December 19, 2014

Reminder about the Substitute Rules

Following a recent audit of the results for this season, by the committee, it transpires that two teams have now breached the substitutes rule 1.3 and as such have had a second entry added to the leaderboard as per rule 1.4.

The full GSCT rules are published on the website. These are reviewed by the committee annually and any changes will be advised on the blog at the end of each season.


1. Team Eligibility 1.1 Any group of 4 players will be eligible to play in SCT tournaments and be awarded SCT points.
1.2 On award of SCT points, the full names of players used in the tournament (including any substitutes) must be submitted to tournament organiser.
1.3 In order to continue accruing points on SCT leaderboard no more than six players may be used by one team in any given season.
1.4 On use of 7th player in any tournament, points awarded in that event will be listed as a new team on the SCT leader board.

December 14, 2014

Brewster Wins

Tom Brewster's team win the 3rd Kinross Open in an exciting final against David Edwards.


In the quarter finals Tom overcame Hazel Smith whose girls fought well to tie the game going into the final end. In the semi he then faced another ladies team led by Hannah Fleming who had convincingly beaten Kyle Smith's favoured side in the quarters. Tom took an early three pointer and, although Hannah pushed Tom all the way, the men made no mistakes in the closing stages of the game and won their way to the final.

David's quarter final against local Lee McCleary ended in a reasonably comfortable win for the Aberdeen side. In the last quarter final Lee's brother Ross made short work of Gina Aitken's girls. Like the other semi an early three to team Edwards was crucial. Ross fought back to level after five ends, before Edwards blanked the 6th and 7th and cleaned up to win the final end.

The final lived up to its billing and there was little to separate the sides throughout. David had the hammer in the last and was looking for a two for the game. The end set up well for Team Edwards with lots of stones in play.  With his first David played a good shot to remove two Brewster counters and lie three stones fully guarded. All seemed lost for Brewster who ultimately opted for a extremely thin in-wick take-out. Tom played it perfectly replacing the yellow stone on the button with his red. It was the stone of the tournament and a 1 in 20 shot by Tom's own admission. David was left with nothing. He attempted a flat double off a winger but it wasn't to be and shook hands. There will be new names on the trophy this year.
Thomas Muirhead, Hammy McMillan, Tom Brewster and Glenn Muirhead.

Congratulations to Doug Ritchie and the organising committee for running a very successful event.

All photographs by Andy R Macpherson www.AndyMacArt.co.uk.

December 13, 2014

Kinross Qualifiers

Section A saw Tom Brewster's rink dominate and qualify for the quarters without dropping a game. Gina Aitken and John Duff finished equal on points but it is Gina and team that go through on their ends tally.

Simon Grant of Team Duff showing off his new socks.

In Section B, both Hazel Smith and Ross McCleary's rinks won three out of their four games. Ross's local team qualify first with three more ends than the ladies.

Action Man

Section C was clear cut with Kyle Smith's team qualifying first and Lee McCleary beating Grant Barr's side to qualify second.
Stuart Stark and Robin Brydone go to work when Lee McCleary is light again.

In Section D it was David Edwards and Hannah Fleming that led the way. These two teams drew their first head to head 5-5, with Hannah leading on ends. However in their Saturday night game the  boys dominated and secured the first qualifying place.
Hamish Geyer, Alice Spence and Abi Brown not quite sure what to make of that shot.

Quarterfinal match-ups at 10am tomorrow are:
   Tom Brewster vs Hazel Smith
   Kyle Smith vs Hannah Fleming
   Ross McCleary vs Gina Aitken
   David Edwards vs Lee McCleary

December 02, 2014

Kinross Open

Summer 2014 has seen Kinross Curling Rink undergo a major refurbishment with new roofing, walls, floor & plant. In fact, everything except the steelwork! Players and spectators are therefore looking forward to some top class curling in this "new" facility next weekend for the Kinross Open (12th - 14th Dec)



The draw has been released and it includes a number of teams who are vying for the lead of the Goldline Scottish Curling Tour. Come along and enjoy the action!

November 12, 2014

Only Two Events Remain


Below is a snapshot of the Goldline Scottish Curling Tour leaderboard with only two events remaining: 

30pts David Edwards
20pts Tom Brewster
20pts Ewan MacDonald
19pts Stuart Taylor
16pts Hannah Fleming
16pts Lee McCleary
15pts Aku Kauste
13pts Ross McCleary
10pts Jennifer Martin
10pts Kyle Smith   
 

Both Kinross (12-14 December) and Aberdeen (30 Jan – 1 Feb) have still places left so with plenty points still available can anyone stop David Edwards claiming his second GSCT title. Strong fields are assembling for both events with seven of the above field already in for Kinross and the top two along with Hannah Fleming signed up for Aberdeen.  

Kinross have increased their prize fund from £750 to £1,250 this year. 


Below is the current GSCT chairwoman in action at Kinross last year

November 09, 2014

Edinburgh International - Sunday Round Up


Team Kauste from Finland qualified for the final of and were up against Team Sik from The Czech Republic.
The final started slowly but in the 2nd end Team Kauste played a good aggressive end and left Sik facing 3 shots. His attempted double takeout jammed and only one stone was removed, which left Kauste with a draw for 3 points, which was made. Team Sik responded with a 3 of their own in the 3rd end to tie the game. End 4 was blanked but then Kauste made a solid shot to score another 3, this time in the 5th end. Sik could only score 1 in the 6th end but a miss by Kauste in the 7th end allowed Sik to steal 2 in the 7th end to tie the score at 6-6. Team Kauste held the last stone in the 8th end and made no mistake, scoring 1 to win the game 7-6.

Team Kauste qualified for the final following an 8-5 victory over Team Brewster in the quarter final and following this up with a 5-3 win over Team Van Dorp from the Netherlands.Team Sik qualified for the final by defeating Team Smith 6-4 in the quarter final and then defeating Team Taylor in the semi final.

Winners of the 2014 Edinburgh International - Team Kauste

November 08, 2014

Edinburgh International


The round robin matches in this years Edinburgh International Curling Championship have now concluded. The swinging ice has helped to produce some exciting and nerve tingling matches and a few surprise results which have had spectators and webcast viewers on the edge of their seats.
In Section A Team Brewster continued their impressive start to the season despite by finishing top of the section with a 4-1 record, with their only loss coming at the hands of the talented young team skipped by Bruce Mouat. Team Sik from the Czech Republic qualified in second place from Section A.
In Section B Kyle Smith was a perfect 5-0 during the round robin and qualified top of the section. Team Kauste from Finland qualified in second place from Section B.
In Section C Team Van Dorp from the Netherlands are also in fine form and topped their section with an undefeated record. Team Kiiskinen from Finland defeated defending champions Team Edwards in final round robin match to qualify in second place from Section C.
Section D was a very tight affair with 3 teams finishing joint top of the section with a 3-1 record. Team Taylor qualified top of the section due to having a better draw shot challenge score, whilst Team Rantamaki from Finland defeated Team Lill from Estonia in a play off to secure the final qualification spot.

The quarter final line up is as follows:
Brewster vs  Kauste
Van Dorp vs Rantamaki
Taylor vs Kiiskinen
Smith vs Sik 

Team Sik in action
Aku Kauste providing encouragement to his sweepers

November 06, 2014

Edinburgh International

The 5th event of the Goldline SCT season gets underway early tomorrow at Murrayfield.

They are webcasting the below games throughout the weekend so be sure to tune in to see your favourite teams in action.

Team Brewster will be competing on home soil in the hope of continuing their recent successes on the European Curling Tour. The current Scottish Curling Tour leaders Team Edwards will also be competing in the hope of extending their lead in the rankings before representing Scotland at the  European Curling Championships in Switzerland at the end of the month.

All results and links for the webcasting can be found at their website.


http://murrayfieldinternational.com/


Friday
8.30am – Gallo v Mouat
11.00am – R McCleary v Lill

2.00pm – van dorp v Shaw
4.20pm – Nagy v Smith
7.25pm – Mouat v Brewster

Saturday
8.00am – Lill v Rantamaki
10.20am – Stevenson v Edwards
1.20pm – Black v Smith
3.40pm – Brewster v Gallo   or  Sik v Uusipaavalniemi
6.45pm – Rantamaki v R McCleary

Sunday
Quarter Final
Semi Final
Final

November 03, 2014

MacDonald win Inverness Skins

Inverness Skins was successfully held again this weekend at the Inverness Ice Centre

Home town favourite Ewan MacDonald battled through his quarter final with Tom Pendreigh £67 - £33 and then won a hard fought semi final against 2013/14 tour winners Team Ross McCleary. The game coming down to the last end skin with Team MacDonald managing to steal the skin for game.

In the other half of the draw Robbie Stevenson took all the cash in his quarter final against Alan Durno then in the semi-final managed to win the draw shot challenge against David Stobo after the final 4 ends had all carried over.

The final saw both teams playing some high calibre shots to have all 5 ends carried over making the last last end worth, a winner takes all £300! Ewan and his team of Duncan Fernie, David Reid and Euan Byers took the skin to win the cash and the trophy!

Inverness Skins 2014 Winners Team MacDonald

Runners-up Team Stevenson
Thanks must go to Tom Pendreigh, George Macarthur and the rest of the skins committee for another great event. Always competitive, always fun and always social!

November 01, 2014

Saturday Action at Inverness






Action from the Inverness Ice Centre

Team MacDonald
Neil McArthur and team.

Skins = plenty on stones in play!
Team Jamieson

Tom Pendreigh




October 26, 2014

Team Edwards wins Goldline SCT Forfar event

The final of the Goldline SCT Forfar event was contested between David Edwards and Hannah Fleming's sides. Local junior Adam Flint (subbing for Billy Morton) played lead for the recent European Championship qualifying team and had a great weekend's curling.

The final was a very tight game and going into the final end, Team Edwards was one ahead with last stone advantage. Hannah's team of Abigail Brown, Alice Spence and Lorna Vevers set up the end well but a double clear by John Penny almost sealed the win and the game was concluded at 4-3.

L-R; Adam Flint, Scott Macleod, John Penny & David Edwards
Team Fleming, worthy winners of the Women's trophy also picked up a cheque for £400 from Forfar Indoor Sports.

The 3 v 4 playoff was contested between Lee McCleary and Cameron Bryce's teams. Lee McCleary's team of Duncan McFadzean, Stuart Stark and Robin Brydone made a strong start and defended well thereafter to win 6-2.

As always Forfar Indoor Sports provided great hospitality and ice to the competitors for the weekend. Next on the calendar is Inverness Skins taking place from 31st Oct to 2nd Nov.

October 25, 2014

Goldline SCT Forfar - Quarter final qualifiers

At the Goldline SCT Forfar event, sections B and C are now complete with Ross McCleary the only team unbeaten in the tournament so far.

Ally Fraser & Ross McCleary check out options

Team Shedden, skipped by Chay Telfer, notched 5 shots in the 5th end against Team Taylor to control their last round robin game, finishing with an 8-5 win to qualify for the quarter finals. Ross McCleary and Team Shedden are joined by the Stray Dogs (skipped by Colin Howden).

Chay Telfer skips his team to victory

In the final ladies round robin games, Hannah Fleming's side had a convincing 9-1 win over Gina Aitken to finish top of the section and will be joined in the quarter finals by Team Martin who are skipped by Hazel Smith this weekend in the absence of Jennifer Martin.

Going into the last round robin game in section A, 5 of the 6 teams are still in contention for a spot in the quarter finals so it is all to play for!



October 24, 2014

Goldline SCT Forfar event underway

After the first round of games at the Goldline SCT Forfar event, Section A is led by Lee McCleary who beat David Edwards in a tight game led all the way by McCleary, and Team Jones (skipped by John Duff) who set up a great last end, managing to steal 2 for a 5-4 win against Ron Caithness' local team.
 
Team McCleary checking out options

In section B, Ross McCleary had a good second half performance with steals in ends 5, 6 and 7 to secure a win against Stuart Taylor and Stray Dogs had a 5-4 win over Andy McGlynn.

In section C which comprises 5 ladies teams, it was Hannah Fleming and Lauren Gray's teams who were victorious with the two teams up against each other in the second round.
Team Fleming v Team Gray in the 2nd round of games

October 09, 2014

Team Edwards Win Sulwath Open at Dumfries

Dumfries Ice Bowl hosted the Sulwath Open with some great games being played over the weekend.

The teams also enjoyed some hospitality on the Friday night and a good night was had by all on the Saturday as the bar bought in some extra supplies to meet the demand. We would like to thank all the teams for making the trip down to the Ice Bowl and have had some good feedback which will be introduced for the Open next season.

The New Ladies element to the Open was won by Hannah Fleming and her team.



The 1/4 finals produced some great games which kept the spectators in the curling lounge on the edge of their seats.

Sunday Morning saw David Edward defeat Bruce Mouat and David Hardie beat Graeme Adam in the semi finals.

The Final was very evenly contested with a real battle of tactics between the two teams. Team Edwards managed to sqeeze a 2 shot lead in to the last end where they were able to keep control leaving Richard Woods (throwing last stones for D Hardie) with a long raise for two to force an extra end. It was a very close effort picking his own stone out rather than the Edwards rink stone. 

Runners up Team David Hardie

Sulwath Open winners 2014 Team Edwards.

September 30, 2014

The Sulwath Open hits the ice this weekend

This weekend (Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th October) Dumfries Ice Bowl looks forward to hosting the Sulwath Open with a new addition to the event with an ALL ladies section.  The top ladies team from the section will win the Ladies Event Prize as well as qualifying for the quarterfinals along with the 2nd place team in the ladies section. 

Graham Sloan, part of the organising committee said" We look set to have a great event with some exciting teams taking part and a warm welcome to our two teams from China."

Dumfries Ice Bowl is looking to build on its recent success of hosting the World Senior & Mixed Doubles with the SCT playing the first of many open events this season.



                 


 Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
China Men
Duncan Gracie
TBC
Hannah Fleming
Graeme Adam
Graeme Black
David Jones
Jennifer Martin
David Edwards
Bruce Mouat
Chris Howat
China Women
Jamie Malton
Team Wales
David Hardie
TBC

SESSION TIMES
Friday 3rd October
10am – 3pm
Teams Can book 1 hour practice session by calling 07921057138

Sheet 1
Sheet 2
Sheet 3
Sheet 4
Sheet 5
Sheet 6
17.30
1 v 2
3 v 4
1 v 2
3 v 4
1 v 2
3 v 4
20.00



1 v 2
3 v 4


Saturday 4th October

Sheet 1
Sheet 2
Sheet 3
Sheet 4
Sheet 5
Sheet 6
9.00

1 v 3
2 v 4



11.30
1 v 3
2 v 4
1 v 3
2 v 4
1 v 3
2 v 4
14.00


1 v 4
2 v 3


16.30
1 v 4
2 v 3
1 v 4
2 v 3
1 v 4
2 v 3
19.30
Quarter Finals Top Section V 2nd     1 v 4 ,  2 v 3,   3 v 2  4 v 1


KNOCKOUT STAGES
¼ Finals Saturday 4th @ 7.30pm
Semi Final – 9.30am Sunday 5th October
Final – 12.30pm Sunday 5th October

      Bar and Entertainment through the event!

·        ¼ Finalists will receive £150 per team
·        ½ Finalists will receive £250 per team
·        Runner Up will receive £300
·        Winner will receive £600
·      Cash Pot of £2000 confirmed
·        Top Ladies Section Winner £100

Brewster claims first title of 14/15 season at Braehead

Tom Brewster and his newly formed team of Glen Muirhead, Thomas Muirhead, Hammy McMillan and Ross Paterson claimed the title at the SCT Braehead Open (sponsored by The Caldwell Garden Centre) at the weekend.

Brewster and his team started their tour campaign with a clean sweep of games throughout the weekend and claimed the title after beating current Scottish Champions Ewan MacDonald in the quarterfinals, Lee McCleary in the semi final and Stuart Taylor in the final.

The Braehead Open was a successful event once again with 28 teams taking to the ice and with 14 teams still playing in the last session (in the different roads and playoffs) the season is well and truly underway.

To view the standings of the SCT after Braehead, click here.

Forfar Open still looking for entries

The Forfar Open which is to be held from 24th to 26th October still has places available for any interested teams. This well established event on the Goldline Scottish Curling Tour always combines a strong competition on the ice and fun time off it.

The ladies section already has a strong line-up this year, with Teams Fleming, Aitken, Martin and Gray all confirmed.

For more information, or to enter contact Graham Smith at graham@forfarindoorsports.co.uk

September 25, 2014

New Season Begins at Braehead

 
The new season on The Goldline Scottish Curling tour kicks of this weekend with The Braehead Open, sponsored by Cardwell Garden Centre.
 
Ross McCleary and his 2013/14 Tour winning team return to the ice looking to get their defence off to a good start. The competition sees some top names compete. From men's, Tom Brewster, Ewan MacDonald and Kyle Smith, along side ladies teams such as Hannah Fleming and Jennifer Martin. Add in some senior's rinks like Ken Horton and Gary Macfarlane and an international flavour with teams from China, Sweden and Estonia, it is sure to be great competition.
 
The event runs from 26th to 28th September with 28 teams in a schenkel format of two sections. The top eight teams from each section progress to the High Road Knock-Out Stage, while teams ranked 9-12th in each section will progress to Middle Road and 13-14th ranked teams in each section after the Preliminary Rounds will progress to the Low Road semi-finals.
 
For more information on the event click here
 
For results click here

September 09, 2014

Edinburgh International

The Edinburgh International to be held from 7th - 9th November is still looking for a few entries.

Heading the Scottish contingent will be Tom Brewster with a new team in front of him for season 2014-2015. Third is Glen Muirhead, second is Ross Paterson and lead is Hammy McMillan.

Dave Edwards brings his Edinburgh International champions rink with him to this year’s competition. Dave makes one change in his 2013 line-up – replacing Colin Campbell with young Billy Morton. All four team members are past Scottish Junior Champions.

Former World Junior Champion Kyle Smith brings his front end from last year with him (Kyle Waddell and Cammy Smith), but he has replaced long-time third, Thomas Muirhead with Grant Hardie. 

There has already been a number of entries from Europe. Markku Uusipaavalniemi is one of four Finnish teams competing. David Sik returns for another attempt to win the famous old “World Championships” trophy.

The entry form can be found at the below link.

http://murrayfieldinternational.com/edinburgh-international-2014-entry-form/

August 11, 2014

Update on Scottish Curling Championships

Last season the RCCC invited Competitors and Coaches to complete a survey after each stage of the Scottish Curling Championship to gather feedback and opinion to enable us to deliver competitions and events which support the needs of our membership.  The feedback we received identified areas for improvement which led to a full review of the qualification process for the Scottish Curling Championships.  The review led to a proposal which would eradicate the current system that is subject to change each season depending on the number of entries received.
 
The proposal was to utilise results from World Curling Tour (WCT), Champions Curling Tour (CCT), Challenger Series (CS) and Scottish Curling Tour (SCT) to achieve a ranking.  Men’s Teams ranked 1-8 and Women’s Teams ranked 1-4 would qualify directly for the Scottish Curling Championship.  The remaining entrants would participate in a 1 weekend qualifying event for 2 places for each gender. The number of teams gaining direct entry to the Scottish Curling Women’s Championship, via the ranking system, is based on current participation figures and may change should there be an increase in entries.
 
Following agreement in principle from the relevant RCCC Committees, discussions have taken place with Players and Coaches, Scottish Curling Tour (SCT) Committee, SCT Competition Representatives and RCCC Board.  Consultation has been in the main positive, however it has been decided that to ensure due diligence is taken in implementing any change to the Scottish Curling Championship, that the qualification process will remain unchanged for Season 2014-15.
The RCCC and SCT Committee and Organisers have agreed that the RCCC will investigate and trial a number of ranking systems, in the background, throughout the coming season to inform the decision making process.
 
The qualification process for the Scottish Curling Championships for Season 2014-15 will be dependent on entry numbers however it is likely that 2 qualification weekends will be required for the Men’s Championship.  Entry forms will be available on the RCCC website in the near future.
 
Scottish Curling Men’s Championships – Qualifier
16 – 18 January 2015 (Dumfries Ice Bowl – venue subject to the agreement of terms and conditions)
6 – 8 February 2015 (Braehead Curling)
 
Scottish Curling Women’s Championship – Qualifier or Double Round Robin
6 – 8 February 2015 (Braehead Curling)
 
Scottish Curling Championships
16 – 22 February 2015 (Dewars Centre, Perth)

March 25, 2014

2014/15 Schedule

We are pleased to announce the schedule for 2014/15 season as below

Details can also be found under the tab named Calendar 14/15 (click on the Competition Name for available entry forms)

Date
Event
26 Sep- 28 Sep
03 Oct – 05 Oct
24 Oct – 26 Oct
31 Oct – 02 Nov
07 Nov – 09 Nov
 
 
12 Dec – 14 Dec
30 Jan - 1 Feb