The Committee

The Organising Committee for the 2010 Edinburgh International Curling Championship:

Trevor Dodds (Chair)
Trevor, a former Scottish Junior Champion and twice a winner of the Edinburgh International Curling Championship, has a long history of achievement in the sport. He was a member of the 2003 Royal Club Centenary Strathcona Cup Tour to Canada and regularly made it to the finals of the Scottish Championships, twice finishing second. He was fifth player in Colin Hamilton's Scottish-Championship winning team of 1994. He won the Scottish Pairs Championship in 1991 and has coached many teams in the Scottish Junior Championships.

This season, Trevor has been voted on to the board of the Royal Club as one of six elected directors. He will serve for at least three years. As a member of the board, Trevor now plays an active part in the governance of the sport in Scotland. Trevor is a member of the Oxenfoord and Carrington curling clubs.

Gordon Addison
Gordon is immediate past president of the Edinburgh curling club and is president of the Midlothian Province. Although now based in the east of Scotland, he hails originally from Douglas, a noted hotbed of curling in Lanarkshire. He is a member of the Corstorphine and Musketeer curling clubs. He is a court lawyer with a practice in Falkirk.


Robin Aitken (Umpiring)
Robin is the current Scottish Seniors Champion and has won Gold and Bronze Medals in the two World Senior Championships in which he has competed. Unfortunately, his attempt for a third World Medal was stymied by the Icelandic eruption earlier this year – certainly the Scottish team of which he was a member was amongst the favourites in the competition. Robin is a past winner of the Edinburgh International Curling Championship, taking the title in 1990. He is a member of the Athelstaneford curling club in East Lothian and is a past president of the East Lothian Province.


Iain Baxter (Ice Rink Facility)
Iain is a two-time former Scottish Champion, who won a Silver Medal in the World Championships in Megeve in 1971. He was a member of the 1993 Royal Club Strathcona Cup Tour to Canada and is currently a member of the Royal Club Area Standing Committee. He is the manager of Murrayfield Curling Rink and a member of Corstorphine and Watsonian curling clubs. Iain is a past president of the Edinburgh Curling Club.





Douglas Baxter (Ice Rink Facility and Website Coordinator)
Douglas brings some much-needed young blood onto the committee! He is the deputy manager of Murrayfield Curling Ltd and a member of Corstorphine curling club.








Robin Copland (Secretary)
Robin is a former Scottish Champion and two-time winner of the Edinburgh International. He was a member of the 2003 Royal Club Centenary Strathcona Cup Tour to Canada. He contributes a monthly blog to skipcottagecurling.blogspot.com and is the vice president of the Edinburgh curling club. He is a partner in Scotwork UK LLP, a negotiating skills training and consultancy partnership. Robin is a member of the Currie and Balerno, Corstorphine and Reform curling clubs.



John Dignan (Accommodation and Sponsorship)
John is a stalwart Edinburgh curler and a long-time sponsor of the sport. He is a past President of the Midlothian Province and a member of Corstorphine and Gogar Park curling clubs. John is Managing Director of the Best Western Braid Hills Hotel, one of the competition's main sponsors.






Ernest Prior (Programme)
Ernie is a board member of Murrayfield Curling Limited; he is a past president of the Edinburgh curling club and for many years was secretary of the club. Ernie is also a past president of the Midlothian Province. He is a member of the Corstorphine curling club.







Anne Marie Ross (Transportation)
Ann Marie is the current President of the Edinburgh curling club. She was a member of the Royal Club Ladies Tour to Canada in 2005. She is a member of Corstorphine Ladies curling club.








Ian Seath (Finance)
Ian is a Past President of both Edinburgh and Duddingston curling clubs. He is currently vice president of Musselburgh curling club. A keen historian, Ian has recently been a prime mover in the complete restoration of Thomson's Tower, Duddingston Curling Society's clubhouse, situated within Duddingston village, Edinburgh. He remains on the board of the Edinburgh curling club as the secretary.

Fund-raising dinner report

The Edinburgh International Gala fund-raising dinner went ahead on Saturday, September 18, in the Edinburgh Curling Club rooms at Murrayfield ice rink. Event organiser Ian Seath reported back on a successful evening with over £1000 raised towards running the event. In the absence of a headline sponsor for this year’s event, every penny helps, so a warm 'thank you' to all the curlers who attended the evening.

Chairman Trevor Dodds chaired the evening and started the fun off with a repeat of last year’s successful 'heads and tails' game. Money was cajoled from guests and put in an envelope; Trevor had another envelope with £100 in it and the game commenced! You either put your hands on your head (Heads) or on your ... you’re beginning to get the picture! A coin was tossed and if your luck was in you stayed standing for the next round. Believe it or not, but it only took four tosses of the coin before Fiona Hardie, a guest all the way from Dumfries, was the last person standing and thus won the money.

Dinner was preceded by the Curlers’ Grace, delivered by event treasurer Ian Seath. After a sumptuous dinner provided by Bill Fleetham and his team - how they fed over seventy people at once from the Murrayfield kitchen remains a source of wonder and bewilderment - Alan Bain entertained the guests with some ribald stories from his days as captain of Lasswade Rugby Club. Alan’s wife, Jenny is, of course, the Junior Vice President of the Ladies' Branch of the Royal Club. She shared the top table with Alan, Trevor and his wife Catherine.

The dinner gave Edinburgh curlers the chance to get a quick glimpse of the ice pad. The ice technician team, under the leadership of ice rink manager Iain Baxter, has been hard at work over the past fortnight laying the ice in a series of shallow floods. The surface looked good and the circles and other markings looked pristine.

Top pic - Alan Bain and Trevor Dodds, courtesy of Robin Copland

Old video footage

Paul Gowsell's Canadian team played in the 1985 Edinburgh International, sponsored that year by Weatherseal.

There's some old video footage for you to watch. Follow the link here. Enjoy!

Fund-raising dinner

Plans for the Edinburgh International Gala fund-raising dinner on Saturday, September 18, are well underway and event organiser Ian Seath reports that there are only seven places left for what should be a fun-filled evening. Alan Bain will be the evening’s guest speaker and there will be a repeat of last year’s successful 'heads and tails' game.

The dinner gives Edinburgh curlers the chance to get together before the season starts for an evening of chat, reminiscing and looking forward to the winter ahead. Dinner guests will be helping the organising committee raise some much-needed funding to support the Edinburgh International Curling Championships, Edinburgh Curling Club’s premier event.

MENU

Tomato & Basil Soup with Crusty Bread
Duck Spring Rolls served with Plum Sauce

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Pan Fried Chicken with Spring Onion
& Mushroom Sauce
Sweet Potato & Vegetable Curry with Rice
and Nan Bread (medium spiced)

(Served with Roasted Vegetables & New Potatoes)

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Lemon Tart with Cranachan
Or Cheese & Biscuits

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Coffee & Mints