I had a lovely surprise yesterday. Check out this photo of four women sitting together in the bleachers watching the Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish Women's Championship semifinals. Twenty-five years ago, they were playing, and winning, the championship, despite all being juniors. Indeed, one of them was just 16, and I believe remains the youngest player to have won the Scottish women's title. Her name was Moira McConnell. That's her second from the right. She's now Moira Paton. Her sister Jane McConnell is on the right. She's now Jane Marshall. On the left is skip Marion Miller, now Marion MacDonald, and next to her is her sister Janice Miller, now Janice Shepherd.Marion and Jane are still involved in curling, and coaching, and their children play too. But Moira and Janice haven't been in a rink in a while. Let's have a 'girls night out' and see what the sport is like today, seems to have been the plan. I hope they enjoyed their visit to Perth.
Marion had brought with her a copy of the programme for the Clydesdale Bank Ladies Curling Championship Finals in 1987. It was lots of fun looking at the names of the players. This could well be the subject of a future blog post ... although perhaps it should be on the Curling History Blog!
I was very proud of the girls then, and I still am. You see, they were the first team I ever coached. They were always so much fun, and, as I discovered yesterday, they still are! Now, where have the intervening twenty-five years gone?
Anyway, twenty-five years on and here are some of our young curlers heading out on the town tonight (make that this morning). Wait a minute though. Can you spot the 'odd one out' who assured me she was NOT going partying? Indeed, front and centre, is coach Susan Kesley, who, as Susan McLean, lost the semifinal in 1987.Photo © Skip Cottage
