In a big day of announcements, the names of supported athletes and teams have now been published. Explanation of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's Performance Pathway is here. In total, twelve teams will receive support for next season.
The ELITE teams will receive support through the Scottish Institute of Sport. The Institute coaches are Derek Brown (National Coach) and Cate Brewster. The teams for 2010-11 are:
(1) David Murdoch, Warwick Smith, Glen Muirhead, Ross Hepburn
(2) Tom Brewster, Greg Drummond, Scott Andrews, Michael Goodfellow
(3) Eve Muirhead, Kelly Wood, Lorna Vevers, Annie Laird
(4) Sarah Reid, Kerry Barr, Kay Adams, Barbara McFarlane
The NATIONAL ACADEMY programme is run by Rhona Martin (RCCC Performance Development Coach) supported by Brad Askew (RCCC Assistant Performance Development Coach) and complimented by team coaches. The teams 2010-11 who will receive support via the Royal Club and the Area Institute network are:
(1) Ally Fraser, Blair Fraser, Thomas Sloan, Kerr Drummond
(2) Jay McWilliam, Grant Hardie, Struan Wood, Ian Copland
(3) John Penny, Colin Dick, Colin Howden, Billy Morton
(4) Duncan Fernie, David Edwards, Richard Woods, Colin Campbell
(5) Anna Sloan, Claire Hamilton, Vicki Adams, Rhiann Macleod
(6) Lauren Gray, Jennifer Dodds, Tasha Aitken, Caitlin Barr
(7) Hannah Fleming, Rebecca Kesley, Alice Spence, Abi Brown
(8) Gail Munro, Lyndsay Wilson, Kerry Adams, Alison Mather
Congratulations too to the fifty-five individuals who will receive help through the Regional Academy programme, see here. This programme is also managed by Rhona Martin, supported by Brad Askew.
In a separate announcement, see here, RCCC Competitions Manager Colin Hamilton has named the teams that will take part on the European Qualifying event at the Dewar's Rinks, Perth, October 29-31. The winners then will represent Scotland at the Le Gruyere European Championships in Champery, Switzerland, December 3-11.
The top three women's teams from last season's Scottish Championship all met the criteria for entry. These are:
(1) Eve Muirhead (skip), Kelly Wood, Lorna Vevers, Anne Laird
(2) Gail Munro (skip), Lyndsay Wilson, Kerry Adams and Alison Mather
(3) Sarah Reid (skip), Kerry Barr, Kay Adams and Barbara McFarlane
On the men's side, I had already flagged up the difficulties faced by the Competitions Committee this season, see here.
Colin says, "None of the top three teams from the Scottish Championships meet the criteria, so after long deliberation these are the teams that have been invited to play in the European Play-offs":
(1) David Murdoch (skip), Warwick Smith, Glen Muirhead and Ross Hepburn
(2) Hammy McMillan (skip), David Smith, Ross Paterson and Sandy Gilmour
(3) Ewan MacDonald (skip), Peter Loudon, Graeme Connal and Euan Byers
These three teams avoid having to play in the Scottish Championship prequalifiers.
