Category Archives: Club

FIRST POINTS 2023

First Points 2023-24

The First Points Competition took place on Sunday 12^th November, with 10 members taking part.

With only 1 sheet of ice, Craig and Jean agreed before the game that players would deliver 2 stones for each Discipline but would play alternately with a ‘partner’, the next player in the order list, to ensure that play continued quickly. This proved a bit confusing at times as the ‘partner’ changed when a new person led the next Discipline. The other challenge with less than 16 stones to play with was making sure there were always enough available at the playing end. That apart, the competition continued at pace and in total 9 Disciplines were completed on the night, a great effort.

Reg got off to a great start scoring maximum in both ‘Striking’ and ‘Inwicking’. After the fifth Discipline, 7 out of the 10 players were already scoring double figures. Keith was making a great show considering this was his first time back on ice since his accident, and after ‘Wick and Curl In’ was at 13 pts. keeping pace with Craig who had a slim lead on 14pts. Both Graeme and Nicki Cassie were also rising to the challenges and scoring well. By this time David G. and Dave A., who had been keeping in contention, were starting to flag which was not unsurprising as they had played a Province Match already.

After another two Disciplines it was all square at the top, with both Craig and Keith on 19pts, and Norrie in 3^rd place on 16pts.

With 1 minute to go for the session, ice man Andy agreed that we could play one final Discipline, ‘Draw thro’ the Port’, and this proved to be the decider. Craig scored the maximum to win the competition on 23pts. whilst Keith faltered finishing as runner-up on 19pts, with Norrie and Reg equal third on 16pts.

After retiring upstairs for a welcome drink, David G made the announcements. Many congratulations to Craig, and to Norrie also who finished as best score for a Lead or Second. Thanks to all who took part. We can now look forward to the Intermediate Points later in the season, another chance for those who know they can do better.

Report by Jean Noble

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Street Curling at Penicuik in the Park

Craig Brown was on the go early on a sunny Saturday, 27th May, and with his team of helpers was soon ready for some Street Curling fun at Penicuik in the Park.

The Street Rink and banner for Penicuik Curling Club didn’t take long to attract interest, and with Geoff Dawe and David Ballantyne on the brushes, and Jim Ramsay organising the queue the fun was soon in full flow.

A practice shot was permitted, then down to the serious competition – with all age groups willing to give it a go from the very young to parents and grandparents, some keen matches were played. Youngster were rewarded with a sticker for their efforts. There was also the opportunity, for those who could lift them, to guess the weight of a couple of real curling stones with the prize being a free Try Curling Session for two at Murrayfield Curling Rink.

The point of the exercise was of course to raise the profile of our Club locally, and hopefully encourage some new members. Well done to Craig, Geoff, Jim and David for their hard work on the day.

Annual Prize Giving Dinner 2023

The Club’s Annual Prize Giving Dinner took place on Saturday 22^nd April with 45 members and family attending. The staff at Glencorse Golf Club had ensured that the tables were beautifully set, with Liz Anderson providing colourful spring flower arrangements as a final touch. Trophies and medals were polished and sparkling, ready for presentation. This year, there was also going to be a Raffle with a wide assortment of prizes donated by the Committee. Geoff Dawe oversaw the ticket sales and was very adept at encouraging members to dip into their pockets for cash.

With everyone seated, Club President Iain Scott formally welcomed attendees and read out a note of apology and best wishes from our Patron, Sir Robert Clerk who along with his wife Lady Faye were unable to attend this year due to a prior engagement. Iain commented on the season’s successes and reflected on the sad loss of Ronnie Hope at around this time last year, before raising a toast to his memory. He also acknowledged Ronnie and Jim Ramsay’s contribution to the recent Paul Murton TV programme featuring outdoor curling at Penicuik Estate. Jean Lennie was invited to recite the Curlers Grace, before guests settled down to a delicious meal prepared by the Billy and the catering staff at the Golf Club.

With Dinner over the presentations were due to start, but firstly Iain called on Janette Lambie to step forward to collect her 50 Year Medal, delayed from last year – see separate report. Iain also acknowledged all the hard work by Craig Brown’s Social Committee and others in organising and preparing for the Dinner.

So, to business – to much cheering and applause, the various winners were presented starting with the Bonspiels and culminating with the Kettle Trophy retained by Dave Anderson as Skip, along with Kirsty McWilliam, Andy Cameron and Graeme Cassie, the last two unknown to Dave at the start of the season. Kirsty, winning Skip in the Thirds Competition, had been unable to attend the Dinner, and would probably have needed a Security Van to transport her array of Trophies home. The Outdoor Trophy won by Jim Ramsay’s rink, and a new Trophy donated by David Gillespie for the best Points score from a Lead or Second were among those presented.

The biggest cheer of the night however was reserved for the ladies who had won and retained the Challenge Crook, undoubtedly seasoned curlers but unlikely to be invited on Britain’s Got Talent for their singing ability. Roger Scott, still recovering from the shock of his team’s defeat commented on the unerring focus of Margaret’s rink in sticking to their task.

There are lots more photos in the gallery of the various prize winners.

With the formalities over, David Gillespie proposed a final vote of thanks, guests were invited to collect their Raffle prizes and with time left Craig set up the floor for a ‘Nearest the Bottle’ competition eventually won by Gary Clapperton.

All in all, a great evening to finish off the curling season.

Report by Jean Noble

Closing Bonspiel

The 2022-23 curling season officially came to an end on Saturday 11th March in a hugely busy day at Murrayfield Curling Rink. Penicuik players were amongst many taking to the ice for their Closing Bonspiel. Two unfortunate last minute call-offs and some frantic phone calls on Saturday morning to get replacements led to last minute changes to the published teams. Nevertheless, everyone was eager to make the most of the competition and enjoy the ice for the last time.

With score cards written, and with clear instructions on order of play and opposing team at the end of each sheet, the fun began.

As always, there are the winners and there are the losers. After 7 ends played the results were as follows:

Iain Scott and David Carr’s team finished equal on +7. However Iain’s team of himself, Alan McDonald, Janette and Louise were awarded the Trophy on the basis of winning more ends. David Gillespie’s rink was third on +3, Craig’s Team scored +1, Dave Anderson’s team finished on -9, and finally Margaret Carr’s team of Jean, Graeme and Saho holding up everyone else at -11.

The Mary McConnell Trophy and Medal presentations took place at the rink before the majority of players headed over to the Murrayfield Hotel to enjoy a delicious buffet meal after the event.

Many thanks to Jean Lennie for sponsoring the event and providing the prizes, and to the social committee for organising the final event of the season.

Report by Jean Noble

Pairs Competition

Eight evenly matched contesting Pairs took to the ice on Sunday 5th March to take part in this season’s competition.

The seriousness of the rivalry was evident in the first round games when after 4 ends, Dave A. and Craig Brown’s teams were all square with Skips drawing the house to decide the winner. Similarly, at the second start time, Dave Carr and Kirsty McWilliam were also forced to draw the house to decide the split.

After the first round games were complete, the pairings of Dave A and Stuart, Margaret and Roger, Kirsty and Jean and finally Liz and Alan progressed to the High Road Semis. Low Road Semifinal games were Craig and Vic against Dave Gillespie and Pam, whilst Dave Carr and Karen were matched against Iain and Graeme.

With brief respites for a plate of soup and a hot drink, the afternoons curling continued with those not on the ice watching from the balcony, and occasional words of advice (or laughter at flukey shots) heard from the gallery. Craig and Vic won through to the Low Road Final against Iain and Graeme and after one last hard fought game when Craig’s sweeping skills went into overdrive, they came out victorious as winners of the Low Road.

In the High Road, Margaret and Roger triumphed over Dave A and Stuart, whilst Kirsty and Jean won the match against Liz and Alan, despite Alan taking out every decent stone Jean played to the house and Liz’s producing some amazing draws.

With Jean and Roger struggling to get their weight on the re-pebbled ice in the first end, it was down to the Skips. Kirsty was deciding tactics and playing brilliantly, taking a 3 in the first end. Margaret and Roger continued to fight back but with the bell stopping play after the fifth end the final score was 2-5 against.

Congratulations to Craig and Vic as Low Road Winners and to Kirsty and Jean as Pairs Champions.

Many thanks to all who stayed on to watch the finals, and also to Karen and Graeme for standing in at short notice as reserves.

Report by Jean Noble

League Winners 2022-23

In an exciting end to the season, and with just the final matches left to play in both the Kettle and Thirds Competitions, the winners have now been decided.

Clear winners of the Kettle with 18 points and a game still in hand are Dave Anderson’s rink of himself, Kirsty McWilliam, Andy Cameron and Graeme Cassie. Dave was run very close by Craig Brown’s rink who finished in second place on 17 points.

Crucial matches were played last night in the Thirds Competition with Kirsty McWilliam’s rink looking favourite but playing Pam Ramsay, and Martin Hobb’s rink still in contention but needing a win against Liz Anderson. Very close games on both sheets resulted in a defeat for Martin and a win for Kirsty taking the points against Pam with her final stone of the match.

Many congratulations to Dave, Kirsty, Andy and Graeme in winning the Kettle League and to Kirsty, Jim Hume, David Ballantyne and Saho Arakawa as winners of the Thirds League.

Golden Girls Victorious

In the second Club Challenge of the season, on 22nd February, the ‘dream team’ of Margaret, Liz, Jean and Pam successfully retained the Challenge Crook after winning against a team of ‘young pretenders’ with Craig as Skip, supported by Kirsty, Karen and Stuart.

The first end was a tense affair with each side trying to gauge the speed and draw of the ice, but with Craig lying 3 shots and last stones to play, Margaret played a brilliant wick and curl in to win the end by 1. Liz drew to the button in the second, leaving her stone well hidden and unreachable by Craig’s rink in an end which finished with 12 stones in play. Ladies now +2.

Craig’s rink took the initiative in the third and were 3 up in a crowded house, before Margaret played a double stone tap back against her own rink’s well placed early stones to win again by 1. With huge swings at the start of the fourth end, play was rather one-sided with ever widening draws requested. Craig’s rink was left with a definite advantage before an uncharacteristic error in knocking out his own stones gave the surprised ladies a further 2 to lead 5-0. This was exciting stuff and the game was beginning to draw comment from adjoining rinks.

The curse of the fifth end rang true for the ladies, and with Craig’s team building a number of stones in the house, and the ladies’ only option to try to cut the score down, the challengers ended up winning by 4 stones. After consistent play by his leading players in the 6th end Craig took the win by 1, leaving the scores all square at 5 each.

Both teams settled down for the deciding end with renewed focus. Opening play resulted in an amazing series of draws right onto the centre line by both team’s players ever nearing the button. With only 2 final stones to be played, the holders were lying shot and with a wick and curl as the only option, Craig’s final stone was unsuccessful leaving the jubilant holders to shake hands. Final score 6 – 5 to the ladies.

As always, this challenge was played in the best of competitive spirits, with some friendly banter exchanged over drinks upstairs after the match.

Once safely esconced in their transport for the journey home, the ladies enjoyed their own ‘Del Boy and Rodney’ moment with shrieks of glee and laughter heard from the car. They were hardly going to be millionaires but who would now dare say that the ladies were one-hit wonders.

Report by Jean Noble

Knockout Competition Final

The home for another piece of Club silverware has now been decided!

Congratulations to Dave Carr and his rink of Dave Anderson, Jim Cowper and Vic Ramage , winners of this season’s Knockout Competition after defeating David Gillespie’s rink of Kirsty McWilliam, Jim Hume and Graeme Cassie in a well fought game.