Points Competition

 The Points Competition was held on Tuesday evening with seven of us taking on eight disciplines.

As ever it took a few ends before we all got into the rhythm of who was throwing which stones and what discipline we were on but we did get there and everyone was chipping in (no pun) with scoring, placing stones and keeping each other on track as to how many stones they’d thrown, or not as the case may be. 

Looking at the two score sheets it was, for some, indeed a tale of two sheets. In fact for almost all of us the second sheet proved more fruitful in terms of points. David scored six times as many points going towards the Clubroom as opposed to the car park end, yet for Richard it was the other way around with double his points coming from his first attempts. Margaret was the most consistent with same number scored on each sheet.

However to save everyone’s blushes and focus on the positives, combined we are very good at Chipping the Winner and pretty hot when it comes to Drawing and Striking!

So at the end of eight tests we had

In 3rd place with 17 Points - Margaret 🥉

In 2nd place with 18 Points - Jim P 🥈

The Winner with 19 Points was Richard! 

CONRGATULATIONS 🥌🏆🥇

Thanks to everyone who took part. It was as always a fun evening, a good bit of practice ……..and to the strongest participants, propping up the rest……there is always next year! 

Meanwhile on Sheet 6 Bill and Ronnie were putting four potentially new members through their paces. Some had never been on the ice and others were returning after long absences. Initially intending to have a warm up and join the Points later on, things were going so well the newbies spent the whole time getting used to playing against each other. 

Thanks to Ronnie for giving up his Points Competition to help out and to Bill for doing likewise and encouraging some new players to come and try. Hopefully we will see some if not all again, soon. 

Ones Twos and Threes!

It was a bit of mix n match last night as the teams took to the ice.

With only Dave available on Team B and Jim not playing for Team A we were very grateful to Alison, Margaret and Richard for stepping in and filling the gaps. Unfortunately we could not secure an eighth player and so Dave's side started the match as a threesome.

Ones..................

The teams got off to "an anything you can do we can do" first end, each side putting stones where they were wanted and not much being given away. Similarly in the second end, the ice was still a bit sticky and the gaps had to be exploited, which Dave did more successfully and took two singles.

Not to be out done a patient Bill kept working away, taking chances when they came and benefitting from the merest hint of luck. He clawed back a couple of singles and so after four ends it was 2-2. Almost a professional looking score!

Twos................

It has to be said that Margaret and Richard had their eye in and were putting stones wherever Dave had asked. The A Team weren't backing off and still gave a good account of themselves and there were a couple of occasions where less than an inch of turn would have made the difference. Maybe that earlier hint of luck was all they were to get. Try as they might, no matter the shots, it was Dave's time to shine and the team rattled off twos in the next three ends.

Threes.................  

Going into the eighth end it was always going to be a tall order for Bill to steal a six. This game had been close in each end. Some great take outs, some lucky wicks and some near misses. So when a guddle started to build early on, even scoring at all was becoming harder. a last stone draw was possible but just came up short and the single went to Team B. 

Dave's Trio Triumphed..........sometimes threes are better than fours :-)

With that score line it is an absolutely symmetrical League Table.

League matches are taking a back seat for a few weeks as next up its the Points Competition.

When a Friendly isn't Really a Friendly

 Last night was billed as a Friendly versus the Disnae Club.

Only two Disnae members could make it so with a little juggling (thanks to the office) we took to a single sheet and had a really fun friendly game.

We were joined by Carly and Ben from Disnae. A friendly couple who moved to the area in 2019, so not just new to curling but to Ayr as well. they seemed to enjoy their time on the ice.

The game was quite tight for six ends but the scoring really wasn't the point of the evening under the circumstances. It was a really good opportunity to show how we like to play and the ethos of the club ...... to have fun whilst we are playing and to not get too serious about things.

To that end I think we made a good impression.....lets hope it turns into new members. They have all our match dates for the rest of the year so fingers crossed.

Post-match we enjoyed a wee purvy from Lorrie who also showed great patience when I was continually revising the numbers down the way :-/

Thanks to all those who took part, who would have stepped in to take part if we had had a full opposition and those who wanted to take part but had to withdraw.

Welcome Back!

Well dear Reader its 2022, its October so it must be time to start blogging!

Our numbers might be fewer but our enthusiasm is still as strong.  Lets hope we get full rinks, fun matches and maybe snag the odd new member along the way ;-)

The first match of the season was a great curtain raiser, some fine play, some sticky ice and occasionally more porridge required but both teams worked hard and its fair to say the result doesn't reflect on how close was each end.

Everyone was finding their rhythm on the first end and the ice was slow at the beginning, some short, some long, some in the house and giving the Skips pause for thought. Team A prevailed with a duce.

Back down the other end, with little swing in the ice it was another head where anything could happen. With the last stone Team B took a single.

Team A got a bit of momentum through ends three to five and whilst only picking up singles or twos they started to pull ahead. Things were still close, in each end. The A Team guarded a single in the third, the B Team came up just short to steal the fourth and there was almost a measure in the fifth. 

However Jim P came back in the sixth and taking a two reduced the deficit to three with two ends left. It wasn't over yet. Taking a two in the next end kind of put the A Team beyond reach and with everyone looking for the Skips to shake hands...........which they didn't.............then listening for the bell........which was late.............it was End Eight.

The A Team took another two to seal the match but this season lets not focus too much on the scores........

We have two teams playing and with the predicted need for subs, everyone in the club will get to play on one or both sides. So lets just enjoy the games, enjoy the craic and see if we can get three teams in the Spring League.

Happy Curling Everyone :-)

AGM & Prizegiving

The AGM and Prizegiving was held at Richard & Margaret's on 7th April.

Full details of the decisions made will no doubt be published in due course.

Prizes were presented by President Jim to those winners who were able to attend.

Doubles Winner - Anne (Bert McKay not present)

Spring League Winners - Jennifer and Bill (Sue and Joe not present)

Points Winner - Ronnie

Winter League Winners - Richard, Margaret and Alan (missing Sue)

Where have all the curlers gone?

 It was a strange sensation to take to the ice on Tuesday and discover we were the only club playing. There might not have been much atmosphere but we made up for that with a right old ding dong.

For the first couple of ends it was all fairly standard play. Bill snuck a single then took a two but as has been said before…..early days yet.

In the third end Bill and the team were getting a good number of stones into the right hand side of the house but there was still room down the left for Jim to sneak in and spoil the score. As has often been the situation in games in this campaign, it came down to the last stone of the end to make or break a score. Bill was lying five but there was still a draw for Jim to steal a single. It was not to be and to make matters worse there was a promotion which gave Bill a six. 

OUCH!!

Down but not out Jim and the team came back fighting. They took a two and whilst it was the halfway  mark, maybe they would come back and give Bill something to think about. Well a three in the fifth was another blow to that ambition! The scoreboard did not look pretty for some but the B Team dug deep and kept fighting. 

Never say never, three ends and nine back, stranger things have happened. So when Jim came back in the sixth with a four, that took Bill by surprise and maybe, just maybe……….There was no let up in the seventh and the B Team came away with a three. 

9-11 and only the eighth left to play. Could they do it? Peels would have a significant impact on the league  and Bill knew it. He built a good head, guarded well and it wasn’t easy for Jim to make any gains. Bill took a two and although 9-13 doesn’t look great for the B Team, it was a great comeback and a really exciting game. 

So with one match to play the league is still to be decided. It’s clear cut for Bill, win and he has the title. For Jim P it needs to be a win and by a margin of shots. Everything to play for!!!

Getting the weight right

Tuesday’s match was nominally Team A versus Team B. However the dreaded COVID has struck and half of the players did not usually represent those teams.

So firstly, thanks to those who turned out to ensure the game took place and secondly let’s hope all those who couldn’t attend (and those other club members who are currently having to isolate) are on the mend and not being too afflicted by this annoying virus. 

On to the ice………..and what ice it was! Several cracks were visible causing reverberations as the stones travelled over the ice rather like a train on tracks. It wasn’t easy to read the ice and everyone had a weight problem 😮

The game? 

Well it started rather routinely. The early stones were a mixture of too light and too heavy but some did manage to stay in the house and Bill ( covering for Jim L) took a two. The second end saw a revision of how to deliver the stones and a fine old guddle developed, with the odd exception that glided inexorably through the house. The end was heading to a blank until Bill’s last stone found a way round the multiple guards and sat nicely on the four foot. Jim P could not find a way in and a single went to the B Team.

Back up the ice over the rumbling cracks for End Three, still the ice was hard to read but there were some well placed guards and both Skips were being asked to make tricky, accurate shots. It was a close thing and Jim came out on top with a single. A similar situation developed in the fourth with a single going to Bill. So at the half way mark it was 4-1 to Team B.

The second half of the match was a very different affair and it would be disingenuous to dwell on the highlights of each end. The scores really didn’t reflect just how close it was but one side did manage to create opportunities and capitalise on how the stones were positioned.

Suffice to say all four ends went to Bill and Team B. Jim battled hard but just didn’t get any breaks when the ice refused to draw for him. If you want to know the score, look at the results table. I think it might get a mention at the AGM. I’ll say no more 😊