Scottish Junior Championships

Scotland's junior curling teams have been looking towards this week all season, as the Scottish Junior Championships get underway at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth tomorrow. There are eleven teams in the junior women's event, as there were no qualifying competitions. These teams will play in two sections and the top four in each will fight it out to semis and final. Exactly how, I have no idea. Check out the draw, here. Clear as mud to me, but when I get to Perth I'm sure it will all become clear, and of course I'll explain here.

Who is favourite? Eve Muirhead, above, is the Scottish and World Champion skip. She is fast becoming (or should that be already is) the country's most talented player. Her senior team is top of the rankings in the Columba Cream Scottish. Her junior team is Sarah Macintyre (lead), Vicki Adams (second) and Anna Sloan (third). The four have not had a lot of opportunity to play together this season, but they are undoubtedly the team to beat. Who can do that? Claire Hamilton's team of Caitlin Barr, Rhiann Macleod and Lauren Gray have the potential. We shall see!

The junior men's field has already been reduced to eight after a qualifying round. There will be a round robin beginning on Wednesday with a single semifinal and final on Sunday. Glen Muirhead is the reigning champion, with former rival Greg Drummond now at third, Scott Macleod at second and Scott Andrews at lead. This team had the unenviable task of securing Scotland's place at the World Juniors in Vancouver, and this they accomplished in style (see here). Glen will be keen to get back to the world event to show that his side have much more in them than they were able to produce in Sweden last season.

Who else will challenge? Graeme Black's team have had a great season. Jamie Dick's team qualified for the Bruadar Scottish Finals, although they are not in the draw which has just been published and can be found here. The reason has not been officially announced as I write this but two of the team are involved in the World University Games and in the European Youth Olympics that week. However, the full team - Colin Dick, Lindsay Gray and Michael Goodfellow - will have their full attention on capturing the Scottish Junior title.

Junior curling is passionate, exciting and unpredictable. I love it! Can't wait. Weather permitting, I hope I'll be able to make some posts from Perth this week.

Top: Eve Muirhead. Above: Glen Muirhead

Pics by Bob

Finals day

The stage is set!

Anna Sloan and Eve Muirhead

Greg Drummond

Eve Muirhead

James Dunn in the head, with Glen Muirhead and Scott Macleod watching behind.

Vicki Adams

Caitlin Barr

Scott Andrews
Rhiann Macleod

Vicki Adams and Sarah Macintyre

Lauren Gray

Anna Sloan

Kerr Drummond and Thomas Pendreigh

Kerry Barr

Scott Andrews and Gordon McDougall

Brother and sister Champions - Glen and Eve Muirhead

A day in the life of a junior championship

What is Susan Kesley saying to her team here? L-R Gina Aitken, Rebecca Kesley, Abi Brown and Mhairi Baird. How about, "I used to release my inturns like this." Or, "Just put it ANYWHERE!"

Making Bob happy. Daffodils at Perth.

Ally Fraser, Colin Howden and Grant Fraser have a pow wow.

Louise MacColl, Emma Craig and Jennifer Martin.

Michael Goodfellow

Kerry Barr. Grrrrrrrrr.

Lindsay Gray, as Ian Copland checks what time the cafe closes.

The youngest competitor, fourteen year old Gina Aitken, discusses the finer points of member representation in the Royal Caledonian Curling Club with teammates Mhairi Baird and Rebecca Kesley.

Kerr Drummond and Thomas Pendreigh, staunch members of the Front End Union.

It's a long way from the coaches' positions in the club lounge to the ice area. Here Marion Murdoch completes the 400 metre dash to talk to Hannah Fleming's team at a timeout!

Photos by Bob.

Sunshine at Perth

The play in the Scottish Junior Championships got underway at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth today. Eve Muirhead's team had a lovely surprise for this grumpy old editor! Their new uniforms are a delight for all those who subscribe to the 'Black OUT' and 'Ban the Drab' campaigns to bring more colour back into the sport of curling.

Well done girls, and I promise not to reveal how much they cost in the sale!

More pics to follow later. In the meantime you can see all the results here.

L-R: Eve Muirhead, Kerry Barr, Vicki Adams and Sarah Macintyre. Photo by Bob.

Scottish Junior Championships

I'm looking forward to the Scottish Junior Championship finals which get underway tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Dewar's Rinks in Perth. This competition usually sees the most passion and excitement on and off the ice! You can find the draw here, and the results here.

No, I'm not going to pick my favourites. Suffice to say that the supported squad teams are those skipped by Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan and Claire Hamilton in the girls' event, and Glen Muirhead, Jamie Dick and Greg Drummond in the boys'. Will there be an upset?

A large crowd watched Sarah Reid's last stone to win the final last season, as seen in Richard Gray's photograph. Here Sarah Macintyre and Barbara McFarlane sweep the tap back through the port to remove Team Morrison's counter.

Junior championship gets underway

Twenty-one junior men's teams play off at Ayr this weekend to find the top eight who will contest the Scottish Junior Championship, February 5-10. The winners then will be Scotland's representatives in the World Junior Championship in Ostersund, Sweden, March 1-9.

At Ayr the teams have been seeded into four sections, two to qualify from each. The draw is here. Junior curling is notoriously hard to predict, but it should be fairly safe to say that Jamie Dick and his team of Andrew Noble, Colin Dick and Andrew Williamson (pictured here) will get though to the finals. Jamie was runner up to Logan Gray last season. Logan is now too old for juniors, having taken the title three years in a row, although his younger brother Lindsay will be looking to be in Perth for the finals again this season.

Glen Muirhead's side of Scott Macleod, Scott Andrews and Gordon McDougall have been the most successful of all the junior teams so far this season. See them here. Their goal at Ayr is to make sure of qualification for the finals. Greg Drummond, James Dunn, Thomas Pendreigh and Greg Drummond are the other RCCC National Academy team and are expected to qualify too.

Only eight junior women's teams entered for the Scottish this season and all are through to the finals next month at Perth.

Jamie Dick's photo from last season's Scottish Championship is by Richard Gray. Gordon McDougall, Glen Muirhead and Scott Andrews discuss options in the final of the Lockerbie Junior Invitation last month. Photo by Bob.

Looking ahead to 2008 finals

The draws for the Scottish Masters (the over 60s) Championships, the Scottish Seniors (over 50s) Championships, and the Scottish Juniors (under 21) Championships have now been posted on the Royal Caledonian Curling Club website.

Looking at the Masters draws first of all, thirty-four teams have entered the men's qualifiers to be held in two sessions at Greenacres in November and January. Jim Stevenson is the holder and is in the draw again. Thirteen women's teams are straight through to the Scottish Masters Finals at Greenacres, March 5-9. Stirling's Annette MacDonald is the current champion and her team is in the draw for the 2008 event.

Annette will play in the Seniors Championship as well as the Masters. Eighteen teams are entered and are all straight through to Finals which this season are at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton, February 14-17. Another side playing in both Seniors and Masters is that skipped by Kirsty Letton, previously champions in both events. There has to be new women's senior champions this season, Caroline Morris having returned to her native Canada.

In the Men's Seniors, competition is getting tougher. Twenty-seven teams play off in five sections at Greenacres in January, the qualifiers joining those from a six team group at Aberdeen. Scottish and World Champion Keith Prentice is in the draw.

There will be new Junior Men's champions this year, and twenty-one teams set out on that quest at Ayr, January 18-20. The top two in each of the four sections will contest the Junior Championship title at Perth, February 6-10.

Only eight teams have entered the Junior Women's Championship, and all are straight through to the Finals. The holder, and World Champion, Sarah Reid, is too old to defend, although Eve Muirhead, Sarah's third player last season, has put together a new team to challenge.

Photos of Jim and Annette are by Hugh Stewart.