Running in parallel with the Edinburgh International, there is the popular Edinburgh International Senior Championships. This is a competition open to any four curlers over the age of 50. Over the years, the competition has attracted some of the finest “mature” curlers – men and women, or indeed, mixed – of their generation. Three years ago, the competition changed its format and timing to accommodate its sister competition being elevated to the ranks of the Champions Tour. The four leagues are now played on the Wednesday and Thursday prior to the main event with the top four teams from each of the leagues progressing to the High Road semi finals and the runners-up moving to the Low Road semi finals. These games are played on the finals Sunday and are run concurrently with the semi-finals and final of the Edinburgh International itself. The draw itself is on the main competition website here.
Former Scottish Senior Champion Skip, Ronnie Peat brings a strong team through from the west to compete in Section A. All are members of the Reform Curling Club and I am looking forward to seeing this section play out, because twice Scottish Senior Championship runner-up David Clydesdale brings his team back from Kinross to defend the title that he won last year. The two Marions, Murdoch of Lockerbie fame and Craig, who hails from a farm near East Kilbride, round out this strong section. No predictions here, by the way – they’re all chums!
In Section B, Michael Sutherland brings his team back across the border for another tilt at fifteen Scottish rinks! He is in a tough section, mind you and perhaps his biggest challenge comes from Sandy Nelson and his Kinross rink. Sandy himself has been a top performer on the Scottish circuit for more years than he will care to admit. Accurate on the big weight hit and deadly at the draws is Sandy! Judith Carr brigs a team down from Aberdeen and local boy and reasonably famous hotelkeeper and sponsor John Dignan skips the fourth team in this section.
In Section C, Colin Hamilton’s powerful local rink will face stiff opposition from Jeanette Johnston. Together, she and third Catherine Dodds won the European Curling Championships Silver Medal; we’ll draw a veil over when! Ace ice maker Andy McGlynn from Forfar skips a team and Linda Young is bringing an all-ladies team from Kinross in this section.
In Section D, Alan Durno, a perennial visitor from the frozen north has some serious competition from two strong all-ladies teams skipped by Jacqui Crawford and reigning Scottish Senior Ladies Champion, Isobel Waddell. My team mate on the Royal Club Centenary Canadian tour in 2003, Bob Smith, the famous chartered accountant, brings some chums from Fife over the bridge to do battle. Should be a fun section.
October 24, 2010
International draw throws up some interesting matches
The draw for the 2010 Edinburgh International has been announced and appears on the competition website here.
As in years past, the competition has 24 entries. Each team has been put in one of four leagues and is guaranteed five games of curling. The top two teams from each of the four leagues progress forward to Sunday morning’s quarter finals. Thereafter, the event moves to straight knock-out culminating in the afternoon final at 2.30pm.
Last year’s winning skip, David Murdoch has a new team this year with reigning Scottish Champion Warwick Smith at third, young Glen Muirhead at second and old campaigner and three-time Scottish Champion Ross Hepburn at lead. Ross and Warwick won Bronze Medals at the recent World Championships. This will be the new team’s first competitive outing in Scotland and it will be interesting to see how well they gel together as a unit. They will have games against Keith Prentice and his team of past World Senior Champions. Keith. Lockhart Steele, Robin Aitken and Tommy Fleming are enjoying a glorious Indian summer in their curling careers, though were unfortunate to miss out on competing in the recent World Senior Championships in Russia; the volcanic ash cloud did for their travel plans! Robin Aitken, a member of the Edinburgh International Organising Committee, recently won the Scottish Senior Mixed Championships with fifth man Archie Craig.
The Murdoch v Prentice clash takes place on Friday morning at 08.30. They are both in Section A with former Scottish Junior Champion Sandy Reid, Iain Watt, a Hungarian team skipped by György Nagy and a Russian team skipped by Andrey Drozdov. I like the look of Sandy Reid’s team of Moray Combe, Scot McLeod and David Soutar, though you have to question David’s taste in trousers! Iain Watt has previous winner Alan Smith throwing thirds stones, Sandy Christie at two and reigning Scottish Junior Champion and World Junior Silver Medallist, Steven Mitchell at lead.
In section B, Ewan MacDonald brings his new team of Graeme Connal, Pete Loudon and Euan Byers to the party. His main challenge may very well come from Duncan Fernie, recently-crowned European Mixed Champion David Edwards at third, and the experienced front end of Richard Woods and Colin Campbell – immediate past European Mixed Champion – at lead. Their clash is at 10.50 on Saturday morning. Before that game though, Ewan has to face Stranraer’s Frazer Hare, who has Robbie Dick, Jamie Strawhorn and Don Frame in his team this year. England’s Jamie Malton, Italy’s young team from the Pinerolo area, skipped by Marco Pascale and Scotland’s Neil Joss are the other competing teams in this strong-looking group.
Section C has Stranraer’s doughty Hammy McMillan, who skips another past World Champion skip in Perth’s David Smith, the front end being former Scottish Junior Champions and World Bronze Medallists Ross Paterson and Sandy Gilmour. It is difficult to pick from the other five teams in this section. Finland’s Aku Kauste is a relatively unknown quantity; he and his team have featured in recent Finnish Championships. England’s Allan MacDougall is a former World Junior Champion skip – though at the time he was representing Scotland. He brings recent international form to the competition though; he and his mixed team made the semi-final stages of the European Mixed Championship at Greenacres before agonisingly losing his last two games to finish just outside the medals. John Hamilton skips Jamie Dick, Andrew Craigie and Graeme Copland; they had a disappointing season last season and will be looking to the Edinburgh International to kick-start their season. Local teams skipped by Murrayfield’s Paul Stevenson and – I almost used the word “doughty” again! - Graham Shaw will not let anyone win their matches against them easily.
Finally, section D looks tasty! Tom Brewster has put a new young rink together. It includes Greg Drummond and Michael Goodfellow – both of whom lost out in the final of the Scottish Junior Championship last season and both of whom enter the big, bad world of competitive curling wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. Actually – they were good enough to reach the final of the Scottish Championships as well as the Junior Championships. Warwick Smith finally won that game, but not before Glen Muirhead (who skipped Michael and Greg) had a bad pick-up that might have helped square things late on in the game. Scott Andrews, reigning Scottish Junior Champion and World Silver Medallist plays second stones in a strong-looking team. Logan Gray will fancy his chances with his new team as well. He has Alasdair Guthrie at third, brother Lindsay at second and Iain Stobo at lead. Lindsay is still eligible for the juniors but has elected to concentrate on the Scottish Championships this year. Logan and Alasdair are multiple Scottish Junior Champions, of course. Lee McCleary and David Sik were quarter-finalists in the competition last season and will be anxious to take their rinks a couple of stages further! Another former Scottish Junior Champion Scott Hamilton brings his new team to the event. Craig Reid, David Reid and Scott MacArthur look to me to be a strong team and I think that they might very well get out of this tough section. Local hero Alan Chalmers – I say “local”, but he now lives in Perth! – has been a long-time supporter of the event and brings Hamish Lorrain-Smith, Struan Macnee and EICC Organising Committee member Gordon Addison to the competition.
Who is my money on? Well – I am not a betting man, but if you want me to call it, I will go with the following eight teams in the quarter finals: Murdoch, Reid, Macdonald, Fernie, McMillan, Hamilton, Brewster and Gray. And earlier on I said that I thought that Scott Hamilton might get out of section D – how fickle am I?
There you go anyway – head on the block!
As in years past, the competition has 24 entries. Each team has been put in one of four leagues and is guaranteed five games of curling. The top two teams from each of the four leagues progress forward to Sunday morning’s quarter finals. Thereafter, the event moves to straight knock-out culminating in the afternoon final at 2.30pm.
Last year’s winning skip, David Murdoch has a new team this year with reigning Scottish Champion Warwick Smith at third, young Glen Muirhead at second and old campaigner and three-time Scottish Champion Ross Hepburn at lead. Ross and Warwick won Bronze Medals at the recent World Championships. This will be the new team’s first competitive outing in Scotland and it will be interesting to see how well they gel together as a unit. They will have games against Keith Prentice and his team of past World Senior Champions. Keith. Lockhart Steele, Robin Aitken and Tommy Fleming are enjoying a glorious Indian summer in their curling careers, though were unfortunate to miss out on competing in the recent World Senior Championships in Russia; the volcanic ash cloud did for their travel plans! Robin Aitken, a member of the Edinburgh International Organising Committee, recently won the Scottish Senior Mixed Championships with fifth man Archie Craig.
The Murdoch v Prentice clash takes place on Friday morning at 08.30. They are both in Section A with former Scottish Junior Champion Sandy Reid, Iain Watt, a Hungarian team skipped by György Nagy and a Russian team skipped by Andrey Drozdov. I like the look of Sandy Reid’s team of Moray Combe, Scot McLeod and David Soutar, though you have to question David’s taste in trousers! Iain Watt has previous winner Alan Smith throwing thirds stones, Sandy Christie at two and reigning Scottish Junior Champion and World Junior Silver Medallist, Steven Mitchell at lead.
In section B, Ewan MacDonald brings his new team of Graeme Connal, Pete Loudon and Euan Byers to the party. His main challenge may very well come from Duncan Fernie, recently-crowned European Mixed Champion David Edwards at third, and the experienced front end of Richard Woods and Colin Campbell – immediate past European Mixed Champion – at lead. Their clash is at 10.50 on Saturday morning. Before that game though, Ewan has to face Stranraer’s Frazer Hare, who has Robbie Dick, Jamie Strawhorn and Don Frame in his team this year. England’s Jamie Malton, Italy’s young team from the Pinerolo area, skipped by Marco Pascale and Scotland’s Neil Joss are the other competing teams in this strong-looking group.
Section C has Stranraer’s doughty Hammy McMillan, who skips another past World Champion skip in Perth’s David Smith, the front end being former Scottish Junior Champions and World Bronze Medallists Ross Paterson and Sandy Gilmour. It is difficult to pick from the other five teams in this section. Finland’s Aku Kauste is a relatively unknown quantity; he and his team have featured in recent Finnish Championships. England’s Allan MacDougall is a former World Junior Champion skip – though at the time he was representing Scotland. He brings recent international form to the competition though; he and his mixed team made the semi-final stages of the European Mixed Championship at Greenacres before agonisingly losing his last two games to finish just outside the medals. John Hamilton skips Jamie Dick, Andrew Craigie and Graeme Copland; they had a disappointing season last season and will be looking to the Edinburgh International to kick-start their season. Local teams skipped by Murrayfield’s Paul Stevenson and – I almost used the word “doughty” again! - Graham Shaw will not let anyone win their matches against them easily.
Finally, section D looks tasty! Tom Brewster has put a new young rink together. It includes Greg Drummond and Michael Goodfellow – both of whom lost out in the final of the Scottish Junior Championship last season and both of whom enter the big, bad world of competitive curling wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. Actually – they were good enough to reach the final of the Scottish Championships as well as the Junior Championships. Warwick Smith finally won that game, but not before Glen Muirhead (who skipped Michael and Greg) had a bad pick-up that might have helped square things late on in the game. Scott Andrews, reigning Scottish Junior Champion and World Silver Medallist plays second stones in a strong-looking team. Logan Gray will fancy his chances with his new team as well. He has Alasdair Guthrie at third, brother Lindsay at second and Iain Stobo at lead. Lindsay is still eligible for the juniors but has elected to concentrate on the Scottish Championships this year. Logan and Alasdair are multiple Scottish Junior Champions, of course. Lee McCleary and David Sik were quarter-finalists in the competition last season and will be anxious to take their rinks a couple of stages further! Another former Scottish Junior Champion Scott Hamilton brings his new team to the event. Craig Reid, David Reid and Scott MacArthur look to me to be a strong team and I think that they might very well get out of this tough section. Local hero Alan Chalmers – I say “local”, but he now lives in Perth! – has been a long-time supporter of the event and brings Hamish Lorrain-Smith, Struan Macnee and EICC Organising Committee member Gordon Addison to the competition.
Who is my money on? Well – I am not a betting man, but if you want me to call it, I will go with the following eight teams in the quarter finals: Murdoch, Reid, Macdonald, Fernie, McMillan, Hamilton, Brewster and Gray. And earlier on I said that I thought that Scott Hamilton might get out of section D – how fickle am I?
There you go anyway – head on the block!
September 29, 2010
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.
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 AddisonGordon 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.
September 23, 2010
Fund-raising dinner report
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
September 14, 2010
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!
There's some old video footage for you to watch. Follow the link here. Enjoy!
September 13, 2010
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.
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
***
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)
***
Lemon Tart with Cranachan
Or Cheese & Biscuits
***
Coffee & Mints
Tomato & Basil Soup with Crusty Bread
Duck Spring Rolls served with Plum Sauce
***
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)
***
Lemon Tart with Cranachan
Or Cheese & Biscuits
***
Coffee & Mints
August 21, 2010
Blog online for 2010
The dates of the 2010 Edinburgh International Curling Championship are November 26-28.
Twenty-four teams will contest this Champions Tour event. These will be split into four sections of six teams. The top two from each section will qualify for quarterfinal places. Positions will be determined on points won. No team can go out of the competition without playing at least a four-end tie-break game.
The overall winning team will receive £4000; the runner up team will receive £2000; losing semifinalist teams will each receive £1000 and the losing quarter-finalist teams will receive £500.
Entry forms can be downloaded from here.
Twenty-four teams will contest this Champions Tour event. These will be split into four sections of six teams. The top two from each section will qualify for quarterfinal places. Positions will be determined on points won. No team can go out of the competition without playing at least a four-end tie-break game.
The overall winning team will receive £4000; the runner up team will receive £2000; losing semifinalist teams will each receive £1000 and the losing quarter-finalist teams will receive £500.
Entry forms can be downloaded from here.
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