Bits and pieces

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The curling season shows no sign of slowing down, as my diary reminds me. So here are some serious bits and pieces to be thinking of over the next few days.

Firstly, don't forget that the World Juniors begin today (Thursday) in Vancouver. Tuesday's preview is here. Follow the links in that post to find out what is happening in Vancouver.

Later today the Scottish Masters, the over-60s, gets underway at the Greenacres Rink. Both men's and women's events will be played. Twelve teams, two sections in each competition. First stones get thrown at 1.30 pm. I will have some photos from the event at some point. Find the results here.

On Saturday and Sunday the Overs and Unders (or is it the Unders and Overs) is at Braehead. This is a Ladies' Branch initiative to encourage some of our girls to play with their peers. Ten teams are signed up, in two sections. The results will be here.

On Friday, the Allister Boyd Charity Curling Bonspiel is at Ayr Ice Rink in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust and CLIC Sargent. Lots of items for auction, and to win in the raffle. See here.

Also on Friday, female wheelies get together with the ABs at Hamilton to celebrate International Women's day. This has been a great success for the past two years and I hope it will be as much fun again this time. It is hosted by the South Lanarkshire Wheelchair Curling Club in association with the SWCA and the RCCC. The event has again received funding from the Scottish Community Foundation Women's Fund for Scotland.

Moving on, did you see that the draw for a next season event is available here? Actually, it is the first of the U-17 Slam events, at Perth, April 8-9. Sixteen teams have signed up for the first of the group of U-17 competitions at Perth, Greenacres, Lockerbie and Hamilton. There has been talk of a further event next season - Forfar and Braehead have both been mentioned, but the RCCC Competitions Manager Colin Hamilton could not confirm either of these when I asked him earlier this week.

The Slam winners usually go off to the WCF Junior Camp in Fussen as their prize. Such is the popularity of the WCF camp that the Royal Club is organising its own Homecoming Scotland International Junior Camp, July 19-25, in Dumfries. I've enthused about this before on the blog, see here, and entry is now open. Follow this link to contact Judith McFarlane, the Royal Club's Development Officer, for details. This new international camp will cater for a slightly older group (16-21) than the successful summer camps at Dolphin House. I know this blog is read in many European countries - hopefully curlers there will see the ad and come to this part of Scotland in July! April 3 is the deadline being shown for applications. The cost is £400 per curler - this includes accommodation, meals, tee-shirt, activities and course instruction. A minimum of thirty-two junior curlers is needed, and maximum is sixty-four. First come, first served.

Lastly, can I draw your attention to the grand plans that a group of enthusiasts have for a sports centre in Aviemore. This would include a separate curling facility, perhaps just three sheets. Only ideas yet, but some optimism is needed these days, and let's hope that it will all happen some time in the future! I have happy memories of curling at the old Aviemore rink many years ago. The website for the venture is here. And no, I've not even going to complain that the only photo of a curler that could be found for the website header is that of Germany's Andrea Schopp! Curling Today would happily supply a Scottish pic.

And a final treat for those oldies out there who remember the Chalet Motel trophy at Aviemore, here are some more bits and pieces! Enjoy.

This promotional postcard was being distributed recently.

The pressure will be on Kelly

Gail Munro (above) may well be the reigning Scottish Champion with a new team for this season's Columba Cream Scottish Women's Curling Championship, but it will be Kelly Wood's side who I suspect will be feeling the pressure at Curl Aberdeen this weekend. Kelly, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood are off to the European Championships as Scotland's representatives next month, having edged Edith Loudon's team in a five game playoff, described here.

With Edith now retired, Mairi Milne, Claire Milne, Lynn Cameron and Katie Loudon are the new girls on the block this weekend. They played together in Oslo early in the season and are undoubtedly a team with the potential to be in the mix when it comes to the final rounds of the Championship next February. No prize for guessing who the Milne team plays in their first game at 12.30 this Saturday - it's Team Wood!

Wood's other games this weekend are against Judith McFarlane, Sarah Reid and Gillian Howard.

After Vernon, Gail and Lyndsay Wilson have had to find a new front end. Just who has been a secret until now - mimicking a tactic used by the GB Squad of not naming the team prior to the competition, keeping the opposition guessing. So, who will line up for Munro at Curl Aberdeen on Saturday? Curling Today can exclusively reveal that.............. xxxxx xxxxx will be lead, and xxxxxx xxxxxxx will be second! (I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you!)

Sadly, getting the December Scottish Curler ready to go to press will keep me away from Aberdeen this weekend. Ah well, I can look forward to the day when such events are webcast to one and all! In the meantime, I'll be following the results on the Royal Club website here, and you can also read Mike Haggerty's preview here.

Actually, I would like to be at Aberdeen for tomorrow's Q&A session (5pm and 6pm Friday evening at the curling rink), an opportunity for members to sit down with Bob Tait, the Royal Club Chairman. There are lots of questions even before this takes place, like 'Why should there be a need for such an event?' As I've said before, I wonder if anyone will turn up?

I found the atmosphere at the last AGM particularly acrimonious, and I would hope that this does not carry forward to what is really a positive and forward looking initiative by the Royal Club Board. It's good to talk!

Elsewhere, life goes on on the ice. I note that Germany and China have qualified for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship from the special ten country qualifying competition that has been going on this week in Prague. Germany and China will now join Canada, Korea, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and USA in Vancouver.

Sadly, Japan did not. You may remember that it was only the matter of a few centimetres which kept Scotland in the main world event after the competition in Sursee last season when relegation was decided on the basis of the draw shot challenge results rather than extra games. Japan was the country that lost out then. They did compete in Prague, finishing in sixth place with a 4-5 win-loss record. The linescores are here, and the summary report here.

At Greenacres, the qualifying rounds of the men's Scottish Masters Championship (for over 60s) have been taking place. Six sections of five, four games each, to find the top two in each section. Twelve teams progress to the finals next March. Teams skipped by the following have won through: Gifford Rickard, Walter Brown, William Shanks, Jim Stevenson, Ian Dykes, John Phillips, Bob Smellie, Michael Sutherland, Jim Bryson, David Smith, Jack Steven and Sandy Reid. Find all the scores here.

Twelve womens' teams are directly through to the finals which are again at the Greenacres Rink, March 5-8.

This weekend the last of the men's Mini Tour events takes place at the Galleon Centre. Find the draw for that, and follow the results, here. That's quite a section with Hammy McMillan, Alan Smith, Graham Shaw and Andrew Reid. Hammy won in Lockerbie. Can he rack up a second win in Kilmarnock and win the Colin Galbraith Trophy. We shall see!

And did you notice that the GB Squads are going to benefit from sponsorship from Primary General, and were on the ice in a public relations role yesterday? Read the story here.

Gail Munro's photo is by Richard Gray.

Weekend roundup

(1) Well done to Kelly Wood, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood who reached the final of the Berne Ladies WCT-e event at the weekend. The girls played nine games in total, losing an A road game to Switzerland's Mirjam Ott, but coming through B to get to the quarterfinals. There they beat Canada's Shannon Kleibrink and then Germany's Andrea Schopp in the semi to reach the final. They fell to Kelly Scott's World Champs in the last game.

Sarah Reid and her team played seven, won three and lost four, one of which was to Claire Milne's side who also played seven games winning four and losing three. All the results from Berne can be found here.

(2) David Murdoch, Logan Gray and John Hamilton are all undefeated in Section A after four games of the Bruadar Scottish Championship qualifiers at Perth. Scott Hamilton beat Warwick Smith to be undefeated in Section B, but has played one game less than David Edwards and Warwick who are both on 3-1 records. In Section C Gordon Muirhead and Alan Smith are undefeated after three rounds. And in Section D Tom Brewster is the lone undefeated side after four games. All the scores are here. The next rounds are in two weeks time.

(3) In the House of Bruar Scottish Senior Men's Championship, Iain Baxter, Gordon Butler, Graeme Adam, Bob Smellie, Jim Beckett and Gary Macfarlane are the six qualifiers from Greenacres. Further qualifiers will come from Aberdeen next weekend. All the results are here.

(4) The last qualifiers for the National Masters (over 60s) have now been determined. The details are here. Jim Stevenson, John Young, Ian Dykes, and Sandy Reid join those teams qualified in November (Bobby Rae, Jackson Robb, William Jack, Sandy Wilson, Jimmy Johnson, Gifford Rickard, Jim Beckett and Richie Knox) for the National Finals March 5-9.

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.