New FIS Web-Site Up & Running

Our new website is now live and looking good.

Please visit http://www.forfarindoorsports.co.uk/ and see for yourself. With many features, live results a gallery and up to the minute news make sure you bookmark us.

Season 2010 - 2011 Update

Work continues at a pace as we frantically prepare for the new season.

The builders are in knocking down walls and building new ones to accomodate new office space and a new lounge. The decorators will follow.

Ice bookings will be issued shortly. We are slightly later than in previous years but as you know we decided to seek comments and work hard on the allocations this year to best accomodate club requests and this has created a great deal more work re-allocating ice.

We have also been working hard with the Ice Skating Club with a view to working more efficiently between the curling and ice skating and this has also required a number of changes to be made from the normal practices.

As I say we hope to have bookings out to club secretaries within the next week.

Steve has recently returned from a week's long ice makers course at Fussen in Germany run by the WCF Ice Technician teams. Having returned with many ideas and additional knowledge Steve says the course was excellent and that can only help ensure Forfar's Ice is some of the best in the country.

The stones are currently away to Kays of Scotland being refurbished (both the running and striking band) and we look forward to testing them on the new ice as soon as it is laid.

As I am sure most will have heard we are delighted to be employing a new full time Curling Officer for next season. Jill Macdonald has been appointed and starts work on 16th August. With a brief to develop curling at all levels, assisting clubs to secure new members, and develop the business aspects of the game Jill will have work cut out but I am certain she will be up for the challenges that lie ahead.

Finally on the competition front the Forfar Open is going ahead on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th October 2010. We are still looking for a few rinks so if you fancy an early season competitive competition please pass your name on to Aileen as soon as possible.

The come and try sessions will be held on Sunday 10th October so please feel free to let your members know and try and get new curlers along for the days events. It starts at 10am on the 10th day of the 10th month, 2010 not easy to forget. To book a place contact Aileen on aileen@forfarindoorsports.co.uk

The following weekend sees the Scottish Womens Mini Tour taking over the rink with ten of the top teams from around the country and beyond coming to Forfar. We are delighted to be given the chance to host this competition this year along with the Scottish Schools Finals, Scottish Seniors Qualifiers, Scottish WRI finals and others.

We have also arranged an inter ice rink match between Aberdeen and Forfar Ice Rinks with a home and away game in the season to decide the winner. The game will be open to all members and should be great opportunity for different club members to get together to play as one team from the club. Adults, Juniors, Ladies or Men can put their names down and travel will be arranged. Lists will be up on the ice rink notice boards for the start of the season.

The new web-site has been delayed but should be up shortly. We are trying to make it a real benefit to members and it is taking a bit longer than expected to be up and live but we are pressing on with it.

That is probably enough for now but watch this space as we really start to build towards the new season.

As always if anyone has any comment or observations please do not hesitate to contact me on mike@forfarindoorsports.co.uk

All Quiet...... but watch this space.

The Doors Are Closed - But Still A Lot Going On...

I trust everyone is enjoying the summer and this excellent weather we have at present. It is a while since the last post so I thought it about time we brought everyone up to date with events that have been happening since the centre closed for the summer.

Whilst there isn't the usual throng of bodies going around the centre it is business as usual as we prepare for the new season. We promised several innovations and this is indeed what is happening.

• Steve is currently away in Fussen, Germany on the WCF Ice Makers Course. After a week long course with instruction from the top ice makers in the world you can't but pick up tips and tricks which I am sure will benefit our ice in Forfar.
• All 112 stones are away to Kays of Scotland getting reprofiled to bring them up to modern day standards. With both the Running Edge and the Striking Band being reprofiled we can fully expect good swing come the new season.
• Plans have been drawn up and building warrants passed for several internal alterations to assit the general administration and development of the centre. With a new Corporate Lounge and reception areas we are looking forward to the inclusion of several new services in the new season.
• Interviews are being held next week for the new post of Forfar Curling Officer. With several high quality candidates applied for the post we are certain we will find a keen and enthused individual to help develop curling in the Angus area.
• The new all singing and dancing web-site is coming on well and should be up live in the next week or so.
• With the country struggling to work it's way out of recession budgets remain tight however we do intend to freshen up as much of the building as we can to try and enhance the overall atmosphere for all members. 
• We are delighted to announce we have secured a number of top quality national competitions to the ice rink for the coming season. Forfar will, this year host The RCCC Scottish Schools National Finals, The RCCC Scottish Womens Mini Tour, The Scottish WRI National Finals, The RCCC Under-17's Grand Slam. Exciting times indeed and it will be great to see so much national competition coming to Forfar, and I should say a boost for the area with accomodation, etc
• Finally, we are trying to re-establish the Forfar Open to be held on Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th October 2010. We have already secured entries from as far afield as Inverness and Ayr. Ideally we can push the entry up to 16 teams so if you haven't entered please do so in order that we can make our final plans. Simply send an e-mail to admin@forfarindoorsports.co.uk indicating your intention to participate. It will be great to see this competition up and running again. 

That is it for now I think. If you want any further information or have any suggestions for the coming season please do not hesitate to contact me at mike@forfarindoorsports.co.uk .

Best wishes


Mike S. Ferguson
Managing Director

Closing Weekend

The Winning Teams

It was an excellent very busy closing weekend at the ice rink culminating with the RCCC Area 9 Top Ten Team Challenge (Sponsored By Ferguson Oliver) on Sunday 28th March.

12 teams arrived at the ice rink from Aberdeen, Kincardineshire, Angus and Dundee just in time for a warm welcome and a bacon roll. The competition proved a truly enjoyable yet competitive day of curling with results going right down to the wire as they always do in this particular event.

The format of the Top Ten Challenge is quite unique with rinks, triples & pairs played at all of the first three sessions and then four players nominated by their club to compete in the final hotshots session helps build the tension. Clubs are going up and down the leader board after every session.
With Edzell CC leading the pack into the final hotshots stage of the competition teams moved up and down the leader board as results came in. At the end of the day Fothringham CC emerged winners with Dundee CC a valiant second and Letham Grange third. Well done to all the teams for making the day such a success and it was agreed that the timing of the event as a close of season competition worked well.

L to R: Ian Stewart (FIBC), Mike Ferguson, Neil Duncan (BBC)

Through in the bowling rink on Saturday Brechin Bowling Club arrived as guests to compete against Forfar Indoor Bowling Club. With outdoor versus indoor the challenge was on. As you would expect the indoor club won quite handsomely on their home turf but a great sociable day was had by all.

The new Stan Ferguson Memorial Trophy was presented to Ian Stewart FIBC President with Neil Duncan BBC President adding a few kinds words. Here is hoping the competition can become a regular on the calender.

Attentions now turn to preparing for next season and attending to the property and other domestic issues.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members for their support in this first season under new management I have learned a great deal and look forward to building on this experience for mext season. Haste Ye Back.

Trycurling

A successful Try Curling event took place on Saturday 6 March 2010 at Forfar Indoor Sports with 26 beginners taking part. The event, backed by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, gave those taking part some idea of what the game was about. Most of the participants had seen the games broadcast during the Winter Olympics and wanted to try the game to see what it was like. Local coaches took them through the basics of the game and within an hour they were able to take part in a short game, which they all enjoyed. The climax to the event was a "Hotshot Challenge" with the winner, Matthew Chapman, receiving an invitation to a coaching session with the British Olympians at the end of the season. Well done Matthew. There will be a chance for anyone else interested in taking up the game to try it out at the beginning of the new curling season, being the beginning of October. Watch the press for details.

trycurling.com

Forfar Curling Centre are hosting a trycurling.com session at the ice rink on Saturday 6th March 2010 at 12:45. All are welcome the more the merrier.

With qualified coaches on hand this is an ideal opportunity to come along and try the great sport of curling as played in th recent Winter Olympics.

Backed by the RCCC the trycurling.com programme has been a tremendous success with thousands of curlers turning up at ice rinks throughout the country to try curling for the first time. So come along and try it for yourself.

Weekend Round-Up

Another busy weekend at Forfar Indoor Sports.

We were delighted to host Brechin Castle Curling Club's 150th Anniversary Bonspiel and as the pictures show everyone had an excellent time. Congratulations go to Brechin Castle for putting together an excellent day of true curling fellowship.

Evenie Water emerged victorious but on a day when results were secondary to fun and fellowship I am sure they would agree the real winner was curling itself.

Thanks also go to Lynda and her team of helpers for looking after everyone so well with food, drink and more drink.

Numbers through in the Ice Skating hall have been increasing over past weekends with this week no exception. Recent advertising has obviously worked and it is great to see the ice so busy with everyone enjoying themselves. Again many thanks to all the stewards and volunteers without whose hard work none of this would be possible.

Likewise the bowling hall was steady with local competitions and the addition of the new LCD screen in the lounge allowed everyone the added luxury of watching the Rugby, well with the exception of the last 10 painful minutes at least.

We will be showing the Winter Olympics and in particular the curling whenever we can so come along and join in the fun and watch the games.

Forfar Young Curlers: Saturday 6th February 2010

The ice rink was once again full of activity as Forfar Young Curlers take to the ice for their weekly coaching session. What an excellent sight it is to see more than 40 young curlers on the ice with ages range from 8 to 18.

Praise must go to the dedicated team of coaches without whose time and effort these morning sessions couldn't happen. Well done to everyone and it bodes well for the future of curling to see such talented youngsters so obviously enjoying themselves both on and off the ice.

Scottish Seniors Qualifiers

Congratulations go to all our Forfar Scottish Seniors Curling teams who were playing in the District Qualifiers over the weekend.

All four rinks have qualified for the finals, well done to the rinks skipped by George Christie, Don Stark, Ian Young & Andy McGlynn and best of luck in the finals.

There were twenty-seven over-50s men's teams entered, looking first of all for a place in the Scottish Senior Finals at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton, February 8-10. From there the new Senior Champions will take part in the World Senior Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia, April 16-24.

Seniors Day

Another very busy day at Forfar Indoor Sports with the Ice Rink hosting the RCCC Scottish Seniors District Qualifiers and through in the bowling rink all six rinks were busy playing the weekly popular seniors league.

The two three rinks from Forfar skipped by Andy McGlynn, Ian Young and Don Stark competing in the Senior Qualifiers are all doing well and head into Saturday and Sunday's games full of confidence. Also doing well down at the Greenacres qualifiers are George Christie's rink.

Here is a selection of pictures from the day which hopefully tell there own story with a few worthies in the rouges gallery: -

and to the bowling rink.........

Forfar Young Curlers under 17’s & 12’s Cup Competition

I am indebted to Ian Taylor for the following report: -

Forfar Indoor Sports was the venue for the first ever Forfar Young Curlers under 17’s and under 12’s Cup. Young curlers from as far south as Kelso and Greenacres and Aberdeen in the north braved the wintery weather and blocked roads to compete in two new events. Both events were sponsored by Mackie’s of Scotland, who not only provided prizes, there was also lots of free ice cream and crisps available during both days. Local company Tannadice Trophies sponsored complimentary badges to the travelling teams and provided engraving services.



10 under 17 teams were drawn in 2 sections and played a round robin league. The winners of each section progressing to the High Road Final and the runners-up the Low Road Final. A high standard of curling was on show throughout the competition with a mixture of experienced junior curlers and curlers taking part in their first competition, all enjoying the holiday atmosphere of this new event. The High Road final was an all Forfar affair between rinks skipped by Andrew Callander and Robert Fawns. The scores were close throughout with Robert having the upper hand in the early ends however Andrew won a 3 at the 7th to go into the last end one up but without the hammer. Most top curlers say they would rather go to the last end one down with the hammer than one up without, but this theory didn’t work for Robert. Andrew got two stones side by side near the front 8 foot circle and Robert opted for a difficult double takeout and hopefully an extra end. He played a firm strike weight and managed to remove the two red stones but his own stone went through a gap reportedly less than a stones width and out the back of the house to leave the end blank. A draw to the 4 foot might have been the better option, but that’s easy to say with hindsight. Very well done and congratulations go to Andrew and his team, Alistair Stewart, Hayley Smith and Thomas Halder also Ewan Mitchell who played during first day. The Low Road was contested between George McConnell’s rink from Greenacres and Frazer Thomson’s rink from Kinross skipped by Cameron Smith. The Kinross rink of Cameron Smith, Frazer Thomson, David Laird and Grant Barr winning by 7 shots to 3.


6 Teams from Perth, Dundee and Forfar including two new curlers from Kirkcaldy enthusiastically competed for the under 12’s Cup. They played 3 rounds in a Schenkel Bonspiel followed by 1-2 and 3-4 playoffs. The competition was fierce with the youngsters all keen to show off their talents in front of a large gallery of parents, grandparents and friends. The final was between Mili Smith’s rink from Perth and Euan MacDiarmid’s home rink. Mili was playing a controlled game and was favourite going into the last end 3–1 up, but Euan coolly drew his last stone to the edge of the 4 foot circle to win a 3 and the Cup. Well done to all the competitors who played and entertained the audience throughout.


I must share a comment made by an under 12 girls team who unfortunately were without a win. “We really enjoyed playing and we’re going to stick together because next year we will be bigger and better and could even win!” If only our adult teams had the mental strength of these young curlers.

It was great to see the ice rink full of talented youth and I congratulate Forfar Young Curlers for holding such a successful event.