I think, if most of us reading this are honest with ourselves, the disability that we fear the most is losing our sight. It has happened to many of course, yet visually impaired curlers are striving to make their presence felt in some of the country's rinks. Leading the way amongst them is Jim Gales, on the hack in the photo above, getting help with his lineup from John Arbuckle. I've seen Jim on the ice before, see here.So it was not a surprise to hear that Jim had issued a challenge to the fully sighted Trustees of the Fife Curling Trust. These are the curlers striving to raise the funding for a community rink at Cupar. It is certainly the ethic behind the Fife Curling Trust to encompass curlers of all abilities AND disabilities. The challenge between VICE Fife (Vision Impaired Curlers East Fife) and the trustees' representatives took place on Thursday (October 29) at Kinross.
I was impressed at the enthusiasm and feel that these visually impaired curlers have for the game. Here are some of those taking part in Thursday's challenge. L-R above: Andrew Stevenson (FCT), Jim Gales, Ian Wallace (FCT), Liz Campbell, John Arbuckle (FCT) and David Manzie.
David Steel, the driving force behind the Cupar project, and Frank Goodison, were the two skips. Here (1) Frank is giving David a donation to the Trust (as you can too, see here), or (2) the two skips are having a small wager on the outcome of the game!
Needless to say, a handicap system was introduced, David pronouncing it a 'scary experience!' Good fun, humbling to witness, and great to see the Fife Curlers Trust keeping their efforts to the fore! Best wishes to our VICs on the ice.Pics © Skip Cottage
