Minutes of the LADIES STANDING COMMITTEE meeting held on Tuesday 9th April 2013, at Ellersly House Hotel, 4 Ellersly Road, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, EH12 6HZ at 1.15pm

Present Jenny Bain (President), Fiona Hardie (Vice-President), Mary Anne McWilliam (Junior Vice President), Gail Munro (Honorary Treasurer)

Marion Malcolm (Aberdeen), Liz Boswell (Ayr), Margaret Gibb (Braehead), Maureen Woods (Dumfries), Lillian Carnegie (Forfar), Mary Robertson (Greenacres), Kate Adamson (Inverness), Morag Wellman (Kinross), Marion Fraser (Kirkcaldy), Jackie Craig (Lanarkshire), Susan Fleming (Lockerbie), Margaret Nicol (Murrayfield), Shelagh Fulton (Perth), Isabel Gillespie (Stirling), Maureen Parker (Stranraer), Helen Murray-Lyon (Waterfront), Suzy Wakefield (RCCC, Office Manager), Ruth Addinall (Minutes)

1. Welcome Action President Jenny said that she was glad to be back and welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for coming. 2. Apologies received from Jean Gorrie (Murrayfield), Sheena Murdoch (Galleon). 3. Minutes of the meeting held on 4th March 2013

Neither Jenny nor Fiona was at this meeting as they were in Sochi at the World Juniors.

The following corrections were made to the minutes: -

Page 2, Item 4, Rule Changes – Alan Durno is Vice-President and not President

Page 3 Item 9, Juniors Umpiring – after “had deemed to be in” add “by the players”

After the above corrections were made, the minutes were approved by Mary Robertson (Greenacres) and seconded by Helen Murray-Lyon (Waterfront).

4. Matters arising There were no matters arising. 5. Treasurer’s Report Gail circulated the certified end of year accounts. It had balanced, and Alastair Hibbert, RCCC Finance Manager was happy with them. Gail asked if anyone had any comments to make or questions. Coincidentally, income and expenditure had been identical this year.

Merchandising Gail was hoping to spend the summer working on new products to include the new curling stone design, and welcomed any suggestions. At this point Vice-President Fiona circulated an oven glove and cloth that she had picked up in Sochi, and it was thought that this could be a candidate for the new curling stone design. Gail had tried to contact the supplier of the pottery curling stones but had been unable to reach them, and she would try and chase them, based in Crieff, over the summer to see if she could find out what had happened. A small solid brass curling stone was also circulated and there seemed to be potential interest.

1 President Jenny asked for an opinion as to whether Ladies Branch should have a merchandising table at the Royal Club AGM, 15 June 3pm at Dewar’s, Perth and asked Gail if we had enough supplies to stock one. Gail thought if everyone All brought back their unsold stock, then there would be. There would be a table at reps the Ladies Branch AGM, and if everything was brought back for that, this could then also go to the RCCC AGM. The Centre for the event should take responsibility for organising sales, and President Jenny offered her services for Perth. 6. Correspondence None had been received. 7. Competitions World Junior Championships - Russia President Jenny went to the World Juniors in Sochi, Russia, which was also a test event for the Winter Olympics next year, accompanied by Vice-President Fiona and three of the girls’ mothers. The boys won gold which was excellent. Hannah Fleming was the current defending world champion and played Russia, a very strong team, in the final. Jenny felt that Scotland had had the strongest team all week, but there had been a lot of pressure for that final game, particularly as the boys had already won gold. The game went to the last end, but unfortunately the Russians came out on top. Congratulations should be given to Hannah Fleming, , , Abigail Brown, alternate . Jenny said that it had been a delight to be with all the boys and girls.

World Ladies Championships - Latvia After 4 days back home, President Jenny and Vice-President Fiona then flew out to Latvia to support , , Vicky Adams, Clare Hamilton and alternate Lauren Gray. It was absolutely brilliant, and the final came down to last stone of the last end. The semi-final had been a bit touch and go, but Eve had made a very good tactical decision with her last stone, and forced the Canadian skip to make an error. Scotland had lost to Sweden twice already in the competition and weren’t going to lose to them again in the final! It was a great achievement and 11 years since gold was won by Jackie Lockhart in 2002.

Morton Final – Kirkcaldy Tuesday 12 March Vice-President Fiona and JVP Mary Anne were able to attend, but there were travelling problems due to an accident on the M8. Marion Fraser (Kirkcaldy) had phoned Fiona, who recommended that as there was an umpire present, then an umpire’s ruling should be sought.

The original draw, Inverness v Ayr & Lanarkshire v Kinross, was abandoned as Ayr & Lanarkshire had not all arrived by 10 am due to the M8 problems and so Inverness played Kinross, who won 2 of the 3 games. Ayr eventually played against Lanarkshire and won 2 of the 3 games, all games starting within 30 minutes of the official start time.

The final started at 2pm and saw Lorraine Shaw (Ayr) against Anne Gibbs (Inverness), Gail Thomson (Ayr) against Brenda MacIntyre (Inverness) and Margaret Agnew (Ayr) against Mo Simpson (Inverness). The spectators enjoyed high standards of curling with a win for all 3 Ayr skips. Vice-President Fiona had presented the Morton Trophy to Liz Boswell from Ayr. President Jenny congratulated Ayr on their victory. Morag Wellman (Kinross) thanked Kirkcaldy for the organisation and the superb hospitality.

Discussion then followed on the problems and the decisions made. Morag Wellman said that as Captain of the Kinross teams she had been approached by the umpire, who had spoken to Colin Hamilton, and the implication was that in the spirit of curling the draw should be abandoned and the 2 full teams that were there should play each other. Gail was astounded that this had happened and that they hadn’t adhered to the 30 minute rule. The rule book is very clear and gives the penalties for a late start, and the umpire should really have worked to the rule 2 book, and not changed the draw. It is important that it should be minuted that this decision had not set a precedent. There is a judgement call to be made when the rules should be applied and when they could be relaxed, but it should be seen to be fair for everyone. Marion Malcolm (Aberdeen) was asked if she would raise the issue at the Umpires’ Committee.

Scottish Mixed Championships – Aberdeen This was won by Ewan MacDonald, Eve Muirhead, Euan Byers and Karen Barthelemy. They are the current European champions and will be defending their title at Murrayfield, 14-21 September, and President Jenny encouraged everyone to attend and support them. Curling is getting more media coverage, but these competitions need to be supported by curlers as well. Margaret Nicol (Murrayfield) pointed out that additional seating would be available on one of the end sheets of ice, and not just on the balcony.

8. Ladies Branch Business Junior Vice-President As yet there had still been no nominations. President Jenny said that it was only for 3 years and you got to meet a great number of lovely people. It was a great eye-opener to what goes on behind the scenes, and the realisation that without people prepared to stand for these positions nothing would happen. If anyone knows anyone who they think would make a good junior vice-president, to let her know.

Ladies Branch AGM – Murrayfield, 7 May 2013 2:30 President Jenny circulated a list for everyone to indicate whether they would be on the committee next year and if they were not standing, to give the name of their replacement. Suzy Wakefield (RCCC) said that she already had some of these details. Jenny also said that everyone was invited to join her for a lunch at 12:15, following the pre-AGM meeting at 10:30, both at the Ellersly House Hotel. Next years representatives were invited to both the pre-AGM meeting and the lunch. By Ladies Branch rules, representatives can stand for a maximum of 4 consecutive years, but it depends more on the constitution of each Centre as to who is the nominated representative.

Anyone standing for posts at the AGM should get their proposers and seconders prepared and provide in advance their proposal speeches. President Jenny recommended everyone to read the RCCC annuals as they were a fount of information, including all previous speeches.

President Jenny also invited everyone to an evening “soiree” at her house the night before on Monday May 6th. Accommodation was available at the Premier Inn in Inveresk for £35 a night, and she would arrange transport, if required, from there to her house.

2013/2014 Meeting dates Meetings would still generally be held on the first Tuesday of the month at 1:15 at the Ellersly House Hotel.

Dates of Interest This is the renamed Steal & Share section.

Betty Kitson, Aberdeen, Wednesday 9 October Lanarkshire Ladies Open, Wednesday 9 October Kinross Ladies Open, Wednesday 16 October Perth Ladies Open, Thursday 14 November Perth Ladies Open Pairs, sponsored by Chantelle, Wednesday 27 November

Unders & Overs, Stranraer, 5-6 October, closing date 30 August – a fantastic event, 2 under 25’s and 2 over 25’s – consult Gail if anyone short of a younger 3 player

Ladies Branch Bonspiel, Murrayfield, Monday 7 October - it was suggested that this would be used as the 175th anniversary event and that Past Presidents could be invited. Every Centre representative can also invite 1 guest, as usual, and they would be allowed to attend the meeting as observers, if they so desired. It would be a good occasion to include prospective Centre representatives.

Matters Arising from Ladies Centre meetings None were raised.

9. Royal Club Business Royal Club AGM, Dewar’s Centre, Perth, Saturday 15 June President Jenny encouraged as many people as possible to attend, in this 175th year. The Curling Awards would be presented at the AGM this year, instead of at a special dinner. Everyone attending the AGM would be presented with a 175th anniversary pin and it would also be used throughout the year for representative teams, and there would also be a drinks reception. In memoriam notices should be sent to the RCCC Office, for inclusion in the AGM and for updating the membership database information.

Scottish Curling Awards Curling Awards are being sought for: Young Curler of the Year; Team of the Year; Grass Root Coach of the Year; Ice Diamond Award; nominations to be made online by 22 April

10. AOCB Scottish Ladies Competition Since 2008, Ladies Branch has always presented the winning Scottish Ladies Champions with a pin, as the Royal Club changed from this to giving the winners a SW medal instead. The meeting agreed to continue this and Suzy would order the pins at ~£50 a piece and send the invoice to Gail.

Gold medal winners In previous years, Ladies Branch has always bought a gift for female gold medalists – usually jewelry of some sort. Discussion followed and it was decided that Jenny as Lady President should make the decision – maybe consulting her daughters as to what would be appropriate! These would all be presented at the Ladies Branch AGM. The RCCC Office would invite everyone involved to the AGM.

Morton Badges The Lady President from Ayr would like to give the winners of the Morton Trophy a badge as a memento. She was suggesting that it would be done from their Centre, but Vice-president Fiona thought it would be a good idea to have badges for the Morton Trophy from Ladies Branch but that they would not be back-dated. Discussion followed and it was decided that costings would be investigated for a FH pin style badge and a cloth one, and then discussed further at the next meeting.

Grand Match picture 1979 It was asked if anyone knew where a copy of the above picture could be obtained and Suzy Wakefield suggested asking Stuart McLean, RCCC Marketing Officer.

Fran Empay Margaret Gibb (Braehead) reported that Fran Impey from Vancouver who had been on a tour to Scotland, and was also a courier on the 1995 tour, had sadly died. She had been a great character of curling and was well-known to Scottish curlers. Junior, Ladies & Senior Champion 4 Jackie Craig (Lanarkshire) stated that Margaret Richardson from Lanarkshire had won a Scottish Juniors title, a Scottish Ladies title and had now won a Scottish Seniors title, and she would like to suggest that this should be acknowledged in some way by Ladies Branch. This was definitely a first because Juniors didn’t start until 1979. Discussion followed as to what was appropriate and it was decided that Gail would investigate an ice layers sculpture from Black Noir and it would be presented at the Ladies AGM. GM Forfar “Grand Match” – Saturday 13 April There was going to be a demonstration game between Team Muirhead and Team Brewster at 6:30 as part of the Dancing on Ice extravaganza.

175th Anniversary After the last Joint LSC/ASC meeting it was stated that letters would be sent out to all LSC and ASC representatives suggesting that local events be organized, but these don’t seem to have been received. It was felt that there seems to be a general unwillingness for anything to be done, and that planning for this should have started far earlier than it did. Also, there seems to be an enthusiasm for the elite end of curling but not a lot of support for grass roots curling, and this was a good opportunity missed. It sounds as if something will be organized at both Forfar and Braehead ice rinks.

Henderson Bishop etc All entries for RCCC competitions will be going live online during the week 15 April.

The date of the next meeting of the LSC will be Tuesday 7th May 2013 at Ellersly House Hotel at 10:30am, followed by lunch at 12:15, and the AGM at Murrayfield Curling Rink at 2pm.

President Jenny thanked everyone for their support during the year.

Vice-President Fiona proposed a vote of thanks to the chair and the meeting closed at 15:05.

5