It was good to learn that the title sponsors of the Glynhill Ladies International are up for another couple of years. Hopefully the Russians will continue to support the event, not to mention their support of the local retail economy.Here are some Monday ramblings and photos from me about the competition.
Not that I need an excuse to show another photo of Anna Sidorova, but may I use her to illustrate a problem with naming teams on results pages from competitions. Anna did not play in 'Team Sidorova' which was shown as such on the results pages from the event (see here). She skipped the Ziablikova team. So, any student of the game, looking back at the archives from fifty years in the future, will see that Sidorova got through to the semifinals of the Glynhill Ladies International 2012. She didn't. Liudmila Privikova skipped the Russian team that was in the semifinals.The problem exists for those who follow the sport from their computers, and for those in charge of results pages. The Royal Club website shows today that Duncan Menzies qualified for the Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish Championship. No he didn't. He was in Innsbruck wearing a Team GB top. His team, skipped by Murray Young, got through (and well done to them).
It just goes to show that you cannot believe everything you read on the Web.
For example, some seem to think that the Bond Girls were really at Braehead location scouting for Three Days in January. I have to confess that I'm not sure they were, but I think that Marissa, Cindy, Jennifer and Donna (and their support) had a great time, made many friends, and added an extra dimension to the competition. I have a hunch that curling in Southern California may well be the winner in the long term.
At the Glynhill, there's the main event, and this year there was a consolation event. For the teams that failed to qualify for either of these there was of course the 'shopping event', sponsored by Primark. Are these the winners, above?
Sabina Kraupp got the 'GLI individual shopper of the weekend' award.
You can add your own caption to my favourite pic from yesterday. Ekaterina Galkina and Nkeiruka Ezekh.
Silvana Tirinzoni in the semifinal against Team Jaggi. Not that I have favourites, but I secretly had my fingers crossed that Team Tirinzoni would get through. Simply because they had blue tops. I could see what was going to happen ...
... that the final matchup would be that the 'team in black' would be up against the 'team in black'.
You may think that it didn't matter. But it did. The Braehead Curling Development Group and the GLI Organising Committee were trialling webcasts from the event. A few years back I was with David Edwards when he was doing similar. Both teams were wearing dark coloured uniforms. And what was on the screen was lots of black blobs sliding around. Difficult to commentate on, and not enjoyable to watch. All gist to the 'colourful curling' campaign of course, but yesterday, as I watched a great final, it all seemed so dark. And the Braehead rink is not the brightest lit at the best of times.That's Norman Cathcart above doing an ET impression as he works the channel changer.
Michele Jaggi and Mirjam Ott.
Michele Jaggi is in the head, and Nicole Schwagli and Marisa Winkelhausen are the sweepers.
Mirjam Ott delivers.
Carmen Kung and Janine Greiner sweep their skip's stone.
Michelle in the head. Her sister Stephanie, who plays second stones, took the head for skip's stones.
Mirjam's experience contributed a huge amount to her team's win in the final.
Good team this, and I suspect we will be hearing a lot more of these Bern girls in the future. L-R: Michele Jaggi, Marisa Winkelhausen, Stephanie Jaggi and Nicole Schwagli.
Another podium pic of Mirjam, Carmen, Carmen and Janine.Photos © Skip Cottage
