Successful Camp at Braehead

Braehead’s second annual curling camp was held during this month's school break and attracted a total of thirteen youngsters between 11 and 14 years old. The children were from as far apart as Hamilton and Greenock, and also included two who were trying curling for the first time.

Local coaches Meta Eccleston, Robbie Stewart and Liz Paul assisted CDO David Horne to provide a fun filled three days, with time to focus on certain aspects of each young curler's delivery.

The children were split into four teams, for on- and off-ice activities, including ice breaking sessions and a fun quiz.

The complete beginners were taught all the basics of curling and by the third day were sliding down the ice and delivering curling stones full length. The more experienced youngsters were able to work on their delivery , sweeping and weight control skills.

The on ice sessions were from 10am to 12 noon and then 1pm to 3pm each day and covered a wide range of coaching by the qualified coaches and each camper also had their slide filmed, using equipment supplied by The Braehead Development Group and were then able to watch the playback on the TV screen in the Braehead Bar. Fun games were played during the camp as well as several full length games. The improvement over the three days by all the children was quite dramatic.

At the end of the last day the winning team of the three day curling competition received certificates but every child who came along received fun gifts. The parents were full of praise for the venture.

Back Row: Stuart Anderson, Julie Wight, Angus Shearer, Jill Strang, Mairi MacDonald, Laura Wight, Heather MacDonald.
Middle Row: Coach Robbie Stewart, Ewan Polea, Lucy Fleming.
Front Row: Ann Fleming, Jamie Wilson, Victoria Wilson, Megan MacDonald.

Thanks to David Horne for the report and photo. And a well done to all involved!

Starting out, now and then

To my chagrin, I have not been able to attend any of the Royal Club/SALSC funspiel events last season or this. The aim of the funspiel is to introduce young curlers to playing against other young curlers in a fun and friendly competition. There are regional events with winners going forward to play in the national RCCC/SALSC finals. This year these will be held at Curl-Aberdeen on Saturday, March 5, 2011.

David Horne, CDO at Braehead, has sent me a couple of photos of the winners of the West of Scotland qualifying event held at Greenacres last Saturday. There's a full report on the Royal Club website here.

The photo above is the Hamilton team which won the Under 13s competition - Luke Carson, George Ballantyne, Alastair Torrance and Ian Waddell.

Hamilton also won the Under 15s competition. That's Connor Ballantyne, Andrew Neilson, Carolyn Baird and Heather MacDonald in the photo above.

I envy these young curlers starting out in the sport. I know they will have the same excitement in curling that I shared in my early years at Crossmyloof, even if that was a long time ago. Leslie Ingram-Brown has been reminding me recently that it is fifty years ago this season that he, David Horton and myself (to identify just three) took up the sport! One of these days I must write down the whole story of the schoolboys who dared to invade the world of what was then very much an 'old man's' game.

But, to our eyes at the time as teenagers, we were well received and encouraged at the Crossmyloof rink, just a short walk from the school. This morning, I'm really revelling in nostalgia. I want to encourage you to look at some really old archive footage of the sport. I found it recently here, on the Canadian Curling Association website. Here you can watch all the old promotional films from the Canadian Championship, the 'Brier'. These have all been digitised and these 'historical Brier videos' are there for all to see.

In the early 1960s, television was in black and white, and there was no such thing as video cameras and recorders. Our school - if I remember correctly it was probably through the auspices of Arthur Frame and the Hutchie Former Pupils' Club - obtained these 16mm CINE FILMS, and we watched these avidly in a darkened school room, with a large clickety projector. Never mind the curling, Canada then was an exotic destination - I had not been out of the country, or even on a plane! And the films all had a certain travelogue content.

But we had been learning to slide, thanks to George Lindsay Snr. Watching the Brier on screen - and the film of the 1959 Quebec competition in particular is one I remember - was our first chance to see the best curlers in the world, Canadians, including the Richardsons who had already made their impression in Scotland, sliding out in the delivery of their stones. I cannot begin to tell you how big an effect this had on me. We rushed round to the ice rink, and tried to put into practice what we had watched on the flickering screen. With varying degrees of success, as I recall. There was no way to see oneself. There were no coaches then either!

We had to invent slippy soles. That involved obtaining plastic strips which were stuck onto the sole of an old shoe with Evostik (which these days we would not have been allowed to buy).

So, if you want to see what inspired me all these years ago, click on this link, or on the image below. That will take you to the list of Brier films. Try the 1959 one for a starter. It's the full thirty minutes, with a built in viewer on the web page. I would imagine those of you who have started their curling careers in more recent years will probably laugh! And it is funny now, but fifty years ago watching these old films galvanised a new generation of young curlers in Scotland.

Congratulations to the CCA for putting these historic videos online. It's great to see the sport's heritage being preserved. I did eventually get to see a Brier live - 1974 in London, Ontario. The film of that event has been preserved I see. Have a look at this one. Can you spot me amongst the fans? And what do you think of the Saskatchewan team's trousers? Fashion comes back around in cycles they do say!

Pics of the Funspiel winners are courtesy of David Horne.

Successful Braehead Camp

I mentioned here that Braehead was planning to hold a curling camp this week for schoolchildren with three days of intensive coaching. This went ahead successfully.

Complete beginners were taught all the basics of curling and by the third day were sliding down the ice and delivering curling stones full length. Two more experienced youngsters were able to improve their delivery and sweeping skills and also helped the newcomers with their wide knowledge of the game. Children were split into teams, for on and off ice activities, including classroom sessions and a musical warm up.

The on ice sessions were from 10am to 12 noon and then 1pm to 3pm each day and covered a wide range of coaching by qualified coaches at Braehead. Each child had their slide filmed, using equipment supplied by the Braehead Development Group and were then able to watch the play back on the big screen in the comfort of the Braehead Bar. Loads of fun games were played on the ice during the camp but also several full length games and the improvement over the three days by all the children was quite dramatic.

At the end of the course, every child received a certificate along with a curling mug and the children who stay local are hoping to join the junior club at Braehaed.

The parents were full of praise for the venture and thanked David Horne (CDO at Braehead) and the volunteer coaches for a well organised and extremely fun filled three days.

Campers photo is courtesy of David Horne. Back L-R: Sarah Clinch, Lucy Fleming, Rebecca Gray, Courtney Love, Meta Eccleston (Coach). Front: Ann Fleming and Ruairidh Geddes.

Braehead Plans Curling Camp

David Horne, Braehead's Curling Development Officer, has been in touch to tell me about a curling camp planned for the October school holiday week.

Braehead Curling Rink will host the Camp between Monday October 11 and Wednesday October 13, 9.30am and 3pm each day.

One teenager, Stuart Cannell, 13, from Renfrew, is encouraging young people to give curling a try. Stuart himself has been curling for four years and says, “It’s great fun and you get to meet lots of people from different places when you play. It’s a young person’s sport and a lot of people my age play curling. I would say that young people should come along to the Curling Camp and give it a try. They might find that they like curling just as much as I do.”

The three-day Braehead Curling Camp is open to youngsters between 10 and 16 and costs £60.

The young people taking part will receive curling lessons from qualified coaches and also get the chance to play in a special tournament on the final day with certificates and prizes. Campers should bring their own packed lunch and wear a pair of clean trainers with soles that have a good grip and wear loose-fitting trousers – not jeans – and a warm jumper!

The details are online here. To book a place at the Curling Camp, call 0141 885 4611. You can also enrol by visiting the Curling Office at Braehead between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Sounds fun, and a great idea. May I ask anyone reading this in the Glasgow/Renfrewshire area in particular to spread the word!

Top photo of coaching at the Braehead Rink is courtesy of David Horne