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News Update May 2008The season ended on April 11th and we re-start on October 1st . Bookings are now being taken for the new season. Several dates have already been fixed for the major events taking place at the rink throughout next season. See the “Events” page. News Update - Third English Schools Championships- March 200840 young curlers took part in this year's Championships held at the rink from 18th to 20th March. Students from St Gregory's, Weald of Kent, Judd, Tunbridge Wells High School, Tonbridge Grammar School and Uplands College all took part in a closely fought contest. The format was a "Round Robin" with all the teams playing each other. The final games saw the top two teams, Judd - skipped by Ben Fowler - playing Tonbridge Grammar - skipped by his sister, Anna Fowler, the current holder. Ben's team gave up a five in the second end to let Anna retain the trophy. Third spot went to Tunbridge Wells High School with Weald of Kent girls team in fourth position. Well done to all who participated! See photos in our gallery. News Update March 2008The last couple of months have been very busy. There continues to be a growing number of bookings from a wide variety of sources, from groups of friends, staff outings, birthday parties and corporate entertainment, etc. In addition, this time of year is when various major competitions take place, including the English Championships. We hosted both the 2008 Men's and Ladies' English Championships at the end of January. Eight teams took part in the Men's events – the most there has been for several years. The contest was extremely closely fought with the holders, Andrew Reed and his team from Glendale coming through to win in a play-off against Phil Atherton's Preston rink. In the Ladies' Competition, only two teams competed, with last year's winners – Kirsty Balfour and her team beating off a challenge from a new rink skipped by Susie Law, winning 3-1 in the best of five contest. The English Mixed Championships were held here at the beginning of March with Alan MacDougal's team triumphing over the other four entries to win the right to represent England once more in next season's European Championships. Full details and results of all the above can be found on the English Curling Association's website at www.englishcurling.co.uk. The local club, the South of England Curling Club has carried out a full programme of leagues super leagues and mini-bonspiels, and details of those can be seen on their website www.curlengland.com. A new event this season has been a series of min-bonspiels aimed at local curlers held monthly on a Sunday. This has proved very popular and the last in the series, held on March 16, saw Lizzie Howard and her team just make if over teams skipped by James Hustler, Gavin Brown and Chris Hall. The season is now drawing to a close with the last curling taking place on April 11th . There are a few spaces left so it's still possible to book a session before the ice melts! Call 01892 826004 if you wish to book a session. Bookings are already coming in for next season which is scheduled to start on October 1st. If you have a specific date for a curling event don't leave it too long before contacting us! Have a wonderful summer – and see you on the ice next season. BBC News Report - January 2008News from Fenton's Rink – JanuaryHappy New Year – and Good Curling in 2008! So – we're half way through the season – already!! The Rink staff had a welcome break over the holiday period and we are ready for a busy second half. The first major event to be held at the rink will be the English Curling Association's Men's and Ladies English Championships to be held from 30th January to 3rd February. Eight men's teams are taking part this year, up from five last year, and two ladies' teams have entered. It should be an interesting battle and anyone interested in coming along to watch is most welcome. The finals are expected to take place early on Sunday afternoon, subject to how the competition works out. The South of England Curling Club (SECC) ran another successful mini-bonspiel on December 15th and another is planned for March 15th. For the first time at the Rink, the club held a Points Competition, which proved very popular. The winner was Michael Opel. A second Points Competition is now planned for January 26th . The Club League will continue for the second half of the season, and a second league competition is planned. The club always tries to have some space each week to enable newcomers join in with the more experienced players. Contact James Hustler, games secretary, on games.secc@googlemail.com for more information on the Tuesday and Wednesday evening programmes. On Saturday 19th January the British Deaf Association is hosting a Curling Day. Contact the rink if you wish to be put in touch with the organisers. The London Club is hosting its annual Fleming Trophy on the weekend of 15th and 16th February. Please contact James Hustler if you wish to enter a team. The next in the series of Junior Curling Academies takes place on Sunday 20th January at 4pm. This is for 11 to 12 year-olds. This season's English School Championships will take place during the week beginning March 17th . Any schools interested in taking part should contact the Rink. Finally, the Rink closes for the season on April 11th . Please make sure you book all your curling as soon as you can. Time marches on! News from Fenton's Rink - November 2007Sorry to be late this month - we have been a little rushed! It has been wonderful to welcome back so many old faces to the rink during the past few weeks. It's clear that many of those that came curling late in the season last year were determined not to leave it so late this time. There are only a few evenings slots left between now and Christmas, and 2008 is filling up well too! The South of England Curling Club (SECC) ran a mini-bonspiel, "The Great Gordino Classic" on November 10th. This was the brain child of one of the club regulars, Gordon Bryan. It was a great success and Gordon is to be congratulated on his initiative. Regular league games are progressing well with some very close matches being fought. The club always tries to have some space each week to enable newcomers join in with the more experienced players. Contact James Hustler, games secretary on games.secc@googlemail.com for more information on the Tuesday and Wednesday evening programmes. There is a "Points Competiton" on Saturday 24th November where individual skills will be demonstrated (or exposed!). British Curling held their first AGM at the rink on Wednesday November 21st . This body is responsible for overseeing the selection, training and performance of the Olympic team and the meeting heard at first hand the progress being made from Derek Brown, British Curling's Performance Director. On Thursday 29th November a group of 30 people from UK Sports, is coming to the rink to try their hand at curling. This influential body is instrumental in ensuring that curling receives the necessary funding for its Olympic ambitions. Once more, Ramada Jarvis Hotels are supporting our local curling activities with a Cash 'Spiel to be held on the week-end of 8th to 10th February 2008. The first prize will be up to £1,000, the exact figure dependent on how many teams sign up. The tournament is available to those staying in the hotel for the weekend. News from the Rink - October 2007We are off to another flying start! The rink re-opened for the new season on October 1st and from then on it has been non-stop. The home club, The South of England Curling Club (SECC), has started its regular weekly sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and it is pleasing to see new faces among the regulars, as numbers continue to grow. The club also had an opening mini-bonspiel in early October to start the season off. Another mini-bonspiel "The Great Gordino Classic" is to be held on November 10th. The club always tries to have some space each week to enable newcomers join in with the more experienced players. Contact James Hustler, games secretary on games.secc@googlemail.com. On Sunday October 7th the Rink ran a "Come and Try" day. About 50 people came along to try their hand at curling for the first time and a number of them have either joined the club or booked private sessions. On the same day a Junior Academy follow-up session was held when around 20 youngsters had their second curling session. Most of these are already Schoolchildren members of the SECC and ECA. A further Academy is planned to be held on November 4th at 3.30pm. Details can be had from the Rink. These are in addition to the regular Junior Sessions held each Tuesday at 6pm. Several newcomers are taking part this year, coached by John Sharp. Our best juniors are preparing to go to Stranraer during the Christmas period to take part in a competition against Scottish juniors. We wish them good luck!! The Rink was bursting at the seams when the Margarita Bonspiel was held from 18th to 21st October. This event is held every second year in Europe, the other years in North America . Twenty-two teams took part, mostly from USA , Canada , Switzerland and other European countries. Winners were Markus Fischer and his Swiss team, with the home team, skipped by Alan MacDougall in second position. Some pictures can be found in the gallery. The Rink is also busy with a constant stream of corporate and other private bookings. Regulars such as Glaxo Smith Kline and AXA PPP are already using the facility for team building and staff outings. Some local schools are booking in for the new Schools Championships to be held next spring. Details can be had from Sandie Marsh at the Rink. NEWS FROM THE RINK SEPTEMBER 2007Only 4 short weeks to go before the beginning of Season 2007/8! The rink is slowly coming to life again with preparations well under way for October 1st. You will find that the rink now has a number of TV cameras mounted above each sheet and monitors in the club room. This way everyone can see that great shot you just made, but on the other hand, your blushes will not be save if you miss an easy take-out! (We can record the action as well!!) Thanks to Chris Robinson for doing the installation. Club Curling starts on October 2nd. Both the 2nd and 3rd are being used as informal get-togethers by the SECC. Full details of all club activities are to be found on their new website - click here to visit. Come and Try your hand at curling! There's an "Open Day" on Sunday October 7th. You can just come along and have a look - or you can have a one hour session on the ice with an instructor. It starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm. If you can, let us know if you are coming! The first big event of the season is The Margarita Bonspiel. This will run from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st October. Some 24 teams are booked in to take part, making it the biggest gathering of curlers we have ever had at the rink. Many will be travelling from North America and Europe to join in the curling - and the fun!! James Hustler is running the competition - contact him at games.secc@googlemail.com if you want to be on the standby list for this event. Junior Curling will again be held on Tuesday evenings at 6pm, starting on October 2nd. A second session is being planned for Sundays (probably afternoons). Details shortly. Marketing and Development Officer The rink has been able to secure so funding support for the post of Development Officer. This position will be held by Sandra (Sandie) Marsh, who has been helping with coaching for the past three seasons. She will be concentrating on liaising with the local authorities to develop Schools curling - as well as marketing the rink for club, junior and corporate curling as well. Other News: The new body responsible choosing and developing our Olympic squad is British Curling. This entity is in the form of a company and it has decided to hold its first ever agm at Fenton's Rink on November 21st. We look forward to welcoming Chris Hildrey and his Board to the rink. British Curling is also responsible for choosing the Paralympic curling squad and in order to find the best Wheelchair curlers in Great Britain, five assessment meetings will be held. The English meeting will be held at the rink on 25th March 2008, under the supervision of Tom Pendreigh, GB head Wheelchair coach and former coach to the Scottish Mens' world champion team. This is a real opportunity to get wheelchair curling on the map in the South East. More details from the rink. News from the Rink - June 2007Last season ended on April 8th - a relief for the hard working staff and coaches! As in the previous year, the last few weeks were particularly busy as everyone tried to get that last game in. The ice has long since gone and all is quiet - for the moment! Our regular staff at the rink, Paul and Louise, decided to move on having done a great job in dealing with the rink's many and varied customers over the season. Sam Fowler, ice man extraordinaire, is on his travels and starts at Bristol University in the autumn. So it's all change. We are fortunate to have been able to recruit a Curling Ring Manager from Scotland. He is Alister Martin, a 31 year-old from Edinburgh. He was ice technician at Gogar Park for 8 years, working under the expert eye of Scott Henderson. Since Gogar closed, he has been working at Murrayfield as coach and ice technician. Alister is a qualified RCCC Grade B coach. Mike and Sandie Marsh are also joining the staff. They did a great job last year in providing novice coaching at all time of the day and evening - plus running the bar when required. Mike has been working at a local school, where he is a governor, but has decided to take up the full time position with us as Club Steward. His wife Sandie will continue to help with coaching - and everything else, but she will concentrate on marketing and development as well. So we are all set for 2007/8. The rink is due to open for business on Monday October 1st and there already a number of bookings reserved. The SECC will continue to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, with some week-end events as well. Events at the rink this season include:
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 from the Rink - April 2006The Winter Olympics prompted many newcomers to try their hand at curling in the past few weeks. In addition, the rink held two major tournaments. Firstly, the first English Schools Championship took place from 21st to 23rd March. Ten teams from local schools took part, including Bennett Memorial, Hayesbrook, Judd School, Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls, Angley School and Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys. In an exciting final, Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys beat Bennett Memorial by 5 shots to 2 to take the championship. The English Curling Association hopes to encourage the participants of this tournament to go forward and join the squad to represent England in the next Junior European Championships. For experienced curlers, the Ramada English Masters tournament was held on 24th to 26th March. This is the first "cash bonspiel" to be held in England and we are indebted to Ramada Jarvis, Tunbridge Wells for donating the first prize of £1,000. We would also like to thank the supporting sponsors, The Complete Lunch (our regular caterers), AXA/PPP Healthcare and M&G for donating the second prize of £600. Fenton's Rink provided the 3rd prize of £200. After a fiercely contested round robin stage, the two finalists were Michael Sutherland's team form the north of England and Michael Opel's Cambridge University side , current English national champions. The Cambridge boys repeated their earlier success by coming out 5-2 winners. The third spot was taken by Alan MacDougal's team who beat Cathryn Guthrie's side 6-4. The rink is now closing for the season and will re-open in mid-October. A provisional date has been set for the next Anniversary Bonspiel - 10th to 12th November 2006. Make a note of it now! Many thanks for your support over the season and have a wonderful summer. February 2006 - English Curling Championship 8 - 12 February 2006 winnersLadies - Joan Reed (skip), Lorna Rettig, Claire Grimwood and Kirsty Balfour. Men - Michael Opel (skip), Jamie Molton, Andrew Woolston, Kenneth Molton and Tom Sutherland (reserve). The winners go on to represent England in the year's European Championships in Basle. January 2006 - News from the Rink We took a break from Christmas Eve through to January 3rd so the level of activity was lower in the past few weeks. A number of local organisations used the rink for a staff outing in the run-up to Christmas and we were pleased to welcome three of the local National Farmers Union branches for their annual parties. We have also had regular bookings from local bowls clubs who enjoy curling as a change from indoor bowls. Some of the local schools are now doing 6-week curling courses. Bennett Memorial (Tunbridge Wells) are nearly through their sessions and Hayesbrook (Tonbridge), Angley (Cranbrook ) and St Gregory's (Tunbridge Wells) are just starting. We hope to have a tournament for the schools after the six-week sessions are all completed. Club nights have re-started after the break and numbers are continuing at the same level as before. We still need more people on Wednesday nights to enable us to have a greater variety of games. Unfortunately, Province of London had to cancel the "Double Decker" competition to be run on January 14th and 15th for lack of support. Very few teams had entered - although there were others who had not got round to sending in their application forms. It just shows the importance of applying on time! Fortunately, the level of ad hoc bookings continues to be at a healthy level and it is the income that this generates that enables regular curlers to continue to enjoy their curling. On the international front, congratulations are due to both the English Men's and Ladies' teams for their performance at the European Championships in Garmisch where the ladies gained bronze medal position and the men were a creditable fourth in the B Sections. Both teams had members who regularly curl with us here in Kent. Congratulations also to Rhona Martin and Debbie Knox for being selected to represent Great Britain at this year's Winter Olympics . Both players came to Kent in November and were highly complimentary about our rink! 9/12/05 - News from the RinkA steady stream of newcomers has been coming along to try their hand at curling. A particular feature this year has been the growing interest of schools - both teachers and pupils. As a result we have started a regular weekly session for one school on Tuesday afternoons and a number of other schools are intending to begin similar sessions in the New Year. A schools tournament is planned for later in the season. The number of "corporate" booking has also risen considerably this year with curling becoming popular both for entertaining clients and team building for staff - as well as Christmas parties! Fortunately, we have held two "coach the coaches" sessions and we now have 20 newly qualified curlers to help the never-ending job of introducing the game to novices. I am grateful to Stephen Hinds for running the coaching sessions. We were delighted to welcome Rhona Martin, Debbie Knox and Janice Rankin, three of our curling Olympic Gold Medal winners, to the rink at the end of November. They were here for two days as part of a corporate curling event run by Easynet, a major sponsor of Team GB. The girls took time out on the evening of Thursday 24th November to meet some of the local curlers - including a number of our juniors and school children - who enjoyed being coached by the Olympians - and wearing their medals. The evening was captured by BBC News and shown the South East news bulletins next day. As to club curling, the London clubs continue to hold regular competitions on Tuesday evenings and it is good to see some new faces appearing. It's still a struggle to fill the rink consistently, though. The local club night is suffering this year with few people prepared to commit to regular curling. Most nights sees only one sheet being used. The Ice Melters have changed their club meetings to every second Sunday morning (following the Saturday league) and they welcome any other curler who wants to come along. The extended session runs from 10am to 1pm. We have a number of day-time "semi-regulars" who come about once a month, mainly local bowling clubs - plus a dedicated group of farmers from Chichester who make a fortnightly curling pilgrimage to Kent. The next event on the calendar is the Province of London Double Decker Bonspiel on January 13th to 15th. Application forms are now available from John Brown - jmbroons@ntlworld.co.uk . He is looking for 12 teams to participate - book your place now! 15/11/05 - New season updates...The season started in early October and the first major event was our Anniversary Bonspeil, attracting 14 teams, including curlers from Canada , USA and Iceland - plus a good helping of Scots to keep the party going! Winners were the Home Team, comprising Alan MacDougall, Gordon Lyon, Ernest Fenton and Jules Fowler - plus Jo Wilson in the earlier rounds. Many thanks to all who made the effort to participate. ECA Area Championship will be held on 12th and 13th November, with six teams competing. Next year the London Clubs are hosting their "Double Decker" Bonspiel in January and the ECA national playdowns will take place at the rink in February for the Men's and Women's events and March for the Mixed. Details of all of these can be found on the Events page. We are enjoying a greater number of private bookings compared to last year, but it remains difficult to get local people to participate regularly; too many other commitments and not enough time! Even the POL club night is not fully utilised and the Wednesday evening local night is still only half full. On the brighter side, local schools are about to start regular sessions and we might be able to have a school tournament later in the season. One of the Olympic sponsors has booked the rink for two days and it's expected that Olympic Gold Medalists, Rhona Martin and Debbie Knox will pay their first visit to Fenton's Rink on 24th November in support of this event. 26/08/05 - Curling's cool! Beginners pleaseWe're running a six week course for beginners on Thursday evenings, starting on November 3rd and running each week until December 8th. Why not join us? Each session will start at 8pm and finish at 10.15pm. All equipment is provided. All you need is some warm clothing, like a track suit and fleece. Stones, brushes and shoes (not skates!) are all included in the package. A fully experienced coach will be on hand every week to show you the ropes - and by the end of the 6 weeks you should be fully up to speed on how to play and enjoy the game; after that it is just a question of practice! It's not difficult to get going - you will have fun right from the start, and get stimulating exercise at the same time. You do not have to be super fit, and it's a game played by all age groups. Remember, this is the only curling rink in the whole of England , so why not try something completely different? You might even make the winter Olympics one day!! The course costs £78 (£13 per session), payable in advance. Space is limited, so don't delay in booking your space. Contact us now. 01/07/05 - The new season gets closer!The 2005 -6 curling season starts on 10th October. Preparations are underway to provide a full and varied programme of curling for curlers of all abilities at Fenton's Rink - England's only curling venue! Following last season's highly successful Opening International Bonspiel, we are holding a First Anniversary Bonspiel this year - on 27th - 30th October 2005. We hope that many of our friends who joined us last year will come again to Kent! New features of the forthcoming season include an evening club league competition aimed at those who took up curling last year - and are spoiling for some friendly competition. It is intended to run this on Wednesday evenings. It is also hope to get a day-time league going for the several groups of bowlers how have now tried their hand at curling. Thursday evenings will be for training/coaching and introducing newcomers to the game. The fortnightly 'Super-League' for experienced players will be run again; the exact format is still to be finalised. Full details of the anniversary bonspiel, together with the season's diary of curling are shown on the Events page. 27/04/05 - Curling Season Ends with a Bang! Curling has now finished at the rink for the season as from 7th April. |
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