| News Archive - 2006/2007 Season | ||||||||||||||||||||
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News Archives: |
English Schools Curling Championship 2007 - Tonbridge Grammar School Girls!The English Schools Curling Championships were held at Fenton's Rink this week, beginning 26th March 2007, attracting 14 teams from 8 schools. The teams were split into 3 sections to decide the qualifiers for the semi finals which were played on Thursday 29th March. The semi finalists were:- Judd, St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive, Tonbridge Grammar School (TOGS) and Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar School. Both semi finals produced very high quality curling with both games going to the very last stone. TOGS beat St Gregory's 4 - 3 and the Boys Grammar School held on to beat Judd by the same scoreline. In the playoff for third place, St Gregory's beat Judd by 5 - 4 and the final was won by TOGS, pulling away convincingly in the final 2 ends to beat the Boys Grammar team by 8 - 2. Congratulations go to the girls from TOGS, Skip Anna Fowler, Third Sophie Hickling, Second Kate McKenzie and Lead player Naomi Robinson. Medals and the schools championship trophy were presented by Ernest Fenton of Fenton's Rink at the end of play. Photos available in the gallery. News from the Rink - March 2007The rink has been a hive of activity over the past few weeks. The Schools Programme has been growing steadily and entries for the 2007 English Schools Championships are now being submitted. Heats take place on 26th and 27th March with the semi-finals and finals scheduled for Thursday March 29th starting at 4pm. We hope to see parents and friends come along and support the schools teams. A Junior Curling Academy is being held on the mornings of 26th and 27th March, supported by The English Curling Association. 24 youngsters will have the chance of trying out curling for themselves, with a series of fun games devised to improve their skill levels on the ice. All places have already been taken for the Academy. The main event to have taken place at the Rink recently was the Sir Alexander Fleming Trophy. This prestigeous event celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, having been presented to the Province of London Curling Club by Mr William Fleming in memory of his cousin, Sir Alexander Fleming in 1957. It was fitting that William Fleming's son, Hugh, was able to join us at the rink to present the trophy. Hugh, a long standing member of the POL, presented the trophy to the winners, Stephen Hinds, Alex Cram, Steve Scanlan and Gordon Bryan. See photo gallery. The SECC Club League was complete earlier this month. The contest has been closely fought throughout the season and the winners made it by only a few ends being equal on points with the runners up. The winning rink was skipped by Ernest Fenton, with Lana Watson, Rob Thomson and David Willey completing the line up. The season ends on Sunday April 8. Many thanks to the thousand of newcomers who have come to try curling for the first time - we hope you will be back for more. And a big thank you to all the club curlers who have travelled many hundreds of miles to take part in our regular fixtures. The spirit of curling is alive and well in Kent! NEWS FROM THE RINK - FEBRUARY 2007The English Championships were held at the rink from 1st to 4th February - and a keenly fought contest they were! The winners in the Men's competition were a Glendale (Northumberland) rink skipped by Andrew Reed, having fought off close challenges from rinks skipped by Phil Atherton, Michael Opel and Bruce Bowyer. In the nail-biting final game, Reed squeezed through by a championship-winning draw with his last stone to win by one shot. The final standings were as follows:
The Ladies' competition was also keenly contested, although Kirsty Balfour's side, also from Glendale, managed 3 straight wins over Lana Watson's newly formed team to take the best-of-five contest. The winning side included Joan Reed and her daughter Caroline. With son Andrew taking the men's prize it was a clean sweep (pardon the pun) for the Reed family. Congratulations all round - and good luck to the winners in the European Championships. Pictures of the winning sides are in the photo gallery. Things are warming up for the forthcoming English Schools Championships. Some 10 schools are taking part in the 5-week curling courses in preparation for the Championships scheduled for the 29th of March. We hope to repeat the success of last year's contest, won by Tunbridge Wells Grammar school for boys. The old-established Fleming Trophy is the next scheduled bonspiel - to be held on 17th and 18th March. This competition is now open to all curlers and entries should be made as soon as possible. The rink continues to be busy with many corporate and private bookings. The 8pm session is almost completely full up to the end of the season, whilst there is still space for other earlier sessions and weekends. The closing date of April 8th is only 9 weeks away - so if you want to curl this season - book now! NEWS FROM THE RINK January 2007Happy New Year - if it's not too late to offer a festive greeting! Life has been so hectic at the rink that apologies are due for not keeping our "log" up to date. The first half of the season - yes, we are in the second half already - was very busy with well over a 50% increase in activity compared to last year. We started just where we left off last season with lots of bookings for all kinds of parties, team events, staff outings and the like. The number of semi-regulars has also increased - bowling clubs in particular, who come to the rink in the daytime. In recent months our new club the South of England Curling Club has seen a significant rise in membership numbers - now well over 100. The club league is particularly well attended. We are always on the lookout for new members, however, and do let us know if you would like to join us - regular club nights are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8pm. Find out more on the SECC website - www.curlengland.com. The significant events of the first part of the season include the Glenfarclas Anniversary Bonspiel - reported in our last newsletter. On January 13th and 14th we held the Ramada Jarvis English Masters cash bonspiel. Michael Opel's team - the current English Champions - again took first place after a keenly contested competition - the runners up being Bruce Bowyer's former English Champions, scuppered by an unexpected defeat at the hands of his dad, Peter Bowyer! Third place went to Alan MacDougall's "home team". Some photos of the event are in the photo gallery. The SECC Club league is now past the halfway mark with top place so far held by rink owner Ernest Fenton, ably supported by Lana Watson. In second spot is John Sharp's side. A new league Intermediate/Novice League is now starting in the second half of the season. Junior Curling continues to be run on Tuesdays at 6pm. Several of the players have now embarked on the "Skills Awards" programme devised by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. The first grade (the Red Award) will be taken in the next few days. 16 of the Junior curlers have joined the SECC. The Schools Programme has started in preparation for the English Schools Championships to be held on the 29th of March. About six local schools have already signed up for the course of 5 sessions and several others are expected to join in over the next few weeks. Thanks are due to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council for their support of this programme. Finally, the rink will see the premier English curling event return on the 1st to 4th February. This is the English Curling Championships with 5 Men's and 2 Women's teams in contention for the championships and the right to represent the country in the European Championships held next season. Why not come along and see something of competitive curling at a high level. If you are keen to do some curling this season, bear in mind that the season will close on the 8th of April. It will be here before you know it! NEWS FROM THE RINK November 2006 The season has got off to a brisk start. October and November has
seen the start of the regular club evenings. The recently created
South of England Curling Club (SECC) meets every Tuesday and Wednesday
at 8pm and there is a full programme of leagues and other events throughout
the season. The club also organises regular Saturday events and Come
and Try sessions for beginners. Contact James Hustler, games secretary
for further details games.secc@gmail.com.
The number of club members, including juniors is approaching 100. The next bonspiel to be held at the Rink will be the Ramada Jarvis
Cash Bonspiel to take place from 12th to 14th January 2007. Invitations
and application forms can downloaded (pdf
format). This was a very successful event last year and we are looking
forward to some keen competition for the £800 first prize. The Schools programme has already started this year. Last year's Schools Tournament winners, Tunbridge Wells Gramar School for Boys, are already hard at practice and several more schools have booked places in the 5-week courses being run at the rink. If your school would like to join in, contact the rink or Tim Luck, the co-ordinator, luck@angley.kent.sch.uk. Juniors continue to meet at 6pm on Tuesdays. We are about to embark on a structured training course, based on the highly successful "Skills Awards" programme devised and run by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Scotland. There is plenty of spce for more 12 - 18 year olds to join the Tuesday sessions. Contact the rink for further information. NEWS FROM THE RINK OCTOBER 2006With only a few days to go until our opening on 16th October, so there has been a flurry of activity. Glenfarclas Anniversary Bonspiel This is to be held on 9 - 12 November. We still have space for some more teams and individuals seeking to join an existing team. Please let us know as soon as possible if you want to participate. The South of England Curling Club (SECC) now has a full calendar of events, starting with welcome parties on 17th and 18th October. All regular curlers are expected to join the club, which automatically give membership to Fenton's Rink. If you haven't yet joined please fill in the application form. Junior Curling re-starts in its usual slot - 6pm on Tuesdays. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 17th October. We would like to see more youngsters come along and fill the rink. The new Schools Programme on 30th October. The season is divided into 3 blocks of 5 week courses and is run by the Tunbridge Wells Schools Sports Partnership. Tim Luck is the person co-ordinating this initiative. Four schools have already booked up to participate and we expect several more to join in. A Wheelchair Day is being run on 17th October by the British Wheelchair Curling Association, starting at 1pm. All interested parties are welcome. On Wednesday 18th October we are running a "Coach the Coaches " session when anyone interested in attaining the Level 1 coaching qualification can take the necessary course. It starts at 4pm and will be conducted by Joan Reed, current English Ladies Champion, and Stephen Hinds, National Development Officer. Please call the rink to book a place. Private Bookings have been coming in for the new season and are well up on last year. If you are thinking of bringing a group to the rink please let us know soon as the rink is filling up - particularly weekday evenings. New Staff: Our new Club Steward has arrived. His name is Paul Watson and he and his partner Louise, will be on hand to welcome you to the rink. Sam Fowler, who is on a gap year, is also working at the rink, concentrating on ice maintenance and coaching. News from the rink - September 2006The pace quickens as the new season approaches! The rink is being prepared for the opening of the season on Monday 16th October. A number of bookings have already been taken for the first part of the season, most of them from parties who came last year. If you have a particular date in mind for a curling party, please book well ahead to avoid being disappointed! The season gets off to a flying start with a busy first week. A special Wheelchair Curling Event is being held on Tuesday 17th October when we expect some of the British Paralympic Curling Team to be present. An open invitation is being made by the British Wheelchair Curling Association for wheelchair curlers - especially beginners and novices - to come along to the rink at 1pm on the 17th . If you would like to participate, please contact EnaStevenson@aol.com, the organiser. The new South of England Curling Club will hold "Meet and Greet" sessions on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, 17th and 18th October . This will be a chance for existing members to renew friendships - and for newcomers to meet everyone. Please let our games secretary, James Hustler, know if you are coming along. You can contact him on games.secc@gmail.com. Club subscriptions are now due (which includes membership of the Rink). If you haven't already paid, please send your £30 to the club treasurer, Lana Watson, 2 Tower Bridge Wharf, 86 St Katharine's Way, London E1W 1UR. The Tuesday and Wednesday league fixtures are already well subscribed, but provision is made for there to be club ice each week for those not participating in competitions. James Hustler is again the contact for anyone wanting more information on this. Weekend curling has still to be finalised. Not many members wanted structured regular weekend curling, but it is hoped to have some form of club curling most weekends, particularly for local beginners. There will also be occasional Superleague events. The main events for the season are all listed on the "Events" page. The first of these is the Glenfarclas Annivesary Bonspiel to be held on 9th to 12th November . We are delighted to welcome Glenfarclas Malt Whisky as our sponsor for this event. They have been enthusiastic supporters of curling in the North of Scotland for many years and we are pleased that their generosity stretches as far as Kent! We still have spaces for a few more teams - so please contact us as soon as possible if wish to take part. News from the Rink - August 2006Plans for the new season are progressing well. It looks as if the new club established this year, The South of England Curling Club (SECC), will be running two club nights, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and week-end curling as well. If you want to participate in club curling please contact the Games Secretary, James Hustler at games.secc@googlemail.com as soon as possible. Spaces are filling up quickly! A Barbecue and Garden Party were held in the grounds of Dundale on Sunday 30th July. This was a great success. About 90 curlers, friends and family all enjoyed a fun event in beautiful weather - and raised over £1,200 for SECC funds. Many thanks are due to Sue Young and her band of willing helpers - and to James Hustler and Stephen Wilson for manning the Barbie. Hot work!! Also thanks to Sam Fowler for bringing along his disco to provide music all afternoon. It looks as if this event could become a permanent feature in the calendar! Some bbq pictures are in the gallery. As previously announced, the season opens on 16th October. The first main event is the Anniversary Bonspiel, on 9th to 12th November. Several people have indicated that they would like to play in this tournament, but actual applications are few so far. If it's your intention to bring a team, or you wish to be included in someone else's team PLEASE LET US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! We can't plan the event properly until we have enough teams committed to play. News from the Rink - July 2006The inaugural meeting of the South of England Curling Club was held
on 28th June. The first committee was elecected. Full
details are on the SECC pages. The
new club will be responsible for evening and weekend club curling. It
will have its own website which will be on line shortly. News from the Rink - June 2006New Season Opens on 16th October The new season begins on Monday 16th October and will run until early April 2007. Several dates have already been fixed. They include:
New Club for a New Season Summer Barbecue School Curling Junior Curling Private Bookings Planning Success We look forward to seeing you in the new season! News: Current ¦ 2010/11 ¦ 2009/10 ¦ 2008/09 ¦ 2007/08 ¦ 2006/07 ¦ 2005/06 |
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