IF THE autumn equinox last Wednesday tolled the bell for the passing of summer, then this was surely confirmed the following day when members of Bute Curling Club could be seen heading off to the Waterfront Ice Rink for the first game of the new season.
Various commitments meant that only ten curlers were available to compete for the 125’ Cup, presented to the club by the 5th Marquess of Bute to commemorate its 125th anniversary.
Three rinks took part in a round-robin competition, with each game played over five ends.
In the first game, skip Peter Martin, with Donald Kinnear and Doreen Hislop, faced a rink skipped by Mike Hislop, with Nicola Speirs and Colin McFarlane.
It was a close contest, with the Martin rink holding a one-shot lead going into the final end. However, with Skip Hislop unable to remove a well-guarded opponent’s stone, the Martin rink edged through as winners by two shots.
The second game saw the Hislop rink take on a full rink skipped by Bill Stein, with Sam Bryan at third, Liz MacMillan and Nancy Kinnear.
The Stein rink quickly found its stride and the score soon went against the Hislop team, with the two rinks shaking hands after four ends. This was also partly due to a party of skaters having booked the ice, leaving time for just a one-end shoot-out between the Stein and Martin rinks to decide the overall winners.
What followed was a thrilling conclusion. Both leads produced great curling, with the rinks swapping the advantage with almost every stone. A well-guarded draw from Kinnear was nudged back by an even better draw from Bryan, before a perfectly laid guard from skip Stein left Martin with little opportunity for a take-out.
That was enough to see skip Bill Stein and his rink claim the first trophy of the new season.
Although numbers were reduced for this opening competition, membership of Bute Curling Club is increasing, with more people keen to take part.
