Weekend round-up 10/11/17 to 12/11/17
It has been a packed weekend with competitions, a coaching course and a Mixed Doubles seminar!
Scottish Province Championship
The Scottish Province Championship was contested this year by 22 teams from around the country at Greenacres Curling Rink from 10th – 12th November. After a tight group stage, the 8 qualifiers were determined with some provinces missing out on qualification by a handful of shots. The quarter finals saw 3 comfortable games with Stirlingshire scoring an early 4 and controlling Breadalbane in an 8-1 win, Perth and District scored a 3 in the 6th end to complete a 7-2 win and Angus produced a strong second half to defeat Renfrewshire 8-3. In the final quarter final, Cupar stole 3 consecutive ends (including an extra end) to see off North Eastern 8-7 in a tense game.
Cupar’s luck didn’t hold as they came up against a strong Stirlingshire side. After opening with a score of 2, a steal of 5 effectively ended the contest before a further steal of 3 resulted in an early concession and a final score of 10-0. Perth & District battled strongly against Angus and single scores were exchanged and the score was 2-2 after 5 ends. A big score of 3 in the 6th end by Perth & District enabled them to control the final two ends and see out a 6-3 win to make the final.
Following on from their strong semi-final finish, Perth & District bounced back from an early steal of 3 points in the first end and were level with Stirlingshire after 3 ends. Stirlingshire were unable to make effective use of the hammer and were restricted to scores of 1, but a steal in the 7th end put them 6-5 up with a single end to play. In the final end, Stirlingshire could not restrict their opponents and a big score of 4 sealed victory for Perth & District and crowned them Scottish Province Champions for 2017. The winning team was skipped by Kenny Kinnear along with Robin Brydone, Mike Ferguson and David Brown.
National Masters Curling Championship Qualifiers
From the 7th-9th November, 28 men’s teams battled for 12 spaces at the National Masters Finals in January 2018. Spread across 6 groups, some of the qualified teams were only determined after a nervy count-back of ends and shots. Of note, was an 8-ender scored in draw 2 by Team Gillespie as part of a 17-1 win, congratulations to them!
Asham U21 Slam – Inverness Junior International
The 36th year of the former Inverness Junior Curling International, now the Inverness leg of the Asham Under 21 Slam, was played to a successful conclusion at Inverness Ice Centre over the weekend. The recent plant upgrade, new floor and refurbished stones ensured excellent playing conditions over the weekend for the seven teams in both the boys and girls events.
The junior women’s semi-finals finished early with the results rarely in doubt. A big score of 3 for Curl Aberdeen’s Team Morrison in the fourth end followed by successive steals saw Team Dakers offer handshakes at 6-1. Team Davie’s Stirling rink looked comfortable throughout and led Team Farmer 5-1 at halfway before 7-3 was signed for.
The final was a quality encounter. Team Morrison looked the more comfortable against defending champion Team Davie who were unable to get a foothold in the early stages. The opening end was a cagey blank but strong set-up play resulted in a steal of two for Team Morrison in the second end. Team Davie couldn’t get anything going in the third end and conceded a second steal to trail 3-0 at halfway. Team Davie got on the board in the sixth end when forced to a single but Team Morrison returned their lead to 3 in the seventh end and then hit for home for a 4-1 win and the title.
The junior men’s section played under a single round robin, was well received and allowed everyone a game with all teams. Team Kinnear got off to a flier with four straight wins but his loss of the last two and a poor draw shot average cost them dear. Team Craik proved the most consistent and topped the rankings with a 5-1 record. Team Carson, Team Baird and Team Kinnear all finished with a 4-2 record so the rankings came down to Draw Shot Average where Team Baird prevailed and therefore met Team Craik in the final.
The final saw a soft 2 at the first end after an open early miss from Team Craik, with the second end blanked and a come back of 2 at the third end for Team Baird. The final was effectively decided in the fourth end; Baird’s front end of Robin McCall and Gavin Barr set up the end by burying two stones around a corner guard and David Baird and third player Cameron McNay sealed the deal to post a big three. Team Craik had to gamble from then on and after giving up a steal of 1 in the seventh end, handshakes were offered at 8-3.
After three events, the top 2 junior women’s teams have earned places at the Glynhill Ladies International, and the top two junior men’s teams have secured places in the Perth Masters, funded by RCCC.
The next Asham Under 21 Slam is taking place in Lockerbie next month with a few international teams in the mix.
Mixed Doubles Seminar, supported by RCCC – Lanarkshire Ice Rink
Participants at the Mixed Doubles Seminar had a great day learning about the format and strategies of the discipline from experienced Mixed Doubles curlers Lee & Judith McCleary.
18 who attended indicated that they would like to play in a league and / or competition at Lanarkshire Ice Rink; Development Officer Jim Morrison was delighted with the positive response on the back of the seminar and is set to action further competition opportunities.
RCCC Level 1 Course, Perth
Another successful RCCC Level 1 course was hosted at Dewars Centre, Perth on Saturday, led by tutors Ann Maree Davidson and Barbara McFarlane. New trainee coaches all left feeling inspired to get out on the ice and put their learning into practice.
RCCC offers a variety of Coaching Courses to help new and existing coaches.