Heading for Murrayfield

The Murrayfield rink is the place to be this week! With the revamped Edinburgh International, a new WCT-e competition, set to get underway on Friday, the attention tomorrow is on the Seniors' competition. Sixteen teams have entered. They will play league matches in four different sections of four teams at 10.00 and 15.00 on Wednesday and Thursday. The winners of each section advance to the High Road semifinals. There's a Low Road too.

The draw can be downloaded from here.

The semifinals and finals of the seniors event will share the stage with the semifinals and final of the Edinburgh International on Sunday, November 30.

Weekend report

The main thing to report, for me at any rate after this weekend, is that December's Scottish Curler magazine is now just about ready to go to press on Tuesday! But there was a lot of curling on this weekend and I was frustrated at not being able to see any of it first hand. The scores on the Royal Club website were my lifeline to what was going on.

At Aberdeen, Curling Today's 'kiss of death' after Friday's build up saw Mairi Milne and her new team just win one of their four games in the first weekend of the Columba Cream Scottish Ladies' Curling Championship! Kelly Wood, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood had a good weekend, with wins over Milne's side and those of Judith McFarlane and Gillian Howard. Their only loss was to Sarah Reid's team of Kerry Barr, Barbara McFarlane and Laura Kirkpatrick.

World Junior Champ Eve Muirhead skipped her 'put together' team for the season's Scottish - Karen Addison, Rachael Simms and Anne Laird - and shares the top of the table position with Team Wood, winning three games. In fact their only loss was at an extra end to Gillian Howard.

What of the Scottish Champion Gail Munro? Gail and Lyndsay had a new front end in the shape of Kerry Adams and Sharon Stewart. They won two (against Howard and Milne), and lost two (against Reid and McFarlane), and are still in contention.

It all remains wide open for the next Championship rounds, but these are not until January 31 at Kinross.

Mike Haggerty's roundup is here.

At Kilmarnock, Hammy McMillan, Philip Wilson, Ross Paterson and Sandy Gilmour beat David Edwards, Moray Combe, Gavin Fleming and Graham Sloan in the final of the third of the men's mini tour events. With his win in Lockerbie in the second of the competitions, this gave McMillan's side the overall Mini Tour title, the Colin Galbraith trophy, and a foreign trip next season.

It wasn't an easy road for Team McMillan though, as they lost two early games and only came through from their section after a tiebreaker.

One of the incentives for entering the Mini Tour this season was that if you did well your team could avoid the pre-qualifier and get through directly to the main Scottish Championship qualifying weekends. The Competitions Manager's report is here. As I understand it, the teams who were not already through by virtue of their performance in the finals (ie David Edwards and Colin Hamilton) last season and who benefit from their mini tour performances this season are Hammy McMillan, Keith MacLennan, Jamie Dick, Scott Hamilton, Alan Smith, Alan Manuel and Lee McCleary. Have I got this right? Someone will no doubt tell me if I haven't! The mini tour standings tables are here if you want to try figure it out for yourself.

Top: Team McMillan at the Galleon. L-R Hammy McMillan, Philip Wilson, Ross Paterson, Sandy Gilmour. Photo by Richard Gray.

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.

Looking ahead to Swift Current... and back to Vernon

It was announced today by the World Curling Federation and the Canadian Curling Association that the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship will be held in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, March 20-28.

Where is Swift Current? It's west of Moose Jaw heading towards Medicine Hat. The twelve-country Worlds will be played at the Credit Union i-plex, a hockey arena complex which underwent a $15 million renovation in 2007. There are lots of pics of the renovations here, on the Swift Current Broncos site where the photo above is from. The arena will seat approximately 2,400 for the championship, and has a number of corporate suites. There is also a six sheet curling rink in the complex.

The full press release can be found on the CCA website here.

The problem for some of us here in Scotland of course is that we find it hard to look forward to a future women's world event when we are still looking back at what happened in Vernon! I'm sure no-one needs reminded of the story, but if you do, you can find what I've written about it on Curling Today. Start here and here. Or from another source here. It is an issue which at the time made Scotland the laughing stock of the curling world, and the indecent time it has taken to conduct an investigation, to find out what really happened and to ensure that such a thing never happens again, has not done anything to improve the reputation of our governing body. Please, let's get this resolved, for everyone's sake.

I have some information today, little though it is! The investigation is ongoing apparently, in the hands of lawyer Michael Nicholson. The lack of hard information coming from the Royal Caledonian Curling Club is frustrating. But it seems to be common knowledge according to some recent posts on the Scottish Curling Forum that there has been a delay caused by .... who knows for sure?

This afternoon, I asked Colin Grahamslaw, the Royal Club CEO, if there was any progress to report. He was not in a position to give details (yes, there is still a media blackout in place) but he assured me that Michael Nicholson will produce a report, although as yet there is no timescale. Grahamslaw offered 'within a month'. Let's hope so!

Now, the Royal Club has made a big thing of the Board Chairman, Bob Tait, getting out and talking to members. The first Q&A session is at Aberdeen this Friday evening, to which all members have been invited, see here. I wonder if anyone will ask about the Vernon enquiry?

Oh, and don't forget, the first rounds of this season's Columba Cream Scottish Women's Championship are this Saturday at Curl Aberdeen. The draw is here.

Sports Minister at Lockerbie

It was a big day for curling in Lockerbie as Sports Minister Stewart Maxwell and sportscotland Chief Executive Stewart Harris were in town to officially open the upgraded Lockerbie Ice Rink, which received sportscotland funding. Also announced officially today was the sportscotland annual investment in the governing body for curling, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

As previously reported (see here and here), Lockerbie Ice Rink received a sportscotland investment of £214,151 to enhance their facilities including the upgrade to the refrigeration plant and changing rooms, improving the insulation and installing energy efficient light and a lift for wheelchair users.

I liked the header for today's press release, 'Leaving no stone unturned - sportscotland supports curling development!' £385,000 has been granted for the development of the sport across the country. This investment will play an important part in enabling the Royal Club to grow and develop the sport at every level. To quote from the press release, "A drive to increase participation at grassroots level is complemented by a strong coach development programme to ensure that curlers are given every opportunity to progress, becoming the stars of the future who will carry on Scotland’s proud curling tradition."

This is the money that goes towards ACDO salary contributions, all the aspects of the Royal Club's development and coaching programmes, and the National and Regional Academy initiatives. In addition, the Scottish Institute of Sport, the high performance arm of sportscotland, receives an additional £200,000 to support the national coaches and the elite teams.

The full text of today's press release can be found here.

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland said, “Curling is one of Scotland’s most successful sports with thirty-five medals on the world stage over the last ten years but investment in the sport is essential if we are to continue that excellent track record. The sportscotland funding of £385,000 to the RCCC will allow them to build on this success and nurture the champions of the future."

In 2007-08 sportscotland invested over £11.5 million in forty-one sports governing bodies.

Stewart Maxwell addresses a large number of guests at the rink.

After a short lesson from David Murdoch and Euan Byers, the Sports Minister lines up for his first ever curling delivery, with young curlers Thomas Sloan, Alice Spence, Hannah Fleming and Lisa Jardine in attendance. Needless to say, his stone finished in the four foot!

Mind you, it could not have been easy with all these lenses pointed at him. Our Sports Minister is definitely a good sport!

Pics by Bob.

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!