice Centre, having been rescued from a skip (no, not the curling sort of skip, the other type)! He doesn't have a name! Any suggestions?

Family blog - no need for your captions! L-R: Kimberley Smith, Jennifer Dodds, Mhairi Anderson.

Italian style - Federica Bruera and Isidora Quaglio .

Claire Hamilton

Tasha Aitken calls line as Claire Hamilton and Lauren Gray watch.

Norway's Eli Skaslien delivers, with Gina Gronseth

Anna Sloan in charge as Rebecca Kesley and Hannah Flemming watch.

Eve Muirhead with Kay Adams

I wonder how long it's going to be when in the bar behind EVERY sheet at every junior event are two laptops and two video cameras. Note to organisers. Fundraising opportunity. You could charge for the electrical connection. How about £50 per day per coach?

An evening at Inverness

So, here we are at the Inverness Ice Centre for the ROK 27th Highland Junior International, the second of the European Junior Curling Tour events of 2008. That's Helen King in the photo.

Glen Muirhead's team won this event last year. How's he doing this time. You can find all the results here.

You should have seen the fifth end of the Eve Muirhead v Claire Hamilton match!

Glen Muirhead against the Italian visitors.

Friday's competition. This is Italian skip Marco Pascale. He has a very strong connection to the Greenacres Rink in Renfrewshire. What is it?

Is this why they call it the Highland Junior International? This is Swiss skip Nicole Dunki (with a name like that she must have Scottish ancestry) whose team all sport the kilt!

Jaap van Dorp of the Netherlands

Graeme Black's team are going places this season. Thomas Sloan and Steven Mitchell are the sweepers here. Ally Fraser is in the head.

Dutch colour! Diederick Bontenbal.

Kerr Drummond and Blair Fraser. Caption required.

Oscar 'the Professor' Eriksson skipped his Swedish side to silver at the World Juniors last season. He's skipping a new Swedish four this year, in which Kristian Lindstrom is throwing last stones here at Inverness.

Tomorrow something never before seen in Scotland is being attempted for the first time! There's a 7.30 am draw, and ten girls' teams are involved! "What are the chances of this actually happening?" asked one skeptical fan (mother of one of the players). The Editor is not a morning person so the chance of his being on site for this historic occasion is rather small, but hopefully someone might be there to record the event! 7.30 am. Is it light then?