season 2016-2017 news
AGM took place at Forthbank on the 19th April at 7:00pm.
The Castle Suite in Forthbank was the venue for the AGM this year. Eleven members or almost three quarters of the membership attended and participation was positive and supportive throughout enabling the meeting to finish on schedule. The prize giving was Carried out by the new President Graeme Anderson but the retiring President Derrick Douglas handed over several trophies to deserving winner Graeme before the meeting closed including the Provost's Quaich. See below.
The Castle Suite in Forthbank was the venue for the AGM this year. Eleven members or almost three quarters of the membership attended and participation was positive and supportive throughout enabling the meeting to finish on schedule. The prize giving was Carried out by the new President Graeme Anderson but the retiring President Derrick Douglas handed over several trophies to deserving winner Graeme before the meeting closed including the Provost's Quaich. See below.
The above file is a true copy of the approved minute of the AGM. Please download to read it.
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Closing Bonspiel won by Jim Kerr's rink
The movement of this match back to the Friday 31st March because of the ice rink closure meant that quite a few people were not available to play in this match, which was a pity. It went ahead with 7 players rather than 10.
Muirhead KO won by Alan Watt's team
There were three teams drawn for thisknockout. In the firsr game, Jim Kerr's rink made it to the final by overcoming Rory MacKenzie's rink by 7 shots to 3. In the final. after a great start by Alan and leading 5 v 1 Jim Kerr's team came fighting back to 5 v 4 before the final end decider and a 2 at the last for Alan's team to win 7 v 4. It was a very good game with lot of stones in play and some shots worthy of any match.
Derrick Douglas's rink clinch Corrieri
The final match of the Corrieri was a convincing win for Derrick's rink by 7 shots to 1. Overall, his rink won 2 games and peeled 2 games with a shot difference of +12 at the end.
Stirlingshire Province win against Glasgow
We took part in the RCCC Waldie Griffiths trophy match of Stirlingshire Province against Glasgow Province as the Dunn trophy winner last year. The overall result was 29 shots to 24. Our club played WHITECRAIGS LTSC and won 6 shots to 3. Well done to everyone.
Alex Reid Memorial Trophy mixed results
The Alex Reid Trophy is the final bonspiel of the season and unfortunately we had the bad luck of being drawn against Falkirk who went on to win the trophy and who fielded very strong teams. The other match was won by achieving a three at one end and keeping the other scores to single shots.
Club stalwart Jimmy Muirhead has passed away
Jimmy Muirhead died in February. For a very long time he was one of the mainstay of the club organising many fund raising events and promoting different curling events such as the introduction of Pairs competitions. He was a very successful skip regularly winning competitions even into his 80s. The funeral was on Saturday the 25th February at 10.30 at the United Free Church in Bannockburn. There were many curlers in attendance.
Jim Neilson makes a fantastic comeback
The Corrieri Cup match on Friday the 27th January marked the first appearance of Jim Neilson back on the ice after two full seasons missing due to eyesight problems. It was great to see him back and he was warmly welcomed back by everyone on the ice. He quickly got into the way of things again playing lead for Rory's team and he played a big part in their solid victory on the night hardly missing a shot. We look forward to more of the same in future Jim, welcome back. Rory's team won 6 v 2 against Joe's team.
Mixed results in the Province Aitken Tournament
We had a good match against the Virtual Club in the first round of the tournament managing a 5 ends to 3 and 14 v 6 shots win but in the second we could only win 2 ends and so ended well down the list with Borestone winning with 10 ends and 14 shots up.
Successful night for Stirlingshire Province
It was Forth Valley Area Bonspiel night, to show which Province is champion. Forth and Endrick galloped into a lead at the end of the first session with 6 points, with Scottish Central on 3, Stirlingshire on 2 and West Lothian on 1. However Stirlingshire came though on the rails in the second session with 3 wins to Scottish Central with 2, Forth and Endrick with 1 and West Lothian (the winners last season, how the mighty have fallen) pulled up several furlongs back on 0 wins. The final results showed Stirlingshire winning with 8 points and 25 ends, pipping Forth and Endrick with 8 points and 23 ends, followed by Scottish Central on 7 points and 24 ends. West Lothian finished with 1 point and 11 ends. We contributed two points and five ends playing Blairdrummond.
Pairs competition in a single night a success
The Hope Pairs competition was held over a single night for the first time on Friday the 6th of January and it proved a great success. Not only did everyone turn up but some of the players stayed to watch the proceedings too up in the restaurant. Having players around meant we had added insurance should anyone fail to turn up, but it wasn't needed this time. As the matches proceeded it boiled down to a final of the super subs. Graeme Anderson replaced his wife Caroline and Derrick Douglas replaced Bob Turner and both of these sides reached the final. Graeme played with Joe Kincaid and Derrick played with Norman Ainslie. Both sides had scraped through into the final in their previous matches and two scores of three were traded before Joe and Graeme managed to clinch it with back to back scores of two to finish winners on 9 v 4. The feedback was positive with a suggestion that teams should change rinks every round to ensure a fair challenge.
A great turnout at Christmas BonspielAll twelve people turned out to make the Christmas Bonspiel a great success both playing and socially afterwards at the meal. There were some appropriately dressed players too. Thanks for making it a great night.
Jim Kerr's rink win Mitchell/Wilson Trophy
It all came down to the final match in the series with Graeme Anderson's rink on 5 points and Jim Kerr's rink on 4 points after three games each. Unfortunately Jim Kerr was ill and could not attend so Norman Ainslie skipped the remaining three players to victory over a full strength opposition. After losing the first end to a single shot, Norman, Rory and Joan went on a winning streak to take the next four ends in a row to score 6 shots. Graeme fought back to take the next two ends with 3 shots but it wasn't enough and Norman's side won 6 v 4 to take the two points and the trophy. Amazing result, well done.
Crossmyloof match a disappointment
We could not hold on to the Cairns/Elder trophy this season and in fact the evening was a disappointment as we failed to give Crossmyloof much of a challenge on the night, in fact they looked like the home team not us. Was this due to the ice? it was certainly keen and the draw was consequently harder to get. It certainly different from previous matches so what made it like that? Unfortunately Jim Kerr called off ill and there was no time to get anyone else so one rink played a man down and strangely enough this was the rink to sustain the biggest loss. However, no such excuses for the other rink. On the plus side, the meal was a buffet and it was very well done and a reasonable price. It was served promptly and everyone enjoyed it. Other changes on the night, we agreed a colour of stone for each club and both sides had a share of the hammer to keep it balanced. Crossmyloof certainly appreciated the arrangement so maybe it will become permanent.
We have Dunn it again
It was the annual competition between Kilsyth, Fintry and ourselves for the DUNN Trophy on the Friday 2nd December. Each club had two teams out playing each club. We won both our games and came out on top on the night to take the trophy. Joe, Derrick, Bob and Norman were the top scoring winners recording a score of 14 v 2 over 8 ends, the only game to do so. They received the trophy from Fintry and special prizes presented by KIlsyth for being the best team. There was a buffet provided for everyone after the game and most people took advantage.
Kilsyth 300 years bonspiel played
On Friday afternoon on 25th November a team played in the Kilsyth anniversary bonspile at the Peak. It was a round robin contest with winning teams moving up. We won 3 ends with a score of 8 shots to 5 for a 3 shot difference. Not enough to win anything, but we had an enjoyable seven ends against a variety of opposition. It looked to be a successful event with a hot buffet served in the restaurant after each game.
We've done the Dunn once more
We successfully retained our hold on the Province Dunn Trophy for another year. On Monday 8th November, Dougie McKenzie, Jim Kerr, Graeme Anderon and Jim Marshall won their match against Kilsyth by 5 ends and 3 shots up. On Tuesday 9th November, Joe Kincaid, John Brisbane, Norman Ainslie and Joan Anderson peeled with Borestone and Stirling with 4 ends each and 6 shots each. This was a very close game trading single shots till the last two ends where 2 shot were traded between the teams. On coming off the ice we discovered that it was between the same two clubs as to the winners of the trophy. Borestone had won 5 ends and 2 shots up on Monday, so we had won the trophy by a single shot. The Borestone team congratulated us on the ice. Well done to everyone involved and so another year with the big shield.
Graeme Anderson becomes the Points Champion once more
Seven players turned out for the Points competition on Thursday the 3rd of November. Sheets 4 and 5 were used and it meant we had to go in an anti-clockwise direction to complete the disciplines because of the layout of the points positions on each rink. Maybe this helped speed up the play enough for us to complete all ten disciplines or maybe Iain Gwynne's baking helped fuel it with his home made tablet and millionaire's shortbread. Everyone helped keep the play moving and five people shared in the marking. Graeme won with a score of 36 and Derrick and Iain were joint second on 31. The ice rink helpfully provided a podium for us to celebrate the winners,
Button Trophy recovered from Torbrex
Last year this was the only trophy Torbrex won, so I hope they fare better elsewhere this season. Team 1 got off to a dreadful start losing a 4 but rarely were troubled after that. Team 2 surged ahead with two three shot ends in a row then promptly lost a three but held on for peels.
McWattie won by a single point (and a single shot)
It went down to the last game and eventually the last end before Derrick Douglas's rink was declared the winner by 5 shots to 4 in a tense decider. The clincher had to be a 3 at one end, all the others were single shot scores. It was a very aggressive match with lots of stones in play and they were being moved around a lot with plenty of guards, take outs and promotes. Worthy winners, well done.
Another close one in Province KnockoutAs recounted by Derrick, the match went like this: 2 v 8 down after 5 ends having lost two 2s and a 4 against our two singles. About to shake hands and go home early but decided to play another end . Picked up a 2 , another 2 and a single to give them a fright and make score more respectable 7 v 8.
Forth Valley Knockout near miss
A strong team from the club played against Doune in the Forth Valley Area knockout on Friday 23rd September. It was a very competitive game and after trading single shot ends our team stole an end to lead 3 v 2 in the fifth end. However Doune managed to sqeeze a two out of the next end and then somehow a blank end to finish and Doune had won 4 v 3. Well played people, a good effort..
Opening Bonspiel a thriller
The rotation of players up the rink certainly produced an interesting game as everyone played a different skip due to the odd number in one rink. The final score was 6 v 4 to the rink with Norman Ainslie, Derrick Douglas and Jim Marshall. Only ones and twos were scored over the eight ends. Pity more people didn't turn up for it.
Coaching night held on 25th April 6:15pm
The second coaching night took place on Monday 25th April with 4 club members attending, Norman Ainslie, Jim Marshall, Derrick Douglas and Alan Watt with Joe Kincaid coaching. The first part concentrated on sliding out correctly using cones. Norman and Jim are used to this but it was novel for Derrick and Alan. Once everyone was sliding out properly with good balance the group moved on to using stones as well. The next stage was then full lenghth delivery at hack weight. This took a bit of practice to get right but eventually everyone was producing a good weight. To finish the night we moved on to take outs at hack weight with various guard stones in place to make these technical shots. Delivery and how the stone is released became the key focus in this last session and even the coach played some stones. We had an empty rink beside us so we used all the stones from both rinks to get as many shots in as possible, members taking it in turn to give the ice to allow everyone a shot. The feedback was good so we will continue this into the next coaching night on the Monday 15th August at 6:15pm.
The movement of this match back to the Friday 31st March because of the ice rink closure meant that quite a few people were not available to play in this match, which was a pity. It went ahead with 7 players rather than 10.
Muirhead KO won by Alan Watt's team
There were three teams drawn for thisknockout. In the firsr game, Jim Kerr's rink made it to the final by overcoming Rory MacKenzie's rink by 7 shots to 3. In the final. after a great start by Alan and leading 5 v 1 Jim Kerr's team came fighting back to 5 v 4 before the final end decider and a 2 at the last for Alan's team to win 7 v 4. It was a very good game with lot of stones in play and some shots worthy of any match.
Derrick Douglas's rink clinch Corrieri
The final match of the Corrieri was a convincing win for Derrick's rink by 7 shots to 1. Overall, his rink won 2 games and peeled 2 games with a shot difference of +12 at the end.
Stirlingshire Province win against Glasgow
We took part in the RCCC Waldie Griffiths trophy match of Stirlingshire Province against Glasgow Province as the Dunn trophy winner last year. The overall result was 29 shots to 24. Our club played WHITECRAIGS LTSC and won 6 shots to 3. Well done to everyone.
Alex Reid Memorial Trophy mixed results
The Alex Reid Trophy is the final bonspiel of the season and unfortunately we had the bad luck of being drawn against Falkirk who went on to win the trophy and who fielded very strong teams. The other match was won by achieving a three at one end and keeping the other scores to single shots.
Club stalwart Jimmy Muirhead has passed away
Jimmy Muirhead died in February. For a very long time he was one of the mainstay of the club organising many fund raising events and promoting different curling events such as the introduction of Pairs competitions. He was a very successful skip regularly winning competitions even into his 80s. The funeral was on Saturday the 25th February at 10.30 at the United Free Church in Bannockburn. There were many curlers in attendance.
Jim Neilson makes a fantastic comeback
The Corrieri Cup match on Friday the 27th January marked the first appearance of Jim Neilson back on the ice after two full seasons missing due to eyesight problems. It was great to see him back and he was warmly welcomed back by everyone on the ice. He quickly got into the way of things again playing lead for Rory's team and he played a big part in their solid victory on the night hardly missing a shot. We look forward to more of the same in future Jim, welcome back. Rory's team won 6 v 2 against Joe's team.
Mixed results in the Province Aitken Tournament
We had a good match against the Virtual Club in the first round of the tournament managing a 5 ends to 3 and 14 v 6 shots win but in the second we could only win 2 ends and so ended well down the list with Borestone winning with 10 ends and 14 shots up.
Successful night for Stirlingshire Province
It was Forth Valley Area Bonspiel night, to show which Province is champion. Forth and Endrick galloped into a lead at the end of the first session with 6 points, with Scottish Central on 3, Stirlingshire on 2 and West Lothian on 1. However Stirlingshire came though on the rails in the second session with 3 wins to Scottish Central with 2, Forth and Endrick with 1 and West Lothian (the winners last season, how the mighty have fallen) pulled up several furlongs back on 0 wins. The final results showed Stirlingshire winning with 8 points and 25 ends, pipping Forth and Endrick with 8 points and 23 ends, followed by Scottish Central on 7 points and 24 ends. West Lothian finished with 1 point and 11 ends. We contributed two points and five ends playing Blairdrummond.
Pairs competition in a single night a success
The Hope Pairs competition was held over a single night for the first time on Friday the 6th of January and it proved a great success. Not only did everyone turn up but some of the players stayed to watch the proceedings too up in the restaurant. Having players around meant we had added insurance should anyone fail to turn up, but it wasn't needed this time. As the matches proceeded it boiled down to a final of the super subs. Graeme Anderson replaced his wife Caroline and Derrick Douglas replaced Bob Turner and both of these sides reached the final. Graeme played with Joe Kincaid and Derrick played with Norman Ainslie. Both sides had scraped through into the final in their previous matches and two scores of three were traded before Joe and Graeme managed to clinch it with back to back scores of two to finish winners on 9 v 4. The feedback was positive with a suggestion that teams should change rinks every round to ensure a fair challenge.
A great turnout at Christmas BonspielAll twelve people turned out to make the Christmas Bonspiel a great success both playing and socially afterwards at the meal. There were some appropriately dressed players too. Thanks for making it a great night.
Jim Kerr's rink win Mitchell/Wilson Trophy
It all came down to the final match in the series with Graeme Anderson's rink on 5 points and Jim Kerr's rink on 4 points after three games each. Unfortunately Jim Kerr was ill and could not attend so Norman Ainslie skipped the remaining three players to victory over a full strength opposition. After losing the first end to a single shot, Norman, Rory and Joan went on a winning streak to take the next four ends in a row to score 6 shots. Graeme fought back to take the next two ends with 3 shots but it wasn't enough and Norman's side won 6 v 4 to take the two points and the trophy. Amazing result, well done.
Crossmyloof match a disappointment
We could not hold on to the Cairns/Elder trophy this season and in fact the evening was a disappointment as we failed to give Crossmyloof much of a challenge on the night, in fact they looked like the home team not us. Was this due to the ice? it was certainly keen and the draw was consequently harder to get. It certainly different from previous matches so what made it like that? Unfortunately Jim Kerr called off ill and there was no time to get anyone else so one rink played a man down and strangely enough this was the rink to sustain the biggest loss. However, no such excuses for the other rink. On the plus side, the meal was a buffet and it was very well done and a reasonable price. It was served promptly and everyone enjoyed it. Other changes on the night, we agreed a colour of stone for each club and both sides had a share of the hammer to keep it balanced. Crossmyloof certainly appreciated the arrangement so maybe it will become permanent.
We have Dunn it again
It was the annual competition between Kilsyth, Fintry and ourselves for the DUNN Trophy on the Friday 2nd December. Each club had two teams out playing each club. We won both our games and came out on top on the night to take the trophy. Joe, Derrick, Bob and Norman were the top scoring winners recording a score of 14 v 2 over 8 ends, the only game to do so. They received the trophy from Fintry and special prizes presented by KIlsyth for being the best team. There was a buffet provided for everyone after the game and most people took advantage.
Kilsyth 300 years bonspiel played
On Friday afternoon on 25th November a team played in the Kilsyth anniversary bonspile at the Peak. It was a round robin contest with winning teams moving up. We won 3 ends with a score of 8 shots to 5 for a 3 shot difference. Not enough to win anything, but we had an enjoyable seven ends against a variety of opposition. It looked to be a successful event with a hot buffet served in the restaurant after each game.
We've done the Dunn once more
We successfully retained our hold on the Province Dunn Trophy for another year. On Monday 8th November, Dougie McKenzie, Jim Kerr, Graeme Anderon and Jim Marshall won their match against Kilsyth by 5 ends and 3 shots up. On Tuesday 9th November, Joe Kincaid, John Brisbane, Norman Ainslie and Joan Anderson peeled with Borestone and Stirling with 4 ends each and 6 shots each. This was a very close game trading single shots till the last two ends where 2 shot were traded between the teams. On coming off the ice we discovered that it was between the same two clubs as to the winners of the trophy. Borestone had won 5 ends and 2 shots up on Monday, so we had won the trophy by a single shot. The Borestone team congratulated us on the ice. Well done to everyone involved and so another year with the big shield.
Graeme Anderson becomes the Points Champion once more
Seven players turned out for the Points competition on Thursday the 3rd of November. Sheets 4 and 5 were used and it meant we had to go in an anti-clockwise direction to complete the disciplines because of the layout of the points positions on each rink. Maybe this helped speed up the play enough for us to complete all ten disciplines or maybe Iain Gwynne's baking helped fuel it with his home made tablet and millionaire's shortbread. Everyone helped keep the play moving and five people shared in the marking. Graeme won with a score of 36 and Derrick and Iain were joint second on 31. The ice rink helpfully provided a podium for us to celebrate the winners,
Button Trophy recovered from Torbrex
Last year this was the only trophy Torbrex won, so I hope they fare better elsewhere this season. Team 1 got off to a dreadful start losing a 4 but rarely were troubled after that. Team 2 surged ahead with two three shot ends in a row then promptly lost a three but held on for peels.
McWattie won by a single point (and a single shot)
It went down to the last game and eventually the last end before Derrick Douglas's rink was declared the winner by 5 shots to 4 in a tense decider. The clincher had to be a 3 at one end, all the others were single shot scores. It was a very aggressive match with lots of stones in play and they were being moved around a lot with plenty of guards, take outs and promotes. Worthy winners, well done.
Another close one in Province KnockoutAs recounted by Derrick, the match went like this: 2 v 8 down after 5 ends having lost two 2s and a 4 against our two singles. About to shake hands and go home early but decided to play another end . Picked up a 2 , another 2 and a single to give them a fright and make score more respectable 7 v 8.
Forth Valley Knockout near miss
A strong team from the club played against Doune in the Forth Valley Area knockout on Friday 23rd September. It was a very competitive game and after trading single shot ends our team stole an end to lead 3 v 2 in the fifth end. However Doune managed to sqeeze a two out of the next end and then somehow a blank end to finish and Doune had won 4 v 3. Well played people, a good effort..
Opening Bonspiel a thriller
The rotation of players up the rink certainly produced an interesting game as everyone played a different skip due to the odd number in one rink. The final score was 6 v 4 to the rink with Norman Ainslie, Derrick Douglas and Jim Marshall. Only ones and twos were scored over the eight ends. Pity more people didn't turn up for it.
Coaching night held on 25th April 6:15pm
The second coaching night took place on Monday 25th April with 4 club members attending, Norman Ainslie, Jim Marshall, Derrick Douglas and Alan Watt with Joe Kincaid coaching. The first part concentrated on sliding out correctly using cones. Norman and Jim are used to this but it was novel for Derrick and Alan. Once everyone was sliding out properly with good balance the group moved on to using stones as well. The next stage was then full lenghth delivery at hack weight. This took a bit of practice to get right but eventually everyone was producing a good weight. To finish the night we moved on to take outs at hack weight with various guard stones in place to make these technical shots. Delivery and how the stone is released became the key focus in this last session and even the coach played some stones. We had an empty rink beside us so we used all the stones from both rinks to get as many shots in as possible, members taking it in turn to give the ice to allow everyone a shot. The feedback was good so we will continue this into the next coaching night on the Monday 15th August at 6:15pm.