Next season's big events

Tuesday. And a grand day it was; sunny and bright and the temperature crashed through the mid-teen barrier here in Balerno – just for a while, to be fair. Positively sweltering we were and I got the two lawns cut and the front one scarified as well. Life is good, but that was summer and it is now time to think about curling again as we move inexorably towards autumn and finally winter. Why do we bother talking about the seasons, mind you? We just have the weather here and there’s an end to it.

An old friend of mine, Alasdair Seftor – actually, he’s not old but he has been the Edinburgh Curling Club treasurer these past few years and he’s not aged well – recently got in touch to ask me if I would be so good as to blog about the European Mixed Curling Championships, due to take place at Murrayfield from Saturday 14th until Saturday 21st September. As an aside, since this event was introduced in 2005, Scotland has won four gold medals – precisely three more than any other nation! When you reflect on the quality of the gold medal winning skips, mind you, it is hardly surprising – Tom Brewster (twice), Ewan Macdonald and David Edwards! Eve Muirhead wasn’t a bad third for Ewan either, come to think about it (with no disrespect to the other thirds!).

This year’s Scottish champions, newly-crowned on Sunday 31st March, are Ewan Macdonald, Eve Muirhead, Euan Byers and Karen Barthelemy. This, in other words, is a major European competition and Scotland is sending a team of non-mugs (there you go, Ewan; you are now officially a non-mug!) to see if another gold medal can be added to the tally. Check out this website for further details.

Let’s take this a little bit further though because Dumfries pitched for and won the right to host three competitions next season, the World Mixed Doubles and the Ladies’ and Men’s World Senior Championships. These are great events and Dumfries will be the place to be from 22nd to 29th April 2014. The websites for the events are still under development, but put the dates in your diary.

Oh – and longer term? Well, I understand that Scotland may well be in the running for another World Championship in two or three years’ time. Watch this space!

Robin