agm on 26th april at stirling cricket club
The AGM took place at Stirling Cricket Club on the 26th April at 7:00pm.
sbkminutes2023.pdf |
3 trialists play in closing bonspiel
The Secretary, Norman Ainslie arranged for several trialists to come along to the closing bonspiel to play with the club to give them a taste of what it would be like playing with the club. The teams had to to be rearranged to accommodate the three who turned up. There was still rotation and as we had more then sixteen players two people had to come off to give others a chance on the ice. In the end no team stayed the same but one team from each rink won almost all the ends. Jim Marshall's team was declared the winner. Most people then travelled to the Linden Inn for a meal and a drink. A good end to the night and the curling season.
MAJOR WIN WITH ALEX REID IN NEW FORMAT
Alex Reid Trophy (16th & 23rd March) was played over two nights for the first time with new rules and a new club playing to replace the now defunct Larbert Club. Unfortunately Larbert were the original sponsors of this trophy and will no longer take part. Torbrex took their place in the tournament. As it is no longer played over a single night, the rules were changed to offer 2 points for a win and then ends and shots counted. We won the first game against Bonnybridge 9 v 5 to give us 2 points and 4 ends scored. Three other teams also won, Torbrex, Borestone & Stirling and Laurieston & Zetland. We played Borestone & Stirling in the second game and so had to win to stand any chance of getting the trophy. As it turned out, we were able to out draw the opposition and only lost a single end for one shot to win 7 v 1 and take the trophy with 4 points and 10 ends. Great play from both teams to secure the largest trophy (literally) that we play for.
Team watt win muirhead trophy 8 v 6
Team Watt, consisting of Alex Frew, Sally-Ann Christmas, Graeme Anderson and skip Alan Watt won the Muirhead on Wednesday 22nd March in the final of the knockout against Team Brisbane, consisting of Alastair Christmas, Alan Hadden, Joe Kincaid and skip John Brisbane.
Team Brisbane got off to a storming start with a well taken four only for Team Watt to take a three in reply. In the next end, Team Brisbane were safely lying a single shot well protected when Alan played his last shot. It picked up badly, cut into the middle of a group of stones and promoted one of their red stones onto the button, to steal a single. Team Brisbane couldn’t get away after that and Alan sealed victory with a three in the final end. Well played. See the Muirhead page.
Team Brisbane got off to a storming start with a well taken four only for Team Watt to take a three in reply. In the next end, Team Brisbane were safely lying a single shot well protected when Alan played his last shot. It picked up badly, cut into the middle of a group of stones and promoted one of their red stones onto the button, to steal a single. Team Brisbane couldn’t get away after that and Alan sealed victory with a three in the final end. Well played. See the Muirhead page.
Broken broom in scca league
We managed to achieve our worst result in the SCCA League by finishing last despite a late rally towards the end of the season. A long way from winning it in our first year of participating.
SCCA League results table here.
SCCA League results table here.
luisella mosley team win hendry trophy
With 2 wins and a draw (against her hubby) Luisella Mosley becomes the latest novice skip to take the Hendry Trophy. Needed a bit of luck along the way, but doesn't everyone. About time we had a female skip playing again. Well done to her team of helpers for getting her over the line.
Team ainslie win the corrieri with 2 wins out of 3
Every team in the league suffered one loss which reflected how competitive it got with lots of substitutions needed to get it done. In the teams 1 v 4 match Rory MacKenzie managed to put together a score of 6 in the final end to draw the match with Team Brisbane and so scupper both their chances of winning it. It finished 10 v 10, high scores. It came down to the final game between teams 2 v 3. Team Gwynne scored a single shot in the first end with Team Ainslie doing likewise. Team Ainslie then stole the next 2 ends to lead 3 v 1. Team Gwynne narrowly missed out on a score of 3, having to settle for 2 to level the tie. Team Ainslie then built up a big head only to be cut back to 3, In the final end, Team Gwynne did likewise but needed to flush out a few opposition stones to peel the game. Unfortunately for Iain his last stone didn’t quite get the angle and scored a single to end the tie 6 v 4. A good game of curling. Well done to Team Ainslie, Luisella Mosley, Ian Mackie, Joe Kincaid and skip Norman Ainslie.
Polmaise trophy welcomed back
Third place finish in daytime league
Run by Stirling Curling Group, the Daytime League has 6 teams competing together. Playing each other once the club finished third with two wins and a draw overall. See the webpage.
norman ainslie and joe kincaid win against usa tourists
Team Ainslie played Team Jackson from the USA in the afternoon session Team Jackson were in good spirit after their win in the morning session but they came up against a very strong team in the afternoon game losing the first three ends with the Hammer.
in the first end Team Ainslie played a perfect game and were a measure away from taking a Three all players contributed but in particular Callum Young and Fraser Cronin our two Stirling Young Curlers who both played steady for 8 ends. team Ainslie were 5 shots up after 3 ends and forced the team USA Skip to play a take out for a 1 on the fourth end which if he had missed would have lost them a 3. In end 5 team Ainslie continued to dominate with a 1. in the 6th end however the USA were lying three forcing Norman Ainslie to clear a few stones out to cut them down to 1. the seventh end was the same with the USA Forcing Ainslie to hit and stay for a 1 but in the eighth end team Ainslie put lots of stones in the house led by Joe Kincaid forcing the USA to finish with a 1 making the final score 7-3 to team Ainslie.
USA Tour at Stirling can be found on the Forth Valley Area website here.
in the first end Team Ainslie played a perfect game and were a measure away from taking a Three all players contributed but in particular Callum Young and Fraser Cronin our two Stirling Young Curlers who both played steady for 8 ends. team Ainslie were 5 shots up after 3 ends and forced the team USA Skip to play a take out for a 1 on the fourth end which if he had missed would have lost them a 3. In end 5 team Ainslie continued to dominate with a 1. in the 6th end however the USA were lying three forcing Norman Ainslie to clear a few stones out to cut them down to 1. the seventh end was the same with the USA Forcing Ainslie to hit and stay for a 1 but in the eighth end team Ainslie put lots of stones in the house led by Joe Kincaid forcing the USA to finish with a 1 making the final score 7-3 to team Ainslie.
USA Tour at Stirling can be found on the Forth Valley Area website here.
Joe kincaid and luisella mosley win doubles
The final of the Doubles competition took place on Wednesday 18th January at 9:00pm in the NCA with Norman Ainslie and Iain Gilmour playing against Joe Kincaid and Luisella Mosley. Playing on Sheet A the NCA proved as swinging as usual with stones played wide coming back into the middle and beyond making drawing the best option for playing and so it proved with only a few takeouts played. Only once was a shot removed for taking out the placed stone in the house. Several times ends changed hands when final stones chipped in opposition stones to steal the end. So it was a well fought competition with the two 3 shot ends scored by Joe and Luisella proving vital in securing their win. Well done to the players, pictures are in the PHOTOS page and details of the game in the DOUBLES page.
Swanswater trophy remains with torbrex
Unfortunately we were a player down on the night but a player was found to make up two teams. We won one game 6 v 4 but the substitute team couldn’t live with the opposition to lose 5 v 9 and hence the trophy stayed with Torbrex for the third year in a row.
jim marshall wins cairns/elder trophy for points
10 people competed for the trophy this season and so progress through the disciplines was slower, only 5 completed and half of another in the time allotted. Jim came out winner by a single point ahead of Joe Kincaid with 32 v 31 scored. Next was Alan Watt and John Brisbane on 25 points each. The scores and Points analysis here.
Team marshall win mitchell/wilson unbeaten
Jim Marshall, Iain Gwynne, Paul Mosley and various subs took the trophy with two wins and a peels to be unbeaten over their three games. Team Watt had a chance to win it on shots if they had managed to beat Team Brisbane on Wednesday night 7th December. In a great match with lots of crucial shots played it came down to the final play by skip John Brisbane to draw into the house in among several stones with Team Watt lying shot. John played it perfectly and solid sweeping got the shot far enough in to take the game 7 v 8. So well done to Jim, Iain and Paul. Mitchell/Wilson Tournament page here.
Graeme anderson and paul mosley win pairs
After convincing wins for both sides to get to the final, the final itself was a bit one sided as Team Kincaid just couldn’t get the weight right to stay in the competition. So Graeme and Paul ran out winners by 9 shots to three. Details here.
First win in small curling clubs league
Yes, it is almost December and we hadn’t won a single game in the SCCA league this season, till last night against Torbrex, a game that is usually fiercely contested. Our team won 11 v 2 so we have a grand total of 2 points in the league, but still firmly on the bottom.
Crossmyloof win at hamilton
With the closure of the Braehead ice rink, our colleagues at Crossmyloof have had to play their games at Hamilton and so we played them there in our annual match. Crossmyloof was skipped by Aileen Neilson, an Olympic medalist at Sochi and so a formidable team. The quality of the ie didn’t help our team either and quality won out in the end, running away at the start 6 v 0 till we finally got on the scoreboard. It ended 10 v 2 but a sociable game game.
Kilsyth win dunn trophy by only 2 shots
The annual match for the Dunn Trophy against Kilsyth and Balfron took place on the 3rd of November in the main arena. Our team of Jim Marshall, Graeme Anderson, Ian Mackie and Alistair Christmas took on Kilsyth with Billy Johnston as skip. They got off to a great start scoring 2 in each of the first two ends. Kilsyth then got a 2 back, but then each team traded a score of 4 before another 2 by our team clinched it by keeping Kilsyth to a single in the final end to win 10 v 7.
Our team of Iain Gwynne, Rory MacKenzie, Joe Kincaid and Sally-Ann Christmas played Balfron. They got off to a great start as well, scoring a 2 then a single, but Balfron then went on a run, playing some devastating hit and rolls in each of the next four ends to 8 v 3 into the final end. Our team pulled back with a 2 to be beaten 5 v 8. It now came down to how Kilsyth and Balfron scored in the third sheet. Unfortunately, Kilsyth has an easier game there winning 10 v 3 to win the trophy with 17 shots to our 15, with Balfron on 11.
Our team of Iain Gwynne, Rory MacKenzie, Joe Kincaid and Sally-Ann Christmas played Balfron. They got off to a great start as well, scoring a 2 then a single, but Balfron then went on a run, playing some devastating hit and rolls in each of the next four ends to 8 v 3 into the final end. Our team pulled back with a 2 to be beaten 5 v 8. It now came down to how Kilsyth and Balfron scored in the third sheet. Unfortunately, Kilsyth has an easier game there winning 10 v 3 to win the trophy with 17 shots to our 15, with Balfron on 11.
Team watt win mcwattie undefeated
On the 5th October Team Watt, comprising Alan Watt, Joe Kincaid, Paul Mosley and Sally-Ann Christmas beat Team Gwynne 9 v 3 to take the trophy unbeaten over the three games. It wasn’t all plain sailing as the first match was won by two penalty points because a new start didn’t turn up. After that a comfortable 9 v 2 win against Team MacKenzie the final game against Team Gwynne would be decisive in winning the trophy. It was a tough game, Iain Gwynne was facing losing a 5 if he didn’t make it with his final stone. He got lucky, hitting three opposition stones to nestle in the middle of the house to score a one. However, the next end Alan Watt played a great draw to score a 3. Team Gwynne then took the next two ends by single shots. Then Team Watt took control to power ahead in the final ends despite valiant play by the opposition.
Well done Team Watt. Details here on the McWattie page.
Well done Team Watt. Details here on the McWattie page.
Forth valley knockout loss
The treasurer of Forth Valley Area gave the following report about our game against Loch Ard in the Forth Valley Area knockout first round. The match between Loch Ard and Sauchie & Bannockburn was the notorious game of two halves. S & B took command of the game from the off and dominated the first four ends with a 1, a 3, a 2 and a blank to be 6-0 up after 4 ends. Loch Ard fought back and after taking a 1 at the fifth and a 2 at the sixth stormed into the lead with a 4 at the seventh. Congratulations to both clubs for their speedy play and at the eight end Loch Ard stole another single to win 8-6.
Peak closed for queen’s funeral
All curling on the 19th September has been cancelled. This affects our Daytime League match against Dunblane 1 and the Stirlingshire Province Knockout game against Grangemouth. These will be rearranged.
3 a side for opening bonspiel
The opening Bonspiel ended up 4 teams of 3 and after a lot of arguments about rotation Skip Luisella for Team 1 won after tying on ends by being up 6 shots
SO CLOSE WITH DOUNE ROSEBOWL
Our team played in the evening session and finished second behind the eventual winners Kippen by a single end and shot.
Full table of results on SCG Website.
Full table of results on SCG Website.
new season biggest yet
Season 2022-2023 will have a few changes to last season.
- Pairs will be in first half of the season
- Doubles will be in second half
- Hendry Trophy will be expanded to four skips
- Daytime League will be a permanent fixture against more clubs
- Alex Reid Trophy will be over two nights (Consecutive Thursdays at the end of the season.)
indoor grand match 2020 scrapped altogether, next one 2025
This year we have been unable to progress the planning of the fifth Indoor Grand Match (originally planned for 2020) for a number of reasons so with regret have decided to put it off till the next scheduled edition in 2025.
We hope that by taking this decision now, rather than in a few months’ time, this will enable our ice rinks who agreed to participate, to plan for their ice to be allocated to clubs or used for other events.
Our decision making was influenced by two main factors. Firstly, we have been unable to establish a pricing structure, due to the already inflated energy prices at most ice rinks and likelihood of further increases in the months ahead before the start of the new season. Secondly, by several ice rinks indicating they were unable to take part and a further two still uncertain about their participation.
We are determined to put considerable effort and planning into the next event which will be in October 2025 - the year in which we will be celebrating twenty-five years since the first Indoor Grand Match was held.
We understand our clubs and members will be disappointed, however, we cannot consciously put our ice rinks or Scottish Curling at risk when we have no idea what the financial implications will be for running such an event.
We hope our clubs and members can join us in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Indoor Grand Match in 2025.
From Scottish Curling
We hope that by taking this decision now, rather than in a few months’ time, this will enable our ice rinks who agreed to participate, to plan for their ice to be allocated to clubs or used for other events.
Our decision making was influenced by two main factors. Firstly, we have been unable to establish a pricing structure, due to the already inflated energy prices at most ice rinks and likelihood of further increases in the months ahead before the start of the new season. Secondly, by several ice rinks indicating they were unable to take part and a further two still uncertain about their participation.
We are determined to put considerable effort and planning into the next event which will be in October 2025 - the year in which we will be celebrating twenty-five years since the first Indoor Grand Match was held.
We understand our clubs and members will be disappointed, however, we cannot consciously put our ice rinks or Scottish Curling at risk when we have no idea what the financial implications will be for running such an event.
We hope our clubs and members can join us in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Indoor Grand Match in 2025.
From Scottish Curling
belated award of murray trophy 2020 at province agm 2022
Norman ainslie and Joe Kincaid were presented with the Murray Trophy at the Stirlingshire Province AGM 2022 at Stirling Cricket Ground. We won it in 2020 but because of Covid19 restrictions we never received the trophy. On the night we held the trophy for 30 seconds for photos before it was awarded to Denny CC for this season. We did however receive 2 x £20 gift vouchers to be shared somehow among the 2 winning teams.