No 4: January 201 2 New sponsor Eve’s girls are for Scottish Championships Euro champions This year’s Scottish Curling Championships will be sponsored by The Co-operative Funeralcare as part of a new three-year partnership. The championships, which will now be known as ‘The Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish Curling Championships’, will take place from 13 to 19 February at the Dewars Centre, Perth. George Tinning, Managing Director for The Co-operative Funeralcare, said: “Scotland produces world-class curling athletes and we are proud to be involved with such a prestigious Picture courtesy of Leslie Ingram-Brown competition, which will propel them to the inter-national stage. Winners of Scotland’s women are European Champions! After a week of varying previous championships have often results in the round-robin at Le Gruyere European Curling Champion- proved themselves to be a formidable ships in Moscow last month, Eve Muirhead and her team of Anna force on the world stage and I hope Sloan, Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton and alternate Kay Adams that, with our support, they can continue their success.” positioned themselves in the final. The Co-operative Funeralcare is the One game against Sweden was the last UK’s largest funeral director, with over hurdle to secure that precious Gold 880 funeral homes nationwide, Medal and the Scotland team certainly including a new funeral home at York didn’t mess around. A miss from Place in Perth. Firmly established, Sweden’s Maria Prytz with the last stone their experienced and professional of the first end gave Scotland a steal of 1, teams have helped their thousands of and Scotland continued to dominate the families through difficult and testing game by putting pressure on Sweden. times, with compassion, understanding By the fifth end break, Scotland were and expertise. 7-0 ahead and Eve kept the tactics simple “We have strong links with many The Holiday Inn Express Perth thereafter. At a score of 8-2, Sweden offers 81 guestrooms complete with local communities, and this satellite TV, tea & coffee facilities, conceded the game after the eighth end, sponsorship is one way in which we FREE Express Breakfast Buffet, and Scotland were crowned Champions. can give something back to FREE WiFi and FREE on-site Car Parking. Scotland’s men, skipped by David communities all over Scotland,” added Prices from only £49 per room, per night Murdoch with Glen Muirhead, Ross Mr Tinning. Subject to availability Paterson, Richard Woods and alternate The qualifying heats for The Co- For more information about the David Edwards, finished in a respectable operative Funeralcare Scottish Curling Hotel please visit: fifth place. Norway’s colourful side Championships take place on January www.hiexpressperth.co.uk skipped by Thomas Ulsrud were 14 and 15 and from January 20 to 22, Or call 01738 636666 victorious against Sweden in the final. when 29 men’s teams will compete. Royal Club Notes Board nominations Duncan as non-playing captain, who will The annual call for volunteers to nominate spend approximately one week in the West, themselves for election to the Board of Centre and East of Canada with the Royal Directors of The Royal Caledonian Curling Club teams. Club is now open, and will close on 14 Click to curl February. For further information and an Four Nations The RCCC has developed its social media application form, visit: Wales is hosting the Four Nations at presence online by launching a YouTube www.royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org Greenacres Curling Rink from 21-22 January. channel and Flickr group. This year there was an open entry for Royal These outlets now provide even more Strathcona Cup Club members to represent Scotland which opportunity to engage with the Royal 93 applications were received from attracted 39 applications. A number of Club, its members and the wider curling members to represent the Royal Club in the prestigious trophies are being competed for community, adding to its existing 2013 Strathcona Cup. 60 playing members over the weekend, and your support will be Facebook and Twitter pages. have been selected and will be joined by Bill welcomed! Our YouTube channel can be found at www.youtube.com/rccccurling and will showcase videos from our archive, along with highlights from future competitions and events, press interviews and YOUR Coach! promotional clips. New videos will be Simple Strategy and Tactics added soon, so check our page regularly for additions. relating to Ice Conditions Our new Flickr group will allow us to Certain ice conditions favour certain share a huge variety of photos with you, shots. When ice has a good draw, it is and for you to share your pics and preferable to play come arounds rather opinions with us and other community than promotions. members. Join the Flickr group here… www.flickr.com/groups/royalcaledonian However, come around and draw curlingclub shots are difficult on straight ice and Remember, you can still post on our promotions are a better call. Facebook wall whenever you like, and we’d love to hear from you! So tell us and A simplified tactical summary is illus- trated: others about your events as they happen, n upload your images or share our posts A team with last stone should play to the side. with your friends online at… n www.facebook.com/royalcaledonian Team without last stone should play to the central control zone. curlingclub n As with all social sites you need to Team up in score should play in the house. register with respective providers to n participate so get online, get involved and Team down in score should play to we’ll see you there! the front. The next issue of YOUR Curler is due out at the end of February (content submissions by 10 February). In the meantime, keep up to date with curling news and information at www.royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org YOUR Curler is published by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club on a monthly basis during the winter season. General enquiries to Cairnie House, Ingliston, Newbridge, Midlothian, EH28 8NB. T: 0131 333 3003. E: [email protected] YOUR Curler enquiries to: E: [email protected] Vision needs, curling delivers Scotland’s first curling club for vision-impaired curlers celebrates 10 years of curling this season. Following the GB Women’s Gold Medal success at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, a group of pioneers from the Fife Society for the Blind asked to try curling at the Kinross Ice Rink at the Green Hotel. Two intrepid Kinross coaches agreed to meet their request and the Vision-Impaired Curlers Kinross (VICKs) began. The VICKs club meets weekly on Mondays at Kinross Ice Rink from 12.15pm to 2pm. Although the number of curlers may be small, their enthusiasm and enjoyment of the game is huge. The weekly sessions vary in content, but alternate between club competitions, coaching sessions and challenge matches against sighted curlers and the Kinross Wheelchair Club. The VICKS club at Kinross Ice Rink. The club benefits from an excellent group of coaches and on-ice assistants, The Hammer Photo courtesy of Steve Lindridge. who attend on a regular basis. Members of the VICKs participated in a demon- stration of the discipline during the What to do if you want to take part Scottish Championships in 2008, where To enable the Royal Club better to engage For further information on VICKs, those who watched were extremely with and represent its membership, we ask please e-mail Maureen Aitken… impressed by the standard of play. that members with a vision impairment [email protected] or Dottie Burt… Though many may assume that it check the box on the Membership Database. [email protected]. would be near impossible to curl with This will assist us to develop resources and vision impairment, it has proved to be a programmes for curlers with sight loss. For If you would like information on sport that can be mastered by effort, further information on vision-impairment introducing Vision-Impaired Curling in coupled with clear communication and classification please go to… your area or on the Coaching Module teamwork. http://royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org/ please contact Sheila Swan… Vision-Impaired Curling is a fast- development/disability-programmes/ [email protected] growing discipline throughout the visually-impaired-curling/ for further information. world’s curling nations. It has been established in Canada for over 30 years, and there are many clubs throughout the country. The Canadian Vision-Impaired Curling Championships is held annually, and in 2011 seven teams participated, representing 6 different provinces. In October 2010, we were privileged to host the first International Conference on Vision-Impaired Curling. We were delighted that three delegates made the long trip from Canada to attend the Conference and share their knowledge with us. Have you stopped curling because of deteriorating sight, but would like to participate again? Do you have a vision impairment and are you interested in trying a new activity? Are you interested in introducing Vision-Impaired Curling to your area, or undertaking the Vision- Impaired Curling coaching module? If so, we would like to hear from you! USA tour to Scotland 2012 There is a famous WW1 song - A full programme of activities – on and written by George Cohan in 1917 off the ice - has been arranged for our and immortalised by, amongst guests, and it is hoped that as many of our club curlers around the country others, Caruso - popularised as will take the opportunity to welcome Over There, Over There. It is the tourists at their local ice rink, perceived as symbolic of the cheer on the good shots played by Americans gathering their either side, and join in the festive forces for a forthcoming atmosphere of bonhomie and conflict.