WCF website revamped

As one gets older, one's memory can become a bit suspect! In his seventh decade, the Editor's recall of when and where is definitely no longer as sharp as it once was. Striving to ensure that both the Scottish Curler and this blog are as accurate as they can be (a summit that remains elusively out of reach) it is useful to have a source of facts readily to hand.

And so it has been over the last five years that the historical records on the World Curling Federation's website has been much visited for the answers to questions like, "Where were the Euro Championships in 1984?" "Who represented Canada in the 1994 Men's World Championship?", "How many games did Scotland's junior men win at the World Juniors in 2001?" and "How many times has Kristian Soerum represented Norway in International competitions?"

What a fabulous resource to have online. Paul Ahlgren was the force behind setting this up originally.

Mind you, the WCF website has not been universally liked by those who have used it regularly since its last redesign. So negative has been the feedback that the decision was made to revamp it completely. Not an easy thing to do! The more content a website has, the more difficult a job it is to do a complete redesign. The WCF has tackled the problem and the new website is up and running this morning (here).

First impressions are that it is simpler and easier to use, although there is work yet to be done. I particularly like the fact that the WCF rules are now prominent. Some content is not yet available. Frustratingly the historical records are not yet back online, so there is no need to rush to check your answers to the questions above! "Check back soon," is the exhortation. If anyone from the WCF is listening, please please make this 'soon' soon!

European Championship draw announced

David Murdoch's Scottish side will play Germany and Spain in their opening games at the European Curling Championship in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, on December 6. The draw for the A division has just gone online here.

Kelly Wood's team open their account against the Czech Republic and Russia.

The main function of the Euro event is, of course, to decide which nations will be playing in the World Championships. As the next World Championships are outside of Europe, the top seven highest ranked Associations from the A group, plus the winner of the 'ECC World Challenge', will qualify. The 'ECC World Challenge' involves the last team from the A Division in a qualifying position playing a best-of-three challenge against the winner of the B Division. The winner qualifies for the Worlds.

These days twelve teams compete at both the men's and women's World Championships each year. Two teams come from the Pacific Zone. The Pacific Curling Championships begin this Sunday, November 2, in Naseby, New Zealand. The draw (and results) for that event can be found here.

Two teams represent the Americas Zone at the Worlds, this Zone encompassing both North and South America. In the men's event Canada has a secure place as the host nation in 2009. Curling Today previously noted that the USA is to face a challenge from Brazil, see here. Details of this challenge have been made public today, see here.

The four-sheet Capital Curling Club in Bismarck, North Dakota, will host the best-of-five competition spread over three days in the city that hosted the Ford World Curling Championships in 2002. Brazil will be represented by Celso Kossaka, Cesar Satiro Santos, Marcelo Cabral Mello, Luis Augusto Z. da Silva and Anderson K. Santos. They are currently studying at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, and train at the nearby Lennoxville Curling Club.

The USA representative will be the top men's team in the US Order of Merit based on the current season's competition results as of December 31 and which has already qualified for the 2009 USA Curling National Championships and 2010 USA Olympic Team Trials.

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.

WCF appoints marketing partner

In the greater scheme of things for most curlers, today's announcement by the World Curling Federation (here) probably won't have much significance. But I found it very interesting! And it could have far reaching consequencies. Curling's world governing body has linked up with Infront Sports & Media to be the 'Official Marketing Partner of the World Curling Federation'. Way back in December (here) Curling Today indicated that this was in the offing.

Infront is based in Zug, Switzerland. It is a private organisation with over 400 employees and offices in eleven countries: Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, France, South Africa, Singapore and China. You will note that there is no presence in Canada, nor indeed the UK.

So what role will Infront play within the sport? Attracting sponsorship and maximising income is the key role. For example, Infront will market packages for sponsors, utilising exposure opportunities such as in-ice advertising, or stadium and venue advertising and combining these with official sponsorship status and designations, and the use of marks, hospitality and promotional opportunities.

The main events included in the contract are the Men's and Women's World Curling Championships and the European Curling Championships. We can take it from this that there has been co-operation with the European Curling Federation in working towards this agreement.

The contract is for three years in the first instance. That of course covers the Aberdeen European Championships. Other events such as the Juniors, Seniors, Mixed Doubles and the European Mixed are also covered by the agreement and it will be interesting to see if Infront has plans to raise the profile of these competitions. Also how the WCF agents can work alongside the local organising committees in attracting and sharing benefit from the sponsorship that is attracted.

Infront's role covers the exploitation of all media and marketing rights worldwide. Of course, there are existing agreements, and the press release notes that these are 'being reviewed with the partners concerned'.

The WCF has an existing contract with the Canadian Curling Association, which has been the Canadian marketing representative for many years, and of course currently delivers title sponsor Ford of Canada for World events in that country. The current contract was renewed last year for a two-year term. Also in Canada, TSN remains the official WCF broadcast partner in an agreement that is in place until 2014.

The production of the television feed for worldwide distribution will continue to be handled by the WCF, through its own WCTV.

The full text of the press release contains quotes from WCF President Les Harrison, and Infront President and CEO Philippe Blatter. In addition Bruno Marty, Executive Director Winter Sports, who will be responsible for the operational aspects of the new relationship, says, "We are looking forward to working with the World Curling Federation to give curling a strong base for future expansion. The sport has a lot to offer to both commercial and broadcast partners and it is our aim to unlock its full potential."

Cresting policy

Now, I want you to study the above photograph carefully. OK? Now answer the question, "Where do you think would be a good place for a sponsor's logo?"

Well, the World Curling Federation has tackled this thorny issue (it's a tough job but somebody had to do it), thought long and hard, and adopted new cresting policies. The European Curling Federation has adopted these for its upcoming Mixed and European Championships. They are outlined here.

Until recently, the positions that were allowed were the left chest and upper and lower right arm for team sponsors' crests and Member Associations' emblems. That's three.

The right chest and upper left arm were reserved for the event sponsor of the European Curling Championships (ECC or EMCC), or an event crest of the Host Committee. That's two more places.

Right, go back to the photo. Study it carefully again. Where is the new (sixth) place that a sponsor's logo can go? Yes, you're correct! It's the SIDE OF THE LEG (between the knee and ankle) which is now reserved for a team sponsor’s crest.

According to the new regulations, "All team members must wear the crest on the same leg and the crests must be at the same height." I can just see the umpires with their tape measures already.

But should it be on the inside, or the outside? And size matters. A crest shall not be greater than 10cm (4 inches) edge to edge, or not greater than 100 square centimetres (16 square inches).

I wonder if this company would like to sponsor a team, who undoubtedly would have to promise not to put the logo on their right legs!

Thanks to the model curler in Bob's photo above. Special prize to anyone who can identify where it is and who it is!

A last thought for a Monday. How about sponsored socks?

World Curling Federation: A stranger to logic

"Logic is the cement of our civilization, with which we ascend from chaos, using reason as our guide."

I've just learned that the World Curling Federation has rejoined the civilised peoples of the Universe. And I'm really happy to report that fact today.

Those of you who read my editorial in the April Scottish Curler magazine will know already that I despaired that the WCF Executive understood the concept of logic. My concerns were over how countries were ranked during a competition, and the consequencies of this towards relegation and Olympic representation. The major international curling events follow a similar format these days. There is a round robin, followed by playoffs. Who goes forward to the playoffs is determined by the ranking of the teams after everyone has played everyone else. Let’s assume that two teams are tied for the fourth place in the rankings, each having won five games and lost four. Now, one of these teams will have beaten the other. But in this case the past record is forgotten about, and a tiebreaker is played, the winner moving forward to the playoffs. Why? Because the WCF rulebook says: (8a) A team tied for a place in the playoffs is not eliminated in any way other than by losing an extra game. All well and good.

But let’s go down to the bottom of the table now where two European teams are tied for eighth spot at the World Juniors. At stake here is relegation, and being faced with competing in the European Junior Challenge to try to get back in to the top ten again. One team (team A) will have beaten the other (team B). Team B must have beaten a team which finished higher up the rankings for them to finish tied with team A, but that's not taken into consideration. No tiebreaker is played. The record between the two teams decides that one stays up, the other is relegated. Quite different from the top of the table. Illogical? Certainly. Wrong? I thought so.

It was not always so. Twenty years ago in Lausanne the International Curling Federation confirmed that no country could be eliminated without losing on the ice. But this rule was dropped from the recent WCF rulebook.

And as for the Draw Shot Challenge being used to decide ranking when three or more teams are tied on games won, and the record of who beat who does not provide a solution! That was a travesty, that you could be relegated on the basis of a pickup! Nonsense.

But wait! The World Curling Federation Annual General Meeting took place on April 9 during the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship in Grand Forks. After that meeting the WCF issued a press release which said, amongst other things, "Following the first full season of competition under the new WCF Rulebook, the Rulebook was revisited as per the scheduled time and with the approval of the Membership was further modified. The new WCF Rulebook will be available to Member Associations by end of June 2008, and also available via download from the WCF website."

Any intelligent curler might want to know what 'modifications' have been made to the rules which govern our sport in international competitions, but I guess the WCF wants you all to wait for a couple of months! I wonder why. What does make me happy though is to hear that WCF delegates at Grand Forks threw out the illogical rule and everyone agreed that if teams at the bottom of the table are tied, there should be a playoff before anyone is relegated.

I call that a result! Thank you to those delegates who raised the issue and who voted for the change. WCF, welcome back to the real universe!

If anyone has more details of the rule changes, and whether, for example, the re-introduced tiebreaker rule will apply at the Europeans, then perhaps these might be posted. I understand that the Draw Shot Challenge has been done away with? I suggest the Scottish Curling Forum might be the place to continue this discussion.

Have a great summer!

(The quotation is attributed, as all Star Trek fans will know, to T'Plana-Hath, Matron of Vulcan Philosophy. The T'plana-hath, the Vulcan survey ship which made official first contact with Earth in the film Star Trek: First Contact, was named in her honor.)

Curling to be included in new Youth Olympics

The International Olympic Committe has moved ahead with plans to hold Youth Olympic Games. The first summer games will take place in 2010. The IOC will choose the host city by February 2008, details here. The Youth Olympics, which will feature about 3,500 athletes aged 14-18, are designed to encourage young people to get involved in sports.

Of interest to curlers is that the first Winter Youth Olympics will be held in 2012 for about 1,000 athletes. Curling will be one of the sports! The host city will be picked in 2009.

In a newsletter sent last month to World Curling Federation member associations, President Les Harrison says, "These Games will be fully funded by the IOC but the numbers of participants will be smaller than the Olympic Games. Age parameters and number of entries for curling have been discussed with the IOC sports department and we will be presenting all details to date at our meetings in Füssen. At this point, we can advise the membership that age limitations will have to be younger than our current WJCC participants."

Responsibility for the GB curling team at these new Youth Olympics will fall on British Curling, which already looks after our representation at the Winter Olympics, Paralympics, the World University Games and the European Youth Olympics.

Inverness hosts world wheelchair qualifying competition

The Inverness Ice Centre is the focus of the wheelchair curling world next week, as the rink hosts the prequalifying competition for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, set for Sursee, Switzerland, February 2-9, 2008. Ten countries (Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden) will battle for two places at the world event.

Norway, Switzerland, Scotland, Canada, Japan, USA, Korea and Russia are already qualified for Sursee by virtue of finishing in the top eight at the most recent World event at Solleftea, Sweden, last season.

Improvements to the Inverness rink have included the installation of a lift and that will allow wheelchair access to the lounge area.

The Inverness rink also holds the popular Skins competition this weekend, and no sooner has the final of that event finished than the ice becomes available for the wheelchair teams to practise on Sunday evening. The complete wheelchair results should be available here on the World Curling Federation site, and the individual game results should be on the Inverness Ice Centre site (follow link to News). The first round games are at 10.30 Monday morning. The draw is Bulgaria v China, Czech Republic v Denmark, England v Finland, Germany v Italy, Poland v Sweden.

The Italian team in action at last season's world wheelchair championship prequalifying event at Braehead. Photo by Hugh Stewart.

By the way, have you noticed that the WCF site has had a makeover?

Curling from a Wheelchair

The World Curling Federation has released a promotional DVD about wheelchair curling. This has come about because the organising committee of the successful World Wheelchair Curling Championships at Braehead in 2005 sought to build on the success created. They approached the WCF who had sourced partial funding from the International Paralympic Committee and agreed to jointly fund the production of the DVD entitiled ‘Curling from a Wheelchair’ which highlights the passion achieved and shows how wheelchair curlers are rightfully very proud of their achievements.

The five minute presentation is the creation of Kirsty Letton and Michael McCreadie, with help and advice from Kenny More of Elite Sports Analysis and Alison Stevenson and Alistair Wilson of Stable Recordings.

Kate Caithness, Vice President of the World Curling Federation, has written the foreward on the cover of the DVD. She says, "Like all other sports, we play the game for the love of it, but achievements gain recognition and drive participants to progress in their chosen sport. It is very pleasing to see the sport develop significantly on the International Stage. The enclosed DVD demonstrates everything we hoped to achieve."

It certainly does that. The DVD is interesting, informative, exciting, uplifting and funny. Check it out when you can! I would expect that it will appear on YouTube soon enough, but it is great on the big screen.

Copies of the DVD can be sourced through each WCF Member Association and here in Scotland through the SWCA or Kirsty Letton on 01292 319407 or k.letton /at/ canna.demon.co.uk.

Elsewhere in the wheelchair curling world, the rink in Prague is the venue for the 3rd International Wheelchair Curling Tournament this weekend, October 19-21. Scotland, Canada, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic are taking part. Tom Killin skips the Scottish four with Aileen Neilson, Rosemary Lenton and Angie Malone.

This photo of Tom Killin practising at Braehead is by Bob Cowan.

Young Scots off to WCF Summer Camp in Fussen

Colin Dick, Lindsay Gray, Ally Fraser and Ian Copland, who won the Royal Club's U-17 Grand Slam last season, together with Anna Sloan, Lauren Gray, Rhiann Macleod and Caitlin Barr, who were the highest-up girls' rink, set off today for the World Curling Federation's Summer Camp in Fussen, Germany. The trip was the prize for the Slam event which comprised four under-seventeen competitions in different rinks in its first successful season.

The Scots will join more than one hundred other young curlers from all over Europe. Instruction at the camp will cover areas such as delivery analysis and development, team communication, strategy, training drills and practice plans, sweeping, ice reading, stone matching, mental preparation and season planning.

Inverness ACDO Lynne Fraser and soon to be the RCCC Development Manager, Judith McFarlane, will attend the camp as coaches.

Photo shows Judith at left with the Scottish party as they checked in for their flight to Munich.