2012 Kinross Open (Goldline Scottish Curling Tour)

Next season we will be hosting the inaugural Kinross Open, which is a new event on the Goldline Scottish Curling Tour.

The committee had their first meeting on Wednesday evening, and things are starting to develop: For starters, a facebook page & facebook event have just been created, with construction on a dedicated blog/website soon to commence.

Official entry forms are yet to be published & costs are tbc, but the committee is already accepting notes of interest from any interested teams - the competition is open to everyone (male/female/mixed, young/old, wheelchairs, etc).

Any enquires should be sent to David Jones, kinrossdev@royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org

For all the latest updates & news as they happen, please 'like' the new Goldline Scottish Curling Tour: Kinross Open facebook page.

National Virtual Club Bonspiel photos

Last Saturday we hosted the second National Virtual Club Bonspiel, sponsored by Ailsa Craig Jewellery.

Photos, by Andy Macpherson, of the High/Low Road Semi-Finals & Finals are now available on our facebook page, and the following event report comes from the Royal Caledonian Curling Club's website:

Kinross Curling Rink hosted this years National Virtual Club Bonspiel last Saturday and a long day saw 20 teams drawn from Borders, Lockerbie, Stirling, Murrayfield, Braehead, Kirkcaldy & Kinross battle it out in four groups playing four three end games each.

Once the dust had settled two teams from Braehead and one each from Kinross and Kirkcaldy had made it through to the High Road semi-finals. These matches first saw the two Braehead rinks pit their wits against each other with John Glasgow’s Braehead 1 team running out comfortable winners. They were to meet Kinross 1 in the final after a three saw the team from the host rink snatch victory after being 3-1 behind going down the last end of the second semi-final.

In a keenly fought final Kinross 1 always had their noses in front and ran out deserved winners on the day. This was a double triumph for skip David Jones who had been in charge of the Kinross rink that had won the previous years competition at Lockerbie.

In the Low Road semi-finals there was another match up of two teams from the same rink with Kinross 3 playing Kinross 4. Adding further spice to the mix was the fact that the teams were skipped by brothers Gavin and Kevin Ross. After a valiant comeback from Kevin’s rink Gavin took the final spot in an extra end. The second Low Road semi-final also saw a fantastic comeback but this time it was a successful one with Lockerbie1 coming back from 3-0 down to force an extra end where they forced a steal to head to the final.

Again the final proved to be a hard fought match with Lockerbie 1 coming out on top to take the honours. The day itself was a credit to the eighty plus novice curlers with some excellent play and good spirit to the fore on the ice and many new friendships forged in the bar once play was finished. Congratulations not only to the winners but to all who took part.

Easter Pairs 2012

Our annual Easter Pairs competition will this year take place over Saturday 31st March - Sunday 1st April.

We are looking for a full compliment of 16 teams, all of which will be guaranteed at least 4 games.

If we get 16 confirmed entries, the cost per team will be about £25 for the weekend.

It's a fun competition, suitable for all ages & abilities, so if you'd like to play, please get your entry to us as soon as possible: All we need at this stage is your name & e-mail address (to keep you informed about all the important information & fixtures).

To enter please contact us by:

E-mailing: curling@green-hotel.com

Phoning: 01577 863467 (ask for the curling rink)

Or see the ice staff while you're at the rink.

A guide to frost heave

Around mid-January every season, our curling rink becomes affected by frost heave, which causes the playing surface to become uneven and difficult to play. While a few clever curlers will understand what has happened to the playing conditions, and be able to read funny lines where the stones behave oddly; many other curlers will be oblivious to the frost heave problem, and simply blame the ice man.

(Frost Heave Explained - diagram 4).

As frost heave can be found at ice rinks & cold storage facilities internationally, but is difficult to research & learn about, Steven & Andy decided to create some simple diagrams that would explain to curlers, ice technicians, and other interested parties:

- Exactly what frost heave is,

- How frost heave forms,

- How frost heave develops to affect the playing surface,

- What the icemen need to do to regularly counter frost heave,

- And what frost heave can ultimately do (if ignored & allowed to grow continuously).

The images have been on our facebook page for a few weeks now, and gained quite a bit of interest from around the world.

You can view our full "Frost Heave Explained" photo album on facebook by clicking here.

Hopefully the images will be of interest: If so, please comment with any questions or remarks, feel free to share the album with friends, and if you'd enjoy getting more news, hints/tips for your game, and reading/seeing more behind-the-scenes stuff, please do 'like' the Kinross Curling Rink facebook page (if you've not done so already).

National Virtual Club Bonspiel 2012

Kinross is delighted to announce that it will be hosting the 2012 National Virtual Club Bonspiel on Saturday 10th March 2012 commencing at 9am. The event is supported by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and the main event sponsors are Ailsa Craig Jewellery.

16 Virtual Club teams from across Scotland will be playing to win the title, and Kinross will be defending the title (as won at Lockerbie last year).

The competition organising committee would welcome help on the day from any club members willing to assist with umpiring, measuring and general organisation. Lunch and drinks will be provided! Please contact Kinross Virtual Club President, Stuart Brand, if you are able to help - ssjjbb13@yahoo.co.uk

Some entry spaces are still available for Royal Club affiliated Virtual Club members: For entry requirements and forms please contact Christine Jones - christine.jones@inbox.com