This was the year the Holyrood Awayday came of age – our 21st visit to curling rinks across the country. Over the years we have managed to experience a wide variety of venues, a good number of which are now sadly no longer in existence as smaller rinks have given up the unequal struggle against dwindling membership and rising costs (or is it just the curse of Holyrood?). In choosing where to go we are also limited by distance (a two-hour drive is about the limit for a day trip) and whether the venue offers weekend ice for visitors.
This year we alighted on Dumfries Ice Bowl which just about meets the distance criterion but previously hadn’t offered weekend ice. So, two sheets had been booked by Ken for mid-day on Sunday 23rd March. Despite one or two notable absences (I mean who goes abroad golfing in the curling season?) we raised 12 members and two guests which meant we were comfortably able to arrange four teams for a light-hearted bonspiel.
Dumfries is a fine venue with a dedicated six sheet curling rink and a separate ice-skating rink. After assembling in the café for pre-game coffees and snacks (and having sorted a slight confusion regarding our start time) we headed for the ice.
The ice hall was curiously warm. Within a few minutes of a little light sweeping the cosy Holyrood fleeces were being shed (although Billy was as ever already down to short sleeves). The warmth also had the effect of making the ice very keen. Even more notable was the amount of curl taken by the stones – far more than we are used to at Murrayfield. We were allocated the two outer sheets which unfortunately meant that we were somewhat far apart – however, the Scottish Curling Junior Mixed Doubles Championships were taking place on the centre sheets so this was understandable. However, the indications were that the heavy curl was a characteristic of the whole rink.
We played the same bonspiel format that we had pinched from VETS Curling last year: Only one take out allowed and a point for every stone in the house – and with a three-point bonus for the winning stone. Team rotation means everyone gets to play every position.
Unfortunately, Richard had gone down with a bug so had had to call off at the last minute. This meant three teams of three and one team of four. However, apart from the additional sweeping (good cardio exercise!) everything worked well.
The team of four (Colin, James, Fiona and guest Mike – see photo) came out as overall winners and received their magnificent miniature gin bottle prizes as well as the unique gold-painted wooden trophy (which we clean forgot to include in the photographs).
The winner of the individual prize (for achieving the highest points difference for the two skipping turns) was Billy with an impressive +10, just pipping Fiona by one.
Perhaps the least memorable part of the day was the catering but the craic was good and we all enjoyed the downtime after the exertions of the game. A good day was had by all. And let’s start thinking about venues for next season.
John.
Holyrood Curling Club 