Pairs 2017/2018

Frank Ross / Katherine Golding - Athelstaneford -
High Road Winners

Dave Munro / Colin Baird - Haddington -
Low Road Winners

On keen and swinging ice, the 1st round of the Province Pairs developed into 4 very closely contested  games. The games were played over 4 ends and after the 3rd end was completed 2 games were tied on 2-2 (Yester v Aberlady and East Linton v Dirleton) whilst on the other sheets Haddington held a slim 2-1 advantage over Doocot and Athelstaneford were leading Markle by the same score. However at the end of the next end Yester, Dirleton, Athelstaneford and Doocot (after a draw shot challenge) had successfully made it through to the high road. In the high road semi finals Yester managed to outscore Dirleton and Athelstaneford accounted for Doocot whereas in the low road Haddington edged out Markle while East Linton saw off the Aberlady challenge.

Both finals proved very interesting spectacles for those upstairs watching. 

 

The low road final took place first and East Linton, skipped by Paul Neison with Emma Hood leading, took a single point at the 1st end but Haddington took the following 2 ends scoring 3 then 2 to lead 5-1 going down the 4th and last end. Although East Linton managed to score 2, the victory and the Doo'cot Trophy was won by Haddington pair Dave Munro (skip) and Colin Baird by a final result of 5-3.

 

The high road final between Yester pairing of Sandy Stewart (skip) with his faither Balfour leading and Athelstaneford team of Frank Ross (skip) and Katherine Golding proved to be a really intense event. Frank and Katherine were worthy winners last year and weren’t going to lose their grip of the trophy this year without a fight. With single shots shared over ends 1 and 3, along with a blanked 2nd end, everything came down to the crucial 4th end with Athelstaneford having last stone advantage. After the leads stones were played there were about 5 stones crowding the 4 foot circle and the counter lying shot was one of Katherine’s Athelstaneford stones. Try as he might, Yester skip Sandy just couldn’t get past well placed guards and with the same stone still in place after Yester’s last being played, the teams shook hands with Athelstaneford reclaiming the trophy for the 4th year in succession. Excellent curling and fun made for a very enjoyable pairs competition and many congratulations to both winning teams, especially Frank Ross and Katherine Golding for doing Athelstaneford proud once again.

Everyone else should be congratulated on their performances too, particularly Yester who couldn’t have done much more to wrest the trophy away from Frank and Katherine but it just wasn’t to be on this occasion.

 

Report: - D Munro

Edinburgh Area Bonspiel - Black Bull

Due to reasons that we wont go into here, East Lothian were unable to defend the Black Bull Trophy.
However a fun 'Draw Shot' Competition was added and this was dominated by one of the East Lothian Teams.  This team was made up by Morgan Nicoll (representing Aberlady) and Colin Baird, Sandy Nicoll (Haddington) John Shedden, Shelagh Main (Athelstaneford), Ian Donald (East Linton) and Ken Burchell (Doo'cot).  Sandy was also the ONLY player to 'cover the hole'
Well done and enjoy your drinks.

As far as the Main competition went, here is a short report from John Good:-

Teams from Midlothian, East Lothian and Peeblesshire Provinces, together with two from the Royal Club proved on 1 December that the Bonspiel format can bring out the best in their curlers.

On the ice they all fought their way through twelve ends, with only a short break to stack brooms, to get their hands on the Black Bull Trophy which dates back more than forty years. The winners would be the pair of teams which had the best shots up total, so getting and holding stones in was the priority for everyone from skips to leads. There was a good draw for in-behind or guard stones as well and some hold for hearty takeouts.

John Shedden took a 5 in one end which helped the East Lothian pair of teams, fellow skip Morgan Nicoll, to finish on +4 overall. 

Trevor Dodds and Lindsay Scotland skipped for Midlothian and included ends of a 5 and a 4 to come off the ice also with a +4 outcome. 

This year Peeblesshire skips Benny Masterton and Robert Robertson together won ten ends but despite each taking 3s late on, finished down the queue.

Royal Club teams, organised by Area Chairman Calder Benzies and Secretary John Good, together won 13 ends and finished +13, with just enough energy left to put the halter on the Black Bull and take it home till next year.

Thanks to everyone who played and socialised at this bonspiel, not least Royal Club Areas Standing Committee men Joe Barry and Joe Kincaid.

The teams were:

East Lothian:

J Shedden, K Burchell, S Main, Ian Donald

M Nicoll, S Nicoll, C Baird

Midlothian:

T Dodds, John Addinall, R Addinall, M McClusky

L Scotland, D Edwards, D Cunningham, I Edwards

Peeblesshire:

B Masterton, D MacKenzie, C MacKenzie, G Masterton

R Robertson, N Calvert, G Rodger, A Smellie

Royal Club:

J Barry, J Good, J Kincaid, J O’Neill

C Benzies, W Linton, P Barton, K Watson

JRG

4 Dec 2017

National Province Championships

The National Province Championships took place at Greenacres on 10-12th November 2017.
East Lothian Province was represented by Haddington, who won the ELKO last season.  Yester were also awarded a place as Runners-up.
Below is a report provided by Haddington:-
The 'Prize' for winning the East Lothian Province Knockout is the opportunity to represent the Province at the National Championships held every year at Greenacres. This year, the honour befell to our victorious team of James Pate, Dave Munro, Sandy Nicoll and Andy Aberdein.  The actual formation of the team caused many headaches with the event clashing with weddings and rugby matches, as each team is restricted to a pool of six players.  The Nicoll family stood up to the mark and the team for Saturday was, Morgan, James P, Sandy and Andy,  with Dave coming in to skip on Saturday and sister Lindsey replacing Sandy.  History does not relate who would be playing on the final day.
Our first game was against Cupar, a very strong team.  Nerves were settled taking a single in the first end and losing it again straight away in the second.  However a run of 1, 4, 2 and 1 against in ends two to five saw the end of our challenge and we went down 9 - 4 against our eventual group runners up.  Our second game of the day was against Upper Strathearn, which was a much more cautious affair.  The opposition stole a 2 in the first end and after that all the ends went on singles.  Going in to the last end we were 5 - 3 up but a tactical error saw us lose a four and the game 5 - 7.
The second day dawned with us on a played 2, lost 2 record and perhaps the strongest team in the group against us first.  Refreshing our playing pool must have helped with Dave and Lindsey joining the team.  The game was poised at 3 - 3 after 5 ends, including our first blanked end ot the championship however Angus took a, possibly decisive 3 in the fifth end.  Fighting back we scored a 2 in the seventh end and managed a steal of 2 in the final end to take a 7 - 6 win (against the eventual group winners).  Our first points were on the board and the fightback had started.  Next up, Selkirk, representing the Borders.
We were against more familiar opposition, which seemed to help.  Despite a come back with a 3 in the seventh and and a steal of 1 in the final end, Haddington had done enough to record a 10 - 7 win and leave qualification a (small) possibility.
The final group game and third game of the day,  was against Inverness.  The decisive moment was a steal of 3 in the third end which laid the foundations for a relatively easy 7 - 2 win, leaving Haddington on 3 wins and 2 losses.
Unfortunately this left us third in our group and failing to qualify by 1 point.
It should be noted that the two teams that topped our group, one of which we had beaten, both won their quarter final games and lost in the semi-final round.

Well done to our six players, who certainly did not disgrace themselves or our club.

As a final note, Yester were also taking part as a 'reserve' entry.  They also finished third in their group with three wins from five.  Yester tied with Renfrewshire on both points and ends but missed qualification on 'shots-up'

East Lothian is one of the smallest Provinces and to produce two teams that were close to qualification is a testament to our abilities.  Well done again to both Haddington and Yester teams.

Province Competitions 2017/18

The draw for all the province competitions have now taken place and can be found HERE

Summer Housekeeping

Firstly, we welcome our new secretary, Elinor Logan and say farewell to Roy Black who has done an excellent job of 'running' the Province aver the last 4 years.  You have big shoes to fill Elinor.

We also say hello to some new club secretaries and where these are known they have been added to the 'About Us' tab.  If anyone knows any additional changes, please let Graeme know.

We have also had our ice allocation for 2017/18 and the dates for our competitions has been added to the 'Fixtures and Draws' tab.  The draws will be added after the next committee meeting when the draw will be made.

CURL EDINBURGH APPEAL

CURL EDINBURGH 2018 APPEAL

The Curl Edinburgh 2018 Appeal recently kicked off with great interest and curiosity from our members! The appeal is looking to raise funds for essential modernisations of our curling facility.
The detailed plan, prepared in conjunction with architects, structural engineers, costs consultants, and others, was set out at a launch event last month. In brief, it schedules work in three phases to coincide with our off seasons. The sequence of work is still being confirmed, however the modernisation includes:

• a new concrete cooling floor,
• recladding the elevations,
• energy efficient lighting,
• the creation of an additional floor above the plant room, and
• doubling the size of the viewing gallery

The project will be funded by a combination of cash reserves, grants, loans, and donations.
More than 30 years ago, a previous generation of Edinburgh curlers dug deep to ensure the continuation of curling in Edinburgh. Now, it is our turn. We are certain we can meet this challenge and emerge with a modern and efficient facility of which we can all be proud!
Donation forms are available at the bar or in the office or download a copy here. Send in your donation today!

A Closer Look

Phase 1

Planning consent has been secured for Phase 1 of construction. During the first phase of the project, the following will be undertaken:

• Insulating the curling rink walls
• Installing energy-efficient LED lighting
• Modernisation of scoreboards and ice hall décor

Phase 2

Phase 2 includes the critical replacement of the curling floor:

• Replace the aging concrete cooling floor
• Install new flow and return headers
• Construct foundations to allow for the Phase 3 extension of the first floor viewing area

Phase 3

The final phase of the project will ensure that we control our own destiny and are not at risk of losing communal gathering space. The construction will include:

• A better-integrated bar and viewing area
• New office space and roof plant area above the existing plant room
• A DDA-compliant passenger lift
• Toilet provision on the first floor

Want to learn more? You can view and download the original launch presentation online:

Launch Presentation

E.L. Knockout 2017

Congratulations to Haddington for winning our Knockout Competition, they will go on to represent us at the National Province Championships at Greenacres next year.
An eye witness reported on the semi finals and finals below:-

The Haddington team of skip James Pate, third Dave Munro, second Sandy Nicoll and lead Andy Aberdein played Athelstaneford (Johnny Shedden, Douglas Scott, Frank Ross and Roy Black) in the semi final. From the start Haddington managed to control and dictate the game and even when an end looked like drifting away James Pate would pull out a saving shot and either keep the loss to a minimum or even claim the end. They steadily built a reasonably comfortable lead and Athelstaneford offered their hand in the seventh end to see Haddington through to the final. 

This gave them the opportunity for a brief rest before the final and an opportunity to watch the other semi play out.

In that Semi Yester and Dirleton were having a close battle and Dirleton skip Susan Meikle drew her last stone on the 8th end to gain a peel so their game went to a draw shot challenge. Susan unfortunately threw her stone through the house and Yester skip, Sandy Stewart, with all 4 of his team sweeping as hard as possible, managed to touch the front of the house and scrape into the final.

So it was Haddington against ‘young’ Yester (Sandy Stewart, Andrew ?, Jack Kerr and Zoe Bain) in the final. It was a much more aggressive game than Haddington had experienced in their semi, with more reliance on strikes and less use of guards.  The early ends were very low scoring but from the fourth end Haddington managed to gradually ease away from Yester.  By the time they reached the culmination of the eight and final end, Yester skip Sandy had to try a ‘miracle’ shot which wasn’t really on to force a peel.  He didn’t manage it so Haddington took the trophy for the East Lothian Province Knock Out for the first time in 6 years. 

D.M. (slightly edited)

E.L. Bonspiel 2017

Congratulations to Haddington 1, skipped by James Logan for winning the ELCO Cup for the nineteenth time, with a good final score of 17 shots up.  James was assisted by James Pate, Andy Aberdein, Elinor Logan and Roy Black.

Upcoming Events

A happy and healthy new year to one and all. I hope you have all enjoyed the festive season.
I am sure you all join me in wishing all our curlers an enjoyable and successful tour in America, especially John and Callum. We will miss you at our Bonspiel.
Our next Province fixture is our annual bonspiel on Friday 20 Jan @1205. We have six sheets booked. The draw is on the Province notice board at Murrayfield.
The semi-final and final of the knockout is on Sunday 29 Jan @1345, with the final @1545. Congratulations to Yester, Dirleton, Haddington and Athelstaneford.
Our last Province fixture of the season is the big one. On Wednesday 8 February we play Forth and Endrick in the Waldie Griffiths Challenge. The game is at Murrayfield this year @1430. We require 16 players please, and preferably a couple of reserves. I would like to have the names asap, but no later than Fri 20 Jan(bonspiel day). Supper is booked for afterwards.
Thanks Roy

USA Tour 2017

Our best wishes go to Callum Harvey and John Good, who along with 18 other Scottish curlers set off shortly for 'their tour of a lifetime'.  During the 2017 Curlers Tour to the USA they will be playing a total of 31 games in three weeks.  At the end of which they will hopefully have regained the Herries Maxwell Trophy for Scotland.
The tour will cover from Cape Cod in the East to Minneapolis in the West.

You can follow their day to day exploits on their website  https://rccc2017tour.com.
This link is also on the right hand panel along with other useful links.