The Hay Trophy at Perth

The annual Hay Trophy tournament for schools was held at the Dewar's Centre in Perth this week. Sixteen teams from around Scotland took part. It was played as a Schenkel, with four rounds.

Tom Brydone reports, "There was a mix of new teams, regular participants and others making a return after an absence. The matches were all keenly contested but played in the true spirit of the game. The trophy was presented by Chuck Hay himself and he commented on the pleasure he got from watching the young curlers - not only at their obvious enjoyment but the high standard of their play. He wished them well in their curling future and hoped that those that can return next year and if not then the schools still continue to enter teams."

The game to watch in the last session was between Perth High and Arbroath High, the only unbeaten teams. Arbroath, skipped by Robert Fawns, emerged victorious.

As can happen in a Schenkel, the loss by Perth High dropped them to fourth place on ends won. Lockerbie Academy took second after beating The Mary Erskine school, and George Heriot's claimed third with a victory over Perth Academy.

The full list of schools taking part was:
Arbroath High,
Lockerbie Academy,
George Heriot's,
Perth High,
Kinross High (2 teams),
Stirling High (2 teams),
The Mary Erskine,
Perth Academy,
Brechin High,
Craigmount High,
St John's Academy,
Beath High,
McLaren High,
Perth Grammar.

Great to see Chuck Hay in these presentation photos!

Top: the winning school, Arbroath, with Chuck. L-R Robert Fawns (skip), Thomas Halder, Craig Cameron, Ben Bremner.

Lockerbie - Mhairi Paul (skip), Cammy McNay, Daniel Robson, Zoe Jackson.

George Heriot's - Bruce Mouat (skip), Rowena Kerr, Daneel Minev, Andrew McGowan.

Perth High - Robin Brydone (skip), Ewan Mitchell, Iona Reekie, Jacob Lewis.

All photos are © Tom Brydone.

The Hay Trophy

Tom Brydone sends this report:

"The Hay Trophy, a schools curling competition held annually at Dewars Centre, Perth, was played there over the 21st and 22nd of December 2010. It was won by a team from Perth High School. They beat Dollar Academy in the final game 9 shots to 1. Bell Baxter from Cupar were third and Stirling High School 1 were fourth. The trophy was donated by Chuck Hay, Scotland's first World Championship winner in 1967.

The trophy has been played for since 1975 and has been won by many of the top Scottish curlers. David Hay, one of Chuck's sons, himself a World and European Champion, presented the trophy. He commented on his pleasure at the continued success of the competition, which he had played in and further how pleased he was that his old school were the winners. He remarked how the continued success of the tournament was not just on the return of previous contenders but also on new teams and thanked St John's Academy and Craigclowan School, both Perth, for entering for the first time. Other teams taking part were Perth Academy, Kinross High School x2, Morrisons Academy, Dunblane High School, McLaren High school and another team from Stirling High School."

L-R: Harry Swan (second), Ewan Mitchell (third), Robin Brydone (skip), David Hay, Charlie Swan (alternate) and Adam Stanford (lead).

Thanks to Tom for the report and the photo which is © Tom Brydone