British Curling website launched

British Curling Ltd has launched its website: www.britishcurling.com. The press release states simply, "The website will keep curling fans and sports enthusiast abreast of new developments within British Curling, including latest news and information on Britain’s top curlers."

There is a fair bit of content on the site already and British Curling Chairman Chris Hildrey says, "As programmes build and the depth of delivery increases then the site will become more multi functional both in terms of information content and information management."

An initial glitch on the site where the UK Sport supported athletes were listed as Olympic athletes has already been corrected. The Olympic squads have not been selected yet. Registrations of interest have been saught from curlers with Olympic aspirations for Vancouver 2010. This process closed on September 30.

British Curling's performance plan is described here, and see also Curling Today's previous post about the plan here.

Development News

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club has appointed Graham Sloan as part-time Area Curling Development Officer, based at the Dumfries Ice Bowl. He took up the post last week.

Graham previously held a similar post at the rink but resigned a year ago. The post has been restructured and is now fully supported and integrated into the Royal Club development officer network.

Graham is working with Anna Sloan and her National Academy team this season, and coached the Spanish team at the recent European Mixed Championships in Madrid. He brings a wealth of experience to the job.

Swiss Cup in Basel

The full results are here. Three Scottish men's teams took part. Tom Brewster won four straight to qualify from A. David Murdoch won two, dropped to B where they beat Gordon Muirhead. Two more wins and they too were through to the playoffs. Muirhead won two more games in C (including a win over Canada's Randy Ferbey) before losing a third game.

David Murdoch with Graeme Connal, Pete Smith and Euan Byers came through the playoffs without loss to win the final game today (Monday). Brewster went out in the quarters.

Hamilton Mini Tour

Women's winners: Gail Munro (skip), Lyndsay Wilson, Karen Addison, Fiona Hardie.

Men's winners: Neil Wilson (skip and 3rd), David Stobo (fourth), Ian Stobo, Scott Millar

The full results are here. Annette Holmes' report is here. Photos are courtesy of Richard Gray.

Reform in Prague

Well, here we are in the Czech Republic, the continuing fallout from having a milestone birthday in the summer! This trip is courtesy of friends in the Reform Curling Club, my mother club, who, after a successful foray to Andorra a couple of years ago, set up the Reform Touring Club, to facilitate educational and cultural visits to promote international understanding and friendship in other curling nations.

Not at all like the incoming tours to Scotland! Mcleanscotland in association with the Royal Club recently looked after a group of Swedish curlers (the evidence is here)! Great fun was obviously had by all.

Reform members of course are a much more serious group! A ten hour cultural immersion (on foot) yesterday with a wonderfully knowlegeable local guide Zeska, was ideal preparation for today's start of a bonspiel. Ten Reform teams are playing alongside six local sides in Prague's fabulous four-sheet facility. They are playing for four titles: the Reform Touring Club Championship Prague 2007; the Touring Club Nearly There Ones; The Must Try Harder Brigade; and We Are All In Practice For 2009.

Why am I here? (A question I ask myself often). I'm only masqerading as a Reform member, of course. I am an embedded correspondent, working undercover for the Scottish Curler magazine, to bring you real life dramas from the curling front. There is considerable hardship involved in this activity. That wonderful airline Jet2.com (hereforward to be known as Jet0.2.com) managed to lose my suitcase on the hazardous journey from Edinburgh to Prague. Did this faze your entrepid editor. Not one bit. Remembering of course the old advice that there are four ways to reuse underpants - you turn them inside out, then backwards, then to the front but still inside out. Might actually have to purchase a new pair if the case fails to appear.

And the next time you see me I may be sporting a beard!

Right, I better sign off and get back into disguise. For the full report on the trip, you will have to read November's Scottish Curler magazine. Have you subscribed yet?

PS Don't forget that the Mini Tour is at Hamilton this weekend. Play starts tonight. The results are here. With any luck photos of the winners will be on Curling Today next week sometime, assuming that the Editor's retreat from Prague is achieved successfully without further dramas!

Photos from top: The outside of the Prague rink; inside; Karel Kubeska (Prague's Mister Curling) met Helen Burton's team in the first round game.

October's Scottish Curler

October's Scottish Curler magazine, the first of a new season, has been published and is now in the mail to subscribers.

This month's BIG story is the discovery of an unknown curling painting by Sir John Lavery, in a gallery in Cape Town, South Africa. David B Smith describes how he tracked it down. There are reports on the RCCC summer camp, the AGM and the Gala Awards dinner. Maryel interviews Jim Buchanan. The curlers receiving support through the Scottish Institute of Sport and through the RCCC are in the spotlight.

Club of the Month is Dunfermline Ladies CC!

Rock Rules returns with a question from Sandy Beech of Largs, answered by Chief Umpire Helen Back.

Curling World features the big outdoor bonspiel in New Zealand, with an evocative description of what it was like to take part. John Fridd's photo is on the cover and others are inside.

Copey predicts who's going to do well this season in men's and women's play, in Behind the Glass! And the Editor had something to say about volunteers. iCURL looks at Forums. Plus the usual roundup of news reports, Hoggie, and the caption competition.

There's something in the magazine for everyone. Please keep the voice of curling in Scotland alive! Find out how to subscribe here.

Calendar Girl Shock News: Will there be curling glamour in 2008?

Those of you who remembered that yesterday was the first day of October would have been greeted, when you turned the page of Ana Arce's Fire and Ice Team Sponsorship calendar (what do you mean you don't have one), by former Scottish and Euro Mixed Curling Champion Kim Brewster. How pleasant to have Kim staring down from the wall of my office this month! Kim follows on from Jackie Lockhart who starred in September.

The big news of course is that there will NOT be a new calendar in January. Interviewed in Madrid where she was competing for Spain in the 2007 Euro Mixed, Ana confirmed that a January-December publication was not in the plans. The good news is that a curling season calendar (September 2008 - May 2009) is being considered.

I'll just have to go back to buying the Scottish Munros calendar for the beginning of the year!

Above: Kim Brewster. Below: Ana Arce whips her 2008 models into shape on the ice at the Palacio de Hielo.