Date for Braehead Open

Time already to look ahead to next season. Following last season's successful transition to a weekend slot, the Braehead Open is set for Friday, September 30 - Sunday, October 2, at the beginning of the new season. This year's competition will be sponsored by Cardwell Garden Centre.

Thirty-two teams enjoyed the event last time, see here, and here, and here.

Organisers Gary Macfarlane and David Horne are hoping for a similar entry this year. Games start at 6pm on Friday evening and the final will be at 2.30pm on Sunday. All teams will get at least three games and most play four to six games.

The competition is open to all teams, with prize money of at least £2000, and prizes are available for teams under 25, best overseas', seniors', ladies', and Braehead members, as well as the main prize of £650 for the Braehead Open Champions. The entry fee is £180.

Entries are on a first come, first served basis. Contact Gary Macfarlane at: garymacfarlane1@me.com
or David Horne in the Braehead office at:
david-horne@capshop.co.uk

It promises to be a top quality competition at the beginning of the 2011-12 season.

David Soutar and Lindsay Gray are the sweepers in this photo from last year's Braehead Open final. Photo © Skip Cottage.

Calendar Boys and Other Encounters at Braehead

L-R: Pekka Peura (3rd and vice), Juha Pääjärvi (lead), Janne Ojanperä (2nd) and Markus Sipilä (skip) from Finland were the winners of the Middle Road at the Braehead Open yesterday. They were telling everyone of their new website curlingcalendar.com, which seeks to collect information about international bonspiels and curling tournaments from all countries. This should prove to be a useful resource. So, are you organizing a bonspiel or do you know a date and place of a curling tournament? Then, don't hesitate - login with your Facebook account and add the tournament to the bonspiel calendar. Don't worry if you don't know all the details, other members of the curling family can update the information later.

You've heard of the Calendar Girls. Markus and his colleagues are the real Calendar Boys!

John Tait, Robert Tait, Brian King and Gavin Jackson were just one of the teams that brought colour to the proceedings at the weekend.

Rosemary Lenton lines up her shot, with Angela Higson as her buddy, with Jim Taylor looking on.

Team Wales here. "That's definitely a Greek frigate going up the river."

Adrian Meikle. "I've never seen anyone as far off the brush as that!"

Aileen Neilson. "I'll just ask my mum what she thinks."

Paralympian Aileen was skipping a family rink spanning three generations. Daisy Neilson played second.

Aileen's nephew, Andrew Neilson, played third. And Michael McCreadie threw lead stones.

"I'll just bang my head off the barrier a few times, and I'll be fine!"

So that takes us to the final itself. Here David Soutar and Alasdair Guthrie sweep Lindsay Gray's stone. And no, David's trousers haven't changed colour in the wash. He was substituting for Iain Stobo (see team photo here).

Barbara McFarlane and Kay Adams are ready on Sarah Reid's stone.

I watched some of the game from the Braehead Curlers' Bar. The big screens there receive feed from cameras overhead and on the end walls. This was an initiative of the Braehead Curlers Development Group, and are a great help.

It was an excellent final.

Sarah's team try to make two in the last end. But on the day the women were just pipped for the big prize.

The presentation photo is here.

Photos © Skip Cottage

Gray Wins Braehead Open

Here are the finalists in the Braehead Open today. Back L-R: Alasdair Guthrie, David Soutar, Logan Gray (skip), Lindsay Gray. Front: Sarah Reid (skip), Kerry Barr, Kay Adams and Barbara McFarlane.

Logan's team (with David substituting for Iain Stobo) had beaten Peter Wilson in the quarters and Neil Joss in the semifinal. Sarah's side had defeated John Hamilton in the quarters and John Dunn in the semi.

The final was a great game, tied 3-3 after six ends. Then, in a seventh end with lots of stones in play, Logan's side came out with two shots, against the head, and went into the final end two in front. Two great skip's stones finished it off in the last end. Sarah doubled to lie hidden with her first. Then Gray played a raise-takeout with his last, and that was it!

Bruce Harley presented the trophy to the winning team, above.

The other teams in the roster of the winners were those skipped by Ian Gillespie (Seniors), Jackie Lockhart (Ladies), Adrian Meikle (Non-Scottish), John Tait (U-25) and Fergus Corbett (Best Braehead). Chay Telfer, Murray Young, Andrew Ballantyne and David Miller won the Low Road. Finland's Markus Sipila, Pekka Peura, Janne Ojanpera and Juha Paajarvi won the Middle Road.

I plan to post more pics from today's visit to Braehead sometime tomorrow, once I've gone through them all.

Photos © Skip Cottage

Braehead Open Friday

Young and old were on the ice for the Braehead Open yesterday evening. That's Gina Aitken and Peter Wilson in their first round game. You'll remember Peter from some of the archive footage I've been posting recently!

And here are the rest of Gina's team: Mhairi Anderson, Vicky Wright and Katy Richardson.

What a buzz there was about the rink yesterday, with thirty-two teams, including Bill Masterton's wheels side. That's Jim Taylor, Angela Higson and Rosemary Lenton in the pic above.

Well done to the organiser-in-chief Gary Macfarlane, safely back from his Rwandan adventures (see here). (Sorry Gary, one of these days I'll get a good pic you in action!)

Here's Gary's team. No, I don't know what is going on. Don (on the left) seems to be attempting a Vulcan Salute, and failing miserably! Ah well guys, "Live long and prosper!" anyway. (Make that, "Tich tor ang tesmur" in the Vulcan language.)

"Don't look now, Gary," but there's a guy in funny trousers watching us!

Yes! Neil Joss was the star in his new Loudmouth pants. Overheard, "You know, one pair doesn't look right. The whole team have got to have them!"

And yes, in the blue corner we have Team Logan Gray, about to take part in the most colourful men's game of curling in Scotland in the last twenty years.

And their opposition, in the yellow corner, Team Duncan Fernie! Could the days of the all black binbag uniforms in Scottish men's curling really be over? At Skip Cottage Curling we really don't like black tops.

Except sometimes. Team Braehead Clan were looking for their fourth player and a coach when I found them above. That's (L-R), Shiobban, Lauren and Kandi.

Louise Soutar and Graham Shedden

Team Sipila from Finland.

Alison MacLennan and Elaine Semple

You can submit your own caption for this one of Stewart Riddick and David Smith.

It was really great to see Jackie Lockhart back on the ice!

John Dunn, almost in focus!

"That was a stinker of a shot!"

Aileen Neilson fielded a 'family rink' with a mix of wheels and ABs. But I'm interested in what she's holding. Is it a 'light sabre' she has for her team to aim at!

All the teams are guaranteed four games at least, and some may even play seven before the event finishes up on Sunday. I'll be back up the road then to find out the winners in the various categories. I suspect all the competitors will have enjoyed themselves, on and off the ice, by Sunday evening.

Pics © Skip Cottage

Weekend action

So, what all is happening this weekend? I've already mentioned the celebrations at Stranraer.

I'll be keeping my eye on Arlesheim, where three Scottish teams, skipped by Tom Brewster, David Murdoch and Ally Fraser, are among the thirty-two teams entered in the Swiss Cup Basel. It's the first competitive outing for Scottish Junior Champion Ally's new team of Blair Fraser (3rd), Thomas Sloan (2nd) and Kerr Drummond (lead). Great experience for them.

The Curling Champions Tour event is triple knockout with first games tomorrow (Friday) at 09.30, leading to quarterfinals on Sunday. Semifinals and final are not until Monday (08:15 and 12:15). Look out for webcasting too on the Laola1 TV site.

The event website is here for the draw and results.

I plan to look in at the Braehead rink to see how the Braehead Open competition translates into a weekend format. I hope too that the organisers have found another rink to fill in for the one that withdrew.

The same problem, a late call off, has beset the organisers at Forfar. There is now one space in the Forfar Open next Friday and Saturday (October 8-9). Contact the Forfar rink (details here) if your team would like to take part, or for more information you can email Jill Macdonald at the rink (jill /at/forfarindoorsports.co.uk).

Want to play this weekend?

Gary Macfarlane, the organiser of the Braehead Open, has been in touch to say that, due to a cancellation, there is a space for one team in the draw for the event this coming weekend, October 1-3.

He says, "The competition has attracted a very high standard of team and we presently have 31 out of a maximum of 32 teams."

If you have an interest in filling this slot then please reply ASAP to Gary at garymacfarlane1@me.com. Teams are guaranteed four games at least, and the entry is £120.

The times of play for the first two games are 8.30pm Friday and 10.30am Saturday. It is an open competition with special prizes in the following categories: under 25s, best overseas, seniors, ladies, and Braehead members!