DUMFRIES ICE BOWL OPEN

Play got under way this morning with some great games of Curling and no major upsets.

Bryce v MacLeod saw Macleod take 5 of the 8 ends and win 7-6.

Bryce took a 3 in the first end and MacLeod could only take a 1 in the second. Bryce countered with a 2 in the 3^rd but MacLeod had a string of success and won the next three ends going into the 7^th end with a 6-5 lead. The 7th end saw Bryce lying two in the house – one of which was in the 4 foot and playing long guards which were initially removed until a well-played 5^th MacLeod stone went round the guard and hit and rolled the centre stone – a nice tap back by the Bryce 5^th stone saw their yellow in the 4 foot but open. Bryce took the 1 in the 7^th to level the game but in the 8^th Macleod took a 1 to win the game.

Pougher v Whyte as Pougher take 4 of the 7 ends however a 3 and a 4 by Whyte saw them take the game 8-5.

Pougher took only a 1 in the first against Whyte as a result of his last stone appearing to pick up however he also took a further 1 in the 2^nd and a 1 in the 4th. Whyte took a 1 in the 3^rd and then a 3 in the 4^th – however Pougher had a 2 in the 6^th and saw the lead changing again to 5-4 for Pougher with two ends to go. With Whyte having the hammer he was looking for a two. Pougher placed his shot amongst the Whyte shots leaving Ross with a tricky last shot to remove it and leave his own. He had a nice hit and gained 4 shots to go 3 up.

Hamilton v Lill saw two blank ends and this was followed by a well fought game and Lille won by getting a single in the last end.

Hamilton v Lill was extremely tight with blank ends in the 1^st and 3^rd and only Hamilton managed to score with a single in the second end. After that Lill took the 4^th with a 2 and a 1 in the 5^th. Hamilton took a one in the 7^th and the game was tied with last end deciding. Lill with the hammer took a 1 to win the game.

Summary

Mouat v Graham Sloan saw Mouat playing exceedingly well and the game was conceded after Mouat won the first four ends.

Mouat v the local team of Graham Sloan, David Owen and two junior club members Bill Turner & Andrew Murray saw the local team being outpaced to the extent they were 9 down by the 3^rd end and the game concluded after 4ends.

Summary

Taylor v Local Team Howat saw both teams taking three ends and a blank in the 7^th saw the last end being decided when Taylor took a 3.

Taylor v another local team of Howat was a tight battle with Howat taking a 1 in the 1^st but then losing singles in both the 2^nd and 3^rd ends. Going into the 7^th and last end saw the game tied 3 all with both teams having taken singles each end. The Taylor team were however up to this and kept the opposition out and won by three shots.

Dumfries Open: 1 Team Needed

After a successful weekend of curling at Braehead the next destination for the Goldline Scottish Curling Tour is Dumfries, 16th - 18th October 2015.

There is still 1 space for a men's or a mixed team.   Sections 1 and 2 kick off the weekend at 11am on Friday 16th October.  Organisers are keen to get make the numbers even so any teams interested should contact Dumfries ice rink or Graham Sloan.

Some fantastic prizes are on offer:

¼ Finalists will receive £100 per team
½ Finalists will receive £250 per team
Runner Up will receive £300
Winner will receive £700

Stay connected to the GSCT site for updates across the weekend.

Hardie Wins at Braehead!

Grant Hardie and his team of Blair Fraser, Dave Reid and Billy Morton are the winners of the first GSCT event of the season!
Hardie and MacDonald had a good tustle in the final, with Hardie 1 up, with hammer, going down the last. The final few shots from both skips were fantastic, but it was Hardie who emerged victorious 6-5, gaining tour points, the Braehead Open trophy and £650 prize money.

In the low Rd, Stuart Taylor won the mini shenkel, with Kubeskova coming second.

A special thanks to Jayne Stirling for her work as photographer this weekend, with the above shots being hers too! Plenty more can be seen on GSCT Facebook page.

Thanks to Braehead and look forward to seeing you all in Dumfries, 16-18 Oct!

Nail biter at Braehead!

With the Hardie rink of Grant Hardie, Blair Fraser, Dave Reid & Billy Morton already through to the final, thanks to an 8-2 victory over Cameron Bryce, all eyes were on the semi between MacDonald and Mouat. It was a cracker of a game and was peels after normal time. So it was down to a draw shot for a place in the final!
Bruce managed to get very close to the button, but the reigning Scottish champion held his nerve and nailed the "poppy".
So, the MacDonald rink of Ewan MacDonald, David Edwards, Ruairidh Greenwood and Euan Byres will face team Hardie in the Final.
Bryce and Mouat will face off in the 3 v 4.

The final round of the low road Shenkel also takes to the ice.

With top quality curling and rugby world cup on the box, some people's heads may explode!

Semis at Braehead

It's down to the last few, as the high road semis take to the ice.
Bryce will take on Hardie in one semi and Mouat will play MacDonald in the other. MacDonald having a bit more of a rest between games, after John Havercroft decided to shake hands after only 4 ends, with a 7-2 scoreline.

In the low road Shenkel, wins went to A Taylor, Valfridsson, Kubeskova and S Taylor.

Saturday Update and Sunday Format!

Ok folks, strap yourselves in and I will try my best to explain the format for last night and today!
After the initial 3 rounds, teams Mouat and Jackson from A and Bryce and MacDonald from B went straight to today's quarters.

In the playoffs for high Rd quarter spots, Hardie beat MacFarlane 9-2, Ireland beat McCall 7-3, Lumsden beat Wilson 4-2 and Havercroft beat Horton 7-3.

The bottom 4 from each section head to a low road 3 game mini shenkel, all games being 6 ends, with no final!

Are you still with me?

The high Rd quarter are:
Bryce v Lumsden
MacDonald v Havercroft
Mouat v Ireland
Jackson v Hardie

In the qrts and semis, if peels, a draw shot will be played. In the final, an extra end will be played.

In the low Rd shenkel, the first game is:
Aitken v A Taylor
Kubeskova v Fowler
Valfridsson v Wales
S Taylor v Sharp

Good luck to all the teams!

Saturday at Braehead

After a few technical difficulties yesterday, Saturday's live linescoring is running smoothly!
If you want to check out the teams that are competing, go to the GSCT facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222253851142939/ for the team lineups and tune in there this afternoon for some action from the games.

GSCT kicks off at Braehead

The new season of The Goldline Scottish Curling tour kicks of this weekend with The Braehead Open, sponsored by Cardwell Garden Centre.

A few of the big hitters may be working abroad this weekend, but there will still be some very good teams hoping to start their season with some tour points

Last year’s Scottish champion Ewan MacDonald will be fielding a slightly changed line-up, with David Edwards joining Ruairidh Greenwood and Euan Byers as the team to beat!

The whole field is pretty strong, but perhaps some of the others to watch out for are:

Grant Hardie, with Blair Fraser, David Reid and Billy Morton

Bruce Mouat, with Duncan Menzies, Bobby Lammie, Gregor Cannon and Angus Dowell

Gina Aitken, with Rowena Kerr, Laura Ritchie and Heather Morton

Sophie Jackson, with Naomi Brown, Rachel Halliday and Rachael Hannen

Cameron Bryce, with Zack Stewart, Fraser Kingan and Frazer Shaw

Home advantage could play a part for Braehead’s own:

Stuart Taylor, with Alasdair Schreiber, Fraser Davidson and Chay Telfer

Other local teams include: Andrew Taylor, John McCall, Pete Lumsden, Ken Horton and Gary MacFarlane, the later few presumably starting their build up for the Scottish Seniors and not to be underestimated!

There are plenty of teams who have travelled from afar, including Sweden, Czech Republic, England, Wales and Ireland, who will be trying to upset the home teams.

The competition will be played in a schenkel league system in which teams will play 3 games in the preliminary rounds with the third preliminary round game depending on league ranking position. The league ranking positions will be based on points, ends, shots scored, in that order.

Twenty teams will be competing in the competition split over two groups of ten teams. Teams ranked 1st and 2nd in Section A and B will progress direct to The Quarter finals, while teams ranked 3 to 6 in each of the two sections will progress to the High Road Knock-Out stage. The winning teams in the High Road Knock-Out stage will go on to the Quarter-Finals.

The eight teams that do not qualify for the High road, go into a schenkel Low Road, and play 3 further games, the Low Road winner will be the team which comes out top in the Low Road League.

The bar will be open throughout the event, for spectators and food will be available from before the first sessions.

Good Curling!!!!

For more information on the event click here

For results click here

Dumfries Open 2015 - Last few places still available

There are still a few spaces available at this years Dumfries Open, Friday 16th - Sunday 18th October.  

The organising committee is looking for 1 additional ladies team in order to complete the line up. 

2 spots for men's teams are also still available.

Dumfries is sporting a new ice layout for this season which is designed to improve ice conditions. Entries will play a minimum of 4 games.  Full details are below:


Dumfries Open takes place on Friday 16th - Sunday 18th October
Entry fee £250
New Ice Layout for this season to improve Ice conditions
Minimum of 4 games per team
For entries email info@dumfriescurling.co.uk

Braehead Open 2015 - Still have room for a few more teams!

BRAEHEAD OPEN 2015 sponsored by CARDWELL GARDEN CENTRE.

 Friday the 25th to Sunday the 27th September.

Minimum of Four games and most teams will play up to 6 games.

Most of the big guns will not be here this year as they are playing abroad during that weekend. 

However, we still have a few big teams coming along as well as some of the young Performance and Academy teams from The Scottish and British Curling Programme.  

That, of course, gives all other teams a better chance of making the last eight to gains points as part of The Scottish Goldline Curling Tour.  Additional it means the competition should be more attractive to the average club or rink team as they are likely to play more games against other teams of a similar standard.  

Games start at 6pm or 8.30pm on Friday evening with the final scheduled for 2.30pm on Sunday.   The final format will depend upon number of entries. We are still hoping to award Prizes for a range of participants including under 25s, best overseas, seniors, ladies, 

Braehead members, as well as the main prize of £650 for the Braehead Open Champions.   

Entry Fee is £200.

CLOSING DATE for entry has been put back to 4th September and if you would like to enter then please send an e-mail to myself at David.horne@intu.co.uk