Royal Club Members

Alastair Hibbert, the Royal Club's Finance and Administration Manager, has written to all club secretaries to encourage them to use the new online system, which went live today, to submit their annual returns.

You can find all about the database in the pdf document which can be downloaded from here.

The Royal Club hopes that all will find the new database useful and that it will help secretaries and club members to communicate effectively.

Brewster in Canada

How quickly the days go by when I'm trying to get the next Scottish Curler off to the printers. Anyway, that went up to the publishers today, and I have a moment to catch breath! So what's happening out there in the curling world?

Tom Brewster, Duncan Fernie, Ron Brewster and Colin Campbell are in Canada for the BDO Classic Canadian Open, the third Capital One Grand Slam, which gets underway tonight Wednesday) at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. This event has three sections of six teams. Teams have been allocated into sections based on their standing in the Capital One Order of Merit rankings as of December 15, 2008. (The number in brackets in the sections below denotes Order of Merit seeding)

Brewster, seeded 18, meets top seed Kevin Martin in their first game. It's quite a lineup!

Section A
(1) Kevin Martin (Edmonton), (6) Brad Gushue (St. John’s), (7) Thomas Ulsrud (Oslo, Norway), (12) Bob Ursel (Kelowna), (13) Greg McAulay (Richmond), (18) Tom Brewster (Aberdeen, Scotland)

Section B
(2) Glenn Howard (Coldwater), (5) Wayne Middaugh (Midland), (8) Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg), (11) Mike McEwen (Winnipeg), (14) Jean-Michel Ménard (Gatineau), (17) Pete Fenson (Bemidji, Minnesota)

Section C
(3) Kevin Koe (Edmonton), (4) Randy Ferbey (Edmonton), (9) Pat Simmons (Davidson), (10) Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg), (15) Joel Jordison (Moose Jaw), (16) Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg)

Follow the results here.

I did not get the opportunity to congratulate Graeme Black, Ally Fraser, Steven Mitchell and Thomas Sloan who finished second in the standings in the WCT-e Junior Tour. They reached the final of the Hamburg event last weekend, and have performed strongly all season.

Jennifer Dodds also lost in their final at Hamburg. Claire Hamilton and Hannah Fleming shared joint second place in the junior women's standings. The tour now has a website here. I wonder if it will go forward next year, or be consigned to history as a bold experiment that was ahead of its time? Certainly there's work to be done on a number of fronts!

The Scottish Junior Men's Championship qualifying rounds are at Aberdeen this weekend. Sadly, Curling Today won't be there, but all the results, as usual, will be on the Royal Club website here. Nineteen teams have to be whittled down to ten (oops - that should be eight!). There will be great curling. And the added reassurance too that there is now a place for Scotland in the World Junior Men's Championship in Vancouver in March. Thanks Glen and co!

The YARA Farmers' Championship is on this week at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth. Find the results here.

The Canadian tourists have the measure of the Scots and Scottish ice both north and south, and the Strathcona Cup seems to be heading for Canada! I enjoyed Mike Haggerty's piece here. Click here for the results to date. Scotland is doing better in Switzerland (see here)!

And since I've mentioned the Royal Club website, I note the member zone is soon to be announced. The look of the site was on display earlier this week (see below), although it is not online for real yet. A step forward for the Royal Club. Watch out for it, 'coming soon'.

The weekend in prospect

As usual at this time of year, there is so much going on that it is difficult to keep track of it all.

Before I forget though, if you would like to be involved as a volunteer at the Scottish Finals next month, the Royal Club is looking for help with the statistics and results service which is being provided once again by CurlingZone, thanks to support from British Curling. More details are here.

I've already mentioned the Glynhill Ladies International, and I'll be blogging some photos from Braehead, hopefully. It would be great to see the same number of people spectating as there was at Perth last weekend. You'll not see better women's curling in Scotland this season. I just hope, for the sake of the hard-working committee that the event does not encounter ice plant breakdowns and airport problems that caused a headache or three at the inaugural event last season.

The Canadians are touring the country, North and South. Lindsay Scotland is keeping us up to date with the scores here. The Canadians seem to be showing us how the game should be played, but there's a long way to go yet! And I should also not forget the Swiss Tour - bit of a well kept secret this, and somewhat overshadowed by the incoming Canadians. The RCCC website is carrying results here.

The second batch of Seniors qualifiers is on at Forfar. Find these results here. First games are at 10.00 tomorrow (Friday).

The first round of the Bruadar Scottish Championship qualifying begins Friday evening at Perth. Twenty teams have to be cut down to ten over two weekends play. The way this is being done this year is in two sections, the top five in each going through to the finals. Each section has its first four games this weekend. The rest are Jan 30-Feb 1.

Section A includes Keith MacLennan, Logan Gray, Alan Smith, Colin Hamilton, Ian Watt, Jamie Dick, David Edwards, Angus Robertson, David Murdoch and Dillan Perras.

Section B has Hammy McMillan, Lee McCleary, Scott Hamilton, Glen Muirhead, John Hamilton, Neil Joss, Allan Manuel, Warwick Smith, Craig Reid and Tom Brewster.

Last but not least, three Scottish junior teams will be playing in Hamburg in the last of the three WCT-e Junior Tour events. There are just seven teams in the boys' event, including Graeme Black's side who are second in the standings. The EYOF squad (Blair Fraser, Kerr Drummond, Colin Dick, Struan Wood and Jay McWilliam) are also in the event listed under Colin Dick's name. Jennifer Dodds has just four other teams to contend against in the girls event. I haven't been able to find a website for results yet. (Added later. See here.)

Now, have I forgotten anything?

(Added later) Yes, indeed I have. The Four Nations is on at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton!

Top: The Scotch Cup is now the trophy for the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship.

Vernon: the next chapter

The Royal Club Board Minutes for December have now been published (they can be downloaded here). Significantly, they contain the following statement about the Vernon enquiry:

"Board members expressed frustration that despite constant pressure from the Chairman on the Independent Investigator slow progress is being made. The lack of progress is down to some witness statements having not been signed off. It was agreed that Michael Nicholson should be instructed to finish the report without the missing witness statements."

Word on the rink is that all the material that Nicholson needs is now in his hands, and that the Board will meet soon to discuss the report when it is received. Let's hope so.

It was back in October 27 of last year that the Royal Club issued its last statement about the Vernon investigation. Bob Tait indicated then that the remit for Michael Nicholson, the independent investigator, had been agreed and signed by all the parties, and that work on completing the independent investigation was ongoing.

In summary, the remit was, "To conduct an investigation into the events that resulted in the Scottish team at the Ford World Women’s Curling Championships in Vernon in March 2008 playing 2 games with 3 players, and the events in Vernon following each of these games. To provide the Chairman of the Board of the RCCC a written report on the facts found by the Investigator and to make recommendations on actions, if any, to be taken. The Investigator will not recommend specific disciplinary sanctions. The report and any appendices will be sent to Bob Tait, Chairman of the Board of the RCCC by a date to be agreed with the Investigator. The report and any appendices will also be circulated by the Investigator to Alan Cowan of Simpson Marwick for Gail Munro and Lyndsay Wilson; and Derek Brown. The report and any appendices will also be placed on the RCCC web-site and circulated to all Scottish team players at the event, the Team Coach, Support staff and the RCCC representative at the event no earlier than 48 hours after it was sent to the parties."

The full text of the October 27 announcement is on the RCCC website here.

I am hopeful that we will all soon find out what really happened in Vernon. Bob Tait has indicated that the report will be placed in the public domain, on the Royal Club website. For only by being open and honest can our sport's governing body minimise the public relations disaster that it has already suffered from the delay in getting to this stage.

I believe that Chairman Bob Tait is as frustrated as anyone over how long it has taken to get to this stage. Certainly the statement in December's Board Minutes would seem to indicate this. It has not been a good start to his leadership term and as long as it continues the less opportunity there is for him to begin to repair the Royal Club's reputation.

The question for me is what will happen now? Will the conclusions in the Nicholson report lead to resignations, or will there be a resumption of the complaints procedures which are currently on hold? I fervently hope that there will be no attempts at a cover up. There is no doubt in my mind, from talking to curlers in all walks of the game, that many would like the Vernon issue over with and that we just move on. They are fed up with it. But that's the danger, that the whole matter just gets quietly forgotten about.

I have promised that the Scottish Curler will NOT let the matter be forgotten, although I am as disturbed by the whole issue as any lover of our sport.

Let's not forget the seriousness of what happened. Scotland was made to look the laughing stock of the curling world in Vernon last year. Why did it happen, and what procedures can be put in place that this never happens again? Is it wrong to expect answers to these two questions? And of course we are now very close to finding out who will be representing Scotland at the World Championships this year. Could the same thing happen again?

More on VERNON

There's a new statement from RCCC Board Chairman Bob Tait about the Vernon enquiry on the Royal Club website this morning (here). It reads:

"Further to my statement of 8 September the remit for the independent investigation has been revised to set out the use to be made of witness statements and documentation. The remit as revised has been signed by the parties and is reproduced below. Work on completing the independent investigation is ongoing and I will report further as soon as possible."

The lawyer's new remit is published in full.

All go at the Dewars Centre

It is all happening at the Dewars Centre today. A Royal Club Level 1 Umpiring Course is on in the Board Room, with Level 2 and Level 3 courses set for this afternoon and tomorrow. The photo above shows Alan Stanfield, Dor Borthwick and Glenda Barrowman getting set up for the courses.

In the Hay Room, Judith McFarlane and Anne Malcolm (below) are running another National Development Forum. Three speakers are on the programme. Andrew McLean (Dumfries and Galloway Council) and Jim Hogg (Dumfries Ice Bowl Curling Association) are talking on Curling Development in Dumfries, Lynne Robertson will give an Update of the RCCC Coaching Structure and there will be ‘A view from another sport’ by Torquil McInroy (ClubGolf Development Manager).

And on the ice there is the small (!) matter of the competition to decide who will be Scotland's representatives at the European Championships in Örnsköldsvik. More after the games.

A new Royal Club voice

Now you may not recognise the face in this photo on the left, but it is someone who has worked tirelessly for twenty years and more to make sure that curling gets space in the major newspapers in this country. This is Mike Haggerty.

Mike is not a curler, although he has been known to throw the odd stone or two! Mike’s own sport is rowing. Mike, a PR professional, has worked over a long number of years to build an association with the major newspapers in order to be granted space for reports on rowing and for his adopted sport of curling. He is also well known by the editorial staff on these papers. He may not command the same space as football, rugby or golf writers but he does get coverage. Over the years he has worked on site at European and World Championships as well as Winter Olympics. And he is the President of the World Curling Media Association!

Why does he get a mention on Curling Today? Well, the Royal Club has commissioned Mike to cover the major National and International events for the rest of this season. I am pleased. We will all be able to go on to the RCCC website, not just to find out results, but to read reports on the competitions, professionally written. It will certainly be for the benefit of our sport.

See Mike's first post - a preview of this weekend's European Qualifying Competition - here. The draw may be found here.

Mike hard at work on the media bench at the European Championships in Fussen last year. Pic by Bob.

Seeing the stones move

Perhaps it is a consequence of getting older, but occasionally these days something that I hear, or see, triggers a whole host of long suppressed memories! A follower of this blog brought my attention to some fabulous online footage of junior curling in Poland, in the venue for the European Youth Olympic Festival next February, see our recent post here. The curling rink will be constructed within the gymnasium of the Bielsko Mechanic School, in the town of Bielsko-Biala, near Krakow. The sports hall floor will be covered with special refrigerated mats, on which the ice for the curling will be laid.

It was seeing the wallbars surrounding the rink which triggered memories of hanging upside down during school gym lessons all these years ago! I'm sure our gym master had the best of intentions, but I don't really have fond memories of gym periods all these years ago! I was almost completely put off all sporting activities... but then the school started up a curling club, and the rest is history!

Looking at the footage above just confirms in my mind that webcasting of curling events will play a big part in our sport's future. Things are a bit confused at the moment. There's the excellent CurlTV of course, with the archive of games to watch and learn from if you have a subscription. I personally haven't had much success with the live Curlingkanalen webcasts, such as those from the Oslo Cup, reflecting I presume the bandwidth considerations that are key in this area. The archive footage (see here) is watchable though. Have a look too at what is happening in the area of internet TV of curling in Switzerland (here) in association with the WCT-e.

In Scotland there is a lot of interest in webcasting, to judge from the posts on the Scottish Curling Forum last season. Big ideas from the Royal Caledonian Curling Club seem to have come to naught. I recently asked Colin Grahamslaw, the Royal Club CEO, what progress had been made. His reply was, "We had been working with a company who had a potential backer on board who would have picked up the costs but the current market state has put an end to that option." Could something be done in-house for the main RCCC competitions? Colin notes, "The main issue with the Scottish (Championship) is pushing BBC to take an early decision as to what they are doing and then releasing the web rights back to us." Watch this space, but why am I thinking, don't hold your breath!

The World Curling Federation sees the future though, and we can expect developments here. President Les Harrison was interviewed on The Curling Show during the summer, and was predicting that the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Cortina next year was a candidate as an event to be webcast. With the huge investment that the WCF has made with its own television production company WCTV, webcasting would seem a natural next step.

Others are moving ahead at home. Alex and Andrew Mitchell pioneered webcasting of the Ramada Perth Masters some years ago, and will be doing so again in January. (Note that the draw for the Perth WCT-e event is now online, see here). Alex is the technical brains behind these endeavours and his expertise has been recruited to provide webcasts for the inaugural WCT-e Edinburgh International next month. The Dunvegan Junior events are at Murrayfield this coming weekend. The Edinburgh International Organising Committee has asked permission to film some of the Dunvegan games as a trial run for their own event in November. During the close season, static cameras were placed directly over both ends of three of Murrayfield’s seven sheets in preparation for filming. In addition, moving hand-held cameras will be deployed at both ice and bar level.

Cameras will be operated by junior volunteers and the whole operation will be coordinated by Alex Mitchell who is currently working on the perennial problem of picture quality when a webcast is highly subscribed. The trial filming of the Dunvegan Trophy games will give him valuable data in his quest for the answer to the problem.

Catherine Dodds, the organiser of this season’s Dunvegan Trophy for Under 21 curlers, reports that the competition entry lists for both the Ladies and Gents competitions are full - eight junior teams will compete in both competitions.

Both competitions will be run in the same way. The eight teams will be split into two sections of four with each team being guaranteed three games on the Saturday. The winners and runners-up from each section will progress to the Sunday knock-out stages. Semifinals will be played on Sunday morning with the finals of both competitions taking place on Sunday afternoon. The total prize fund for the competitions is £1000.

RCCC Adult Camp

I hear great things about the first Royal Caledonian Curling Club adult camp weekend at Kinross. Sixteen curlers took part last Friday to Sunday. The camp was organised by RCCC Development Manager Judith McFarlane, with Ena Stevenson and Sheila Swan.

The ‘Curly Wurly’ team of Avril Glencross, Andy Taylor, Peter Malcolm and Lesley Low were the stars of the weekend!

Judith says, "Thank you to all the staff at the Green Hotel, the Windlestrae and the curling rink for providing great facilities and contributing to the success of the weekend."

The photo is courtesy of Judith McFarlane (that's her on the right) with Sandy Morgan, Les Morgan, Allan MacLennan, Robert Stewart, Keith Anderson, Avril Glencross, Andy Taylor, Jacqui Taylor, Ronnie McDonald, Ian McDonald, Peter Malcolm, Mike Watt, Paul Lyden, Pat Lyden, Marion Malcolm and Leslie Low. Ena is also in the pic, on the left.

Vernon delay

I posted on Friday (here) that I hoped that I would see some resolution soon of the issues arising from the Ford World Women's Championship in Vernon.

The Chairman of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Bob Tait, has just released (see here) the following on the governing body's website: "Further to my statement of 7 August I regret to advise that the report by the Independent Investigator has not been completed by the due date of 5 September. The Investigator has asked for more time as witness interviews have been affected by pre-arranged holidays and other commitments, not wholly anticipated when the timescale was set. A further update will be provided as soon as possible."

The saga continues.

Vernon investigation report soon

Friday, September 5 is today's date. Significant? Remember that laywer Michael Nicholson of Harper Macleod was charged with conducting an independent investigation into the events that resulted in the Scottish team at the Ford World Women’s Curling Championships at Vernon in March 2008 playing two games with three players, and the events in Vernon following each of these games. By the end of today Nicholson is due to have sent a copy of his report to Bob Tait, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's Chairman, see here.

So, when might we expect to know the outcome of Nicholson's investigation? The Royal Club's statement on August 7 said, "The report will also be circulated by the Investigator to all Scottish team players at the event, the National Coach, the Team Coach, Support staff and the RCCC representative at the event. The report will also be placed on the RCCC website no earlier than 48 hours after it was sent to the parties."

I am looking forward to reading this report, whenever it appears, with some dread. Can we hope that it will provide a satisfactory conclusion to the Vernon issues? Or will it just be another chapter in this dark saga of Scottish curling?

Funding for Scots abroad

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club Board of Directors have agreed to increase support for teams representing Scotland at the European Mixed, World Mixed Doubles and World Senior Championships.

The RCCC statement says, "Whilst the Performance Committee continue to look at a longer term solution to the question of funding for the teams representing Scotland in these events the Board agreed to a series of adjustments to the budget for the coming season. The changes to the budgets follow a regular review of the finances of the Royal Club and with additional funding having been secured in various areas including support from City of Edinburgh Council for RCCC Competitions in Edinburgh and an increase in the entry fee for the Scottish Seniors and projected savings in operational and governance costs the following allocations have been set aside for the teams travelling to the events.

European Mixed Championships, Austria: £2000 (including £200 prize money from Curl Aberdeen)
World Mixed Doubles Championships, Italy: £1000
World Seniors Championships, New Zealand: £4000 per team

This is in addition to the support which is already given in the areas of entry fees, team uniforms and travel insurance."

The full statement, including a quote from CEO Colin Grahamslaw, is here.

Top: Scotland's representatives at the European Mixed Championships in Kitzbuhel will be the first to benefit from the Board's decision. L-R: Alan Smith, Gillian Howard, Karen Strang and David Mundell. Photo by Bob.

Summer camp

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club summer camp, the first of two this year, is underway this week using ice at the Galleon Centre, Kilmarnock, and the facilities of the Dolphin House outdoor education centre at Culzean Castle. Judith McFarlane, the RCCC Development Manager, is the organiser.

Twenty-seven youngsters, aged 13-16, were already enjoying themselves, and learning more about our sport, when I saw them on Monday. After the morning at the rink, coasteering, exploring the caves at Culzean, archery and mountain biking, all with the Dolphin House instructors, were on offer in the afternoon. Here are a few photos to capture the flavour of the day!

Top: the campers.

Serious time on the ice - Fraser Davidson and Kyle Waddell!

Rachel Hannen.

Judith with her group at the Galleon.

Fun things to do on the ice!

Craig Waddell demonstrates his archery skills.

Off underground!

The coaches: L-R Albert Middler, Judith McFarlane, Marion Murdoch, Laura Morris.
Photos by Bob.

Vernon: July's Editorial

I rarely write editorial content in this blog. I much enjoy reporting on factual curling news in Scotland and around the world, most of that positive and enjoyable. Comment is best in the magazine. But this is July, and the Scottish Curler is in its close season! So please forgive this blog post. Call it, if you will, a 'summer editorial'.

You see, I am annoyed and frustrated about how the Royal Caledonian Curling Club Board has tackled the Vernon issues, and failed to keep members informed about what's going on. You remember the story. Scotland fielded three players for the last couple of games at the Ford Women's World Championship in Vernon.

Why did this happen? An initial explanation was posted on the Royal Club website, then promptly changed, then changed for a third time. Initially, Lyndsay Wilson was made to appear as the person solely responsible - an inference that is so obviously not the complete story. Unfortunately, she remains in the eyes of many as the guilty party. I thought in this country we had a presumption of innocence, and guilt had to be proved?

An independent enquiry was promised. Months have gone by. You can read my last 'Vernon update' on May 13 here. Official complaints were made. Vague comments have been issued, most recently at the Royal Caledonian Curling Club AGM on June 9 (here), that a 'conduct panel' had been convened and had submitted a report. But the 14,000 members of the Club have been left wondering if they are ever going to find out what went wrong, and if lessons have been learned so that a similar situation will never happen again.

Why am I writing this now? The new Board of Directors is due to meet for the first time on Wednesday. Bob Tait (who is the new chairman), Colin Grahamslaw (the CEO), Irene Hird, Jeanette Johnston, Anne Malcolm, Lockhart Steele, Matt Murdoch (the new RCCC President) and Willie Nicol (the most recently elected Director) will have lots of things to discuss. But I hope that the Vernon controversy, and its resolution, is top of the agenda.

I would like to see a statement issued following Wednesday's meeting that confirms that an independent enquiry is underway. Note my emphasis on independent. Not an internal enquiry, not a 'we've had a report' and we're moving on, not a whitewash. Why the promised independent enquiry has never taken place (apparently), I cannot understand. I firmly believe that the Royal Club has treated us (its members) like young children. I find this reprehensible. That has to stop now. The Royal Club Board of Directors has not handled the Vernon controversy very well. Let me change that. The Board has handled it very badly indeed by not being open about its actions, and especially in leaving the presumption of blame totally on Lyndsay's shoulders.

It's a new Board. A fresh start. Time for change in attitude? I do hope so.

I hope the Directors read this. If you know a Board member, email them and tell them what I've written. These are our elected representatives, don't forget that. If you know an Area Standing Committee, or Ladies' Standing Committee representative, tell them too! "Bob's written a summer 'editorial'. Do you agree with what he says?"

I simply want to know what's going on, and, I suspect, so do you.

Most of all I want to have pride in the curling teams that wear Scotland's colours - whether they win or lose. I want to have confidence in all the coaching and backup staff. And I want to respect our governing body, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. And, I suspect, so do you.

Contrasting views are always welcome. You can comment below, of course, but the Scottish Curling Forum is probably the better place.

The way ahead for the Royal Club

I drove home from the Royal Club AGM last month much depressed, and trying to work out where had it all gone wrong. Three years ago, curling's governing body in Scotland underwent a major re-organisation. At the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock on June 18, 2005, 180 club representatives voted in favour of the changes, with only five voting against. A Board of Directors was to be elected, on the basis of skills and knowledge they possessed, rather than where they came from. The mood at Kilmarnock was very positive.

Three years on, there are major rifts within the membership, and the mood is anything but positive. What has brought the problems to the surface has been the Board's determination to tackle how members should be represented in decision making processes. A Representative Review Working Group has been considering the problem. Under the Board (currently made up of three men and three women, plus the CEO and the Royal Club President) there are two main committees. The Area Standing Committee, with its members, both men and women, drawn from Areas which derive from the traditional division of clubs into Provinces, and the Ladies' Standing Committee which is made up of representatives of ladies' clubs, based around ice rinks.

At Cumbernauld last month there was much discussion about the consultations of the Representative Review Working Group. The concept that there should be just one Royal Club Standing Committee, doing away with the current Ladies' Committee, makes sense to many.

But not to all. Battle lines have been drawn. Ladies' Branch President Sheila Miller spoke passionately, referring to how the Ladies' Branch President used to be a member of the old RCCC Executive. She said, "We need to retain both standing committees and promote more interaction." She continued, "The vast majority of our members are determined that Ladies' Branch will survive. I see no advantage in having a single Royal Club Standing Committee to replace the two existing Standing Committees. In my view the status quo should remain."

And are members of the Area Standing Committee happy? Not a bit of it. Many see that their functions have been taken over by the Board, and they have been made redundant! They see that the Board should look after the business of curling, and the Area Standing Committee should run the sport in the country.

After the AGM, the new Board met: Lockhart Steele, Colin Grahamslaw (CEO), Bob Tait, Anne Malcolm, Irene Hird, Jeanette Johnston, Willie Nicolland Matt Murdoch (President), with Vice-president Bill Marshall in attendance. Bob Tait was elected as the Chairman. The minutes of that meeting, just published (here), give just a hint of what lies ahead.

The Board confirmed it was their intention to hold more joint meetings of the Board with the Area Standing Committee AND the Ladies Standing Committee. A meeting in October has been suggested to look at the outcomes from the Representative Review Working Group. Consultation on that continues until the end of August.

The Board agreed to trial Question and Answer sessions at four ice rinks across the country. These will give club curlers the opportunity to quiz Directors. Will these be a useful communication exercise, or will the sessions foster confrontation? I wonder.

The next meeting of the Board will be on July 23 to discuss a report from the Facilities Sub Group. A decision on the location of the preferred bidder for the National Curling Academy may be made then.

Let's hope we hear what's going to happen about the Vernon investigation then too!

L-R: Bill Marshall, Willie Nicoll, Lockhart Steele, Anne Malcolm, Bob Tait, Irene Hird, Colin Grahamslaw, Jeanette Johnston, Matt Murdoch. Pic by Bob.

Competitions' entry for new season

Have you entered yet? The closing date for Scotland's main curling competitions next season is Monday, June 30. So if you want to play in the Columba Cream Scottish Ladies' Championship, the Bruadar Scottish Men's, the Scottish Juniors, Mini Tour Men, Mini Tour Ladies, the Scottish Senior Mixed, the Scottish Seniors, the National Masters, the Scottish Mixed Doubles, or the Henderson Bishop, then you have very little time left to get your team's entry to Cairnie House. Entry forms can be downloaded here, or you can contact the Royal Club HQ by phone or email (details here).

Although the U-17 Slam events are already underway, teams can still sign up for the remaining four competitions. Monday is the deadline.

The entries for the Scottish Mixed do not close until November 30, 2008, and for the new Double Rink Championship for club teams until July 30.

It will be interesting to see how many teams enter for the various events. That will say something about the health of the competitive game in this country. There are unusual circumstances this season too. Clashes of dates with the World Universiade and the European Youth Olympics, and the fact that the Seniors' Championships are in New Zealand, with no guarantee of governing body help to cover costs, may see decreased entry numbers.

Entries for the Scottish Ladies' Championship (formerly called the Gold League) continue to decline. This year there will not even be a qualifying competition. But one bit of good news. A new team will take to the ice! Mairi Milne, who last season played fourth stones for Edith Loudon, takes the head now, with her sister Claire at third, Katie Loudon as second and Lynn Cameron as lead. Curling Today is not usually one for predictions but I will be surprised if this team is not up there challenging Team Wood and Team Munro! I look forward to the first round of games in this event - at Curl Aberdeen, November 21-23. The full competitions calendar is here.

Mairi Milne at the Gold League finals last season by Bob.

The happiest day of the year

This is the equation: O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He, where O is time spent outdoors, N is time spent in nature, S is socialization in the summer, Cpm relates to positive memories of childhood summers and T is temperature.

Happiest day of the year? That was today (June 20) according to Cliff Arnall, a Welsh psychologist. You may remember him from his 'work' on Blue Monday ie January 21 this year which he described as the most depressing day of the year (actually that was last Saturday's RCCC AGM, but I digress). Arnall has come up with the above formula to determine the best day of the year. How was it for you? I had a great day. I visited the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston. My enjoyment of course really had nothing to do with Arnall's nonsense!

Ingliston of course is where Cairnie House, the headquarters of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, is located, and of course a warm hospitable welcome awaited members, as well as anyone interested in finding out more about the sport, who stopped by. When I was there today, the stand was being manned by Matt Murdoch, RCCC President and Ladies' Branch President Sheila Miller, both kept in order by Claire Milne (Perthshire and Dundee ACDO), Judith McFarlane (Development Manager), Lynne Robertson (National Coaching Officer) and Sheila Swan (National Disability Officer). Coffee was on offer with home baking (courtesy of Jenny Stark), and there was even something stronger, courtesy of Scottish Championship sponsor, the Scottish Liqueur Centre. Zander McIlwham of Curling Supplies was on the stand too, with a selection of curling equipment.

I met Emma Sunderland, the Royal Club's Communications and Marketing Officer, who has taken over from Annette Williams who is on maternity leave. That's Emma on the left.

There was one other pleasant thing I had to do, yet sad too, and that was to say goodbye to Duthie Thompson who is leaving the governing body after fourteen years. He served firstly as Secretary/Treasurer and then latterly as Manager of Finance and Administration. Happy retirement Duthie!

Now, the rest of the day was enjoyable too - it was outdoors, in natural surroundings (well, sort of), the sun was shining and there was abundant socialising! Plug all that into the equation, but don't forget to subtract the number you first thought of. (What's the He? No it's not the sound of laughter, it stands for 'Holiday expected'!)

One other curling encounter in the Show was in the Handicrafts Competition. In the class for a traditional basket (any basketmaking technique), Bryce Reynard from Inverness won first prize for his reproduction of a curling stone basket, which were used to transport your stones to games outside a hundred years or so ago. For his efforts on such an unusual subject Bryce also won the Scottish Basketmakers Circle Prize.

Yes, it may not have been the happiest day of the year, but it was a good one!

Top: The Royal Club stand outside Cairnie House at the Royal Highland Show. Above: Emma Sunderland; Duthie Thompson; the display of baskets in the Handicrafts Competition; close up of Bryce Reynard's winning curling stone basket - complete with a modern handle!; An original basket with stone which is in the collection of the Highland Folk Museum at their reproduction of a curling hut at Newtonmore. Photos by Bob.

New rule to limit damage to ice

Study the photos! They illustrate a practice which has now been identified as inappropriate in the sport of curling. I apologise to those in the pics, as I don't mean to single out these potential 'offenders' from the many in Scotland last season, from Juniors through to Masters. But the photos illustrate a new rule which was passed at the Royal Club AGM last Saturday.

It replaces the rule which said, "No player shall use footwear or equipment which may damage the surface of the ice." The new regulation says, "No player shall cause damage to the ice surface due to equipment, hand and/or body prints."

Taking photos of curlers and curling this past season I have seen fingers and hands on the ice frequently. And those that play at the highest level now recognise that this can damage the pebble, leading to an increased number of picks, the scourge of the game. Curling's administrators have moved to legislate against the practice.

The new rule has now been adopted for Scottish curling, and Colin Hamilton, the Royal Club's Competitions Manager, has confirmed that the regulation will also be in the new World Curling Federation rulebook, which is eagerly awaited but has yet to be published.

So, if you offend, what are the sanctions? They are severe. The RCCC rulebook now says, "A player may be ejected from a game if continually breaking this rule: see 6 (b) under Royal Club Competitions General Rules and Conditions Dispute & Discipline."

It will be interesting to see how stringently the umpires in Scotland and at International events will enforce it! Will we see players being sent off next season?

Top: Ice technician of the year Tom Brewster, and Mary Barr. Above: Claire Hamilton, Kirsty Letton, and Warwick Smith. Photos by Bob Cowan and Richard Gray.

Another Vernon update

I have not found it easy to make sense of what has been happening in the past two months. But an update is overdue. Here is my, probably inadequate, attempt at an explanation.

National coach Derek Brown, who was in overall charge of the Scottish squad at the Ford World Women's Curling Championship in Vernon, British Columbia, in March, will face a Royal Club 'Conduct Panel' next Monday. This results from the complaint lodged against him by Gail Munro and Lyndsay Wilson, who were initially blamed by Brown for the fiasco which saw Scotland field just three players for the last two round robin matches in Canada.

Brown had lodged complaints against Munro and Wilson, and the two women will also face a 'Conduct Panel'.

The investigation into the complaints has been led by Frank Gill, a lawyer with Anderson Strathern, who was asked to take this role as the 'responsible officer', as RCCC Vice-president Matt Murdoch had to declare a conflict of interest (see previous post here).

The procedures being followed are laid out in a document entitled: 'Ethics Manual:
RCCC's policies and procedures for an ethical sport'. There is a section therein which relates to 'Policy and procedure for dealing with the conduct of participants'.

There is no precedent. Nothing like this has happened in recent years.

Gill had to decide whether the complaints had merit. If so he had two choices - either to investigate further, or that 'disciplinary action against the participant is warranted', in which case he had to call a formal hearing or 'Conduct Panel'. He has apparently decided on the latter course of action.

Note the use of the words 'disciplinary action' here. I find this strange. It implies that Gill, acting as the RCCC's responsible officer, has already acted as judge and jury and that both parties are 'guilty' of something. However the role of the Conduct Panel is wide ranging to investigate the complaints. It would appear that everything is still at an investigation stage. Witnesses can be present or submit written evidence to the Conduct Panel.

Gill's last act has been to select the members of the Panel from a list of qualified individuals made up from curlers, Board members, Area Standing Committee and Ladies Standing Committee members. His choice to take things further are Sheriff Richard Scott (formerly Sheriff of Borders and Lothians at Edinburgh, and founder member of Abbotsford Curling Society), Ewan Malcolm (a lawyer, now with Consensus Mediation and a former Murrayfield coach) and Pam MacKay (director of curlingshoes.com, a well respected curling supply business).

That's Gill's job over, apparently.

When the Conduct Panel has finished its investigation it can apply wide disciplinary sanctions, ranging from a written reprimand to termination of RCCC membership, or indeed 'Any other sanction(s) deemed appropriate in the circumstances'.

The stakes then are high. Munro and Wilson's future participation in the sport. Brown's credibility to continue as National Coach.

Will we know anything immediately after the Conduct Panel first hearing next Monday, or even before the Royal Club AGM on June 14? This is not likely, as the procedures say, 'No publication of a decision or sanction shall take place until the time for appeal has expired or an appeal has been decided.' And the Ethics Manual has an appeals procedure, with timelines. But if it goes to appeals, any anouncement could be delayed considerably.

What concerns me is that nowhere in all this has there been the promised 'independent enquiry' into what went wrong in Vernon - why it happened, and what lessons can be learned so that such a thing never happens again. That's what curlers in Scotland want to know.

I asked RCCC Board Chairman Mike Ferguson where we are with this. He says, "After the proceedings are fully complete, the Board will be conducting a comprehensive review, seeking advice as required. I am sure you can appreciate timings cannot be confirmed at this stage, however both the recommendations and any subsequent alterations to our procedures will be published."

Want to be the Royal Club's Vice-president?

Back in February 22, Curling Today reported that no-one had put their name forward for nomination as the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's Vice-president, and we discussed what might happen at the AGM on June 14.

A solution to the crisis has now been proposed, but you have to be familiar with time paradoxes to really understand what has to happen. I'll try and explain, although I did have to seek clarification myself from CEO Colin Grahamslaw before getting to grips with it! The essence though is simple - introduce a Special Resolution at the AGM to allow late nominations for the post to be accepted.

The problem is that voting for the position is carried out by representative members at the AGM, and not by postal vote as are the Board Directorships. So, nominations must be received in advance of the AGM date. If nominations are received, an election can be held IF the Special Resolution is passed on June 14.

The full text of the Special Resolution is here, but if you haven't seen it yet, just read the first part: (a) Article 5.3 shall be amended by the insertion of an additional sentence at the end to say “For the Annual General Meeting held in 2008, nominations for election called for in terms of Article 5.7 shall be lodged with the Royal Club by 6th June 2008.”

So what the representative members will be voting for on June 14 is for something to have happened weeks before that. Dr Who fans will have no problem with this, I'm sure!

In fact one nomination, for Bill Marshall, has been received already. If you know someone else who would like to serve, then you have until June 6 to get your nomination to Cairnie House.

And if the above has put you in the mood to exercise your democratic rights, you can now vote for your choices for the Gala Awards on the RCCC website here!

Bill Marshall's photo is by Jan Howard