Forth Valley AGM Minute 26 April 2016
Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 7:34am
ROYAL CALEDONIAN CURLING CLUB – AREA 6/FORTH VALLEY
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held at Forthbank on Tuesday 26th April 2016
Present –27 members attended representing all four Provinces.
Apologies – Callendar and Trossachs
Chairman –Joe Barry, Senior Area 6 representative chaired the meeting.
Minutes of AGM 2015 – The minutes were approved Bill Strang of Scottish Central and Caroline Carnie Uphall and are filed on the Area website. There were no matters arising.
Chairman’s Report – We will be covering the Area 6 competitions later on as well as the Indoor Grand Match. I would like to thank all the clubs for their participation, with all the fixtures fulfilled without any problems. Thanks, in particular, to our secretary, Alan Wilson, for booking the ice, sending timely reminders to all the participants and updating the website with photographs and results.
Two clubs attained significant milestones last season. Falkirk have reached 200 years, while Bridge of Allan have notched up 225 years. At the celebrations for Bridge of Allan, I was informed about James Paton who had been a club member since the mid 1960’s and I was able to procure a 50 year membership medal for him from the RCCC.
My main role as your Area Rep is to attend the meetings of the Area Standing Committee, where every conceivable topic is raised and reports given from all the Royal Club’s sub- committees. Some random issues that came up were the change of office for the staff of the RCCC which had outgrown Cairnie House at Ingliston. They are now housed at Ochil House about a hundred yards from here.
Next year’s Four Nations Cup will be held at Ayr and entry forms for participants will need to be in early next season.
Concerns about the ability of Turkey to provide a safe venue for the World Junior Championships were raised. In the end, at short notice, they were moved to Copenhagen, which suited the Scottish Boys as they went on to win the Gold Medals.
Sheriff David Smith, the well kent curling archivist and collector died last year and left his collection to the Royal Club. This included several hundred stones which are now in storage in another part of Stirling.
The big curling event of next season will be the Europeans at Braehead this November. Tickets are available now for spectators. There is also still time for people to put their names forward as volunteers.
Area 6 Competitions 15/16
The Bonspiel was won by West Lothian .The trophy was presented on the night to Tom Lambie, president of West Lothian. Buchlyvie of Forth and Endrick achieved an eight-ender against Callendar and Trossachs and were congratulated on this.
The Knockout was won by Kilsyth and the trophy was presented to Derek Young of Kilsyth.
The Area Champions Trophy was won by Drymen of Forth and Endrick Province and the trophy was presented to Derek Young, who skipped the Drymen team.
Indoor Grand Match – This was a very successful event held on 24 October 2015. A full report on the event, prepared by Treasurer Ritchie Stewart is filed at Appendix 1
Area 6 Council and Representatives – Joe Kincaid of Stirlingshire Province was welcomed as the second representative for the Area. Joe Barry indicated he would serve one more year as Senior Representative to ensure continuity in the role and asked if another representative could be identified from either Scottish Central or Forth and Endrick to replace him next year. Joe Kincaid gave an update from today’s Area standing committee when he confirmed that the 4 sheet Centre of Excellence would go ahead at the Peak and with a planned completion of Spring 2017, depending on Stirling Council approval at their next meeting.
Area Standing Committee Review and Area structure – The Area organisation of curling in Scotland has been under review for years and eventually after much consultation and rumination the system is to be maintained with just a few minor changes. The main alteration is to give the 10 areas names instead of anonymous numbers. Initially our area 6, was going to be called Central Scotland, but as this clashed with the Scotland Central Province it was decided to call it Forth Valley instead. Which hasn’t gone down too well with Forth Valley ladies club, but you can’t please everyone.
Financial Statement –The Treasurer Ritchie Stewart of West Lothian Province presented the accounts. There was a surplus of £238 from the IGM Budget, thanks to reduced ice fees from Active Stirling. This led to an overall increase in funds from £771.87 last year to £1061.37 this year. The accounts were audited by Jim Marven.
The accounts were proposed by George McNeill of Linlithgow and seconded by Joe Kincaid of Sauchie and Bannockburn.
Area 6 Subscription – no change recommended and agreed.
Election of Secretary and Treasurer– Alan Wilson remained as Secretary and Ritchie Stewart as Treasurer
Election of Auditor – The appointment of Jim Marven, auditor of Stirlingshire Province accounts to audit the Area 6 accounts was confirmed.
Ladies’ AGM – Tuesday 10 May Dean Park Hotel, Kirkcaldy
RCCC 178th AGM – Saturday 18 June at Braehead Curling Rink, Glasgow.
A.O.C.B. – No additional business was identified and the meeting concluded at 20:30 with the presentation of prizes. The photographs of the winners are on the Area website. See link:
http://network.royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org/stirlingshire-province
Appendix 1 – Report on the Indoor Grand Match at The Peak on 24th October 2015
The Royal Caledonian Curling Club’s (RCCC) Indoor Grand Match, sponsored by award winning independent financial advisers, Alan Steel Asset Management (ASAM) took place on Saturday 24th October 2015 at venues across Scotland. Billed as the battle of North of Scotland versus South of Scotland this year’s event featured 2,376 curlers from 388 clubs competing in 594 teams at 17 ice rinks across Scotland making it one of the biggest mass participation events in sport.
The Indoor Grand Match is a spin off event based on the traditional Grand Matches which are held on a frozen loch when temperatures and ice conditions permit. The indoor version was initiated in the year 2000 to celebrate the millennium and due to its success has continued every five years since. An imaginary line is drawn between the River Forth and River Clyde to decide the two sides and games held simultaneously over three sessions throughout the day. Scores were compiled at the conclusion of all the games with the winner being the side with the most shots scored.
The office bearers, the council and volunteers in Area 6 of the RCCC were responsible for the organisation of the event at The Peak Stirling where 144 curlers from 36 clubs competed over three sessions of curling.
The day started early for the volunteers with tartan to be draped, tables to be decorated, reception desk to be manned, shortbread to be produced and the 101 jobs which require attention before the first of the curlers arrived at 9.00am. The clubs were registered, team members changed for action and then upstairs to Zacs for coffee and shortbread.
Area 6 representative, Joe Barry welcomed the curlers to the Indoor Grand Match at The Peak and gave them the information for what was hoped would be a successful days curling in good company. The curlers proceeded down stairs to the curling arena where they were piped on to the ice to their rink by Alan Prentice, who received the customary drink from the Quaich. Alan was playing in the first session so there was no time to change into his curling gear so he played in his kilt.
Talented photographers were on hand to take photographs of the session and rink photographs with their opponents.
After four ends the curlers were invited to stack the brooms and come off the ice for a refreshment of water, juice or Rusty Nails, with tablet available to help the sugar rush for the return to the ice. Orders were taken for the post match drinks to allow Zacs staff to have the drinks on the table at the completion of the matches.
As the first session games drew to a close, the second session curlers were arriving at registration and on to Zacs to start the process all over again.
The first session curlers completed their games and went upstairs to be seated at their tables and await the first course of Scotch Broth. The second course of either Stovies, Lasagne or Green Thai Curry soon disappeared and it was on to the coffee and cakes or even another alcoholic drink for the non drivers. The presentation of prizes followed, which as the match was between the North and the South, the miniature whiskies were awarded to all the curlers in the winning area. So even although you won your own club battle against the opposing rink, you might not get a miniature! A lucky dip meant that four curlers received a bottle of wine, not for their curling skills but because they were lucky in being on the right sheet, playing in the right position and playing for the right area.
After three sessions of curling the ice hall became quiet, and after three meal sessions at Zacs and no one on the ice to watch, the curlers began to drift away which allowed Zacs staff and the volunteers to tidy up and make their own way home after a tiring but satisfying days curling.
Good days of curling fellowship do not just happen and a number of people deserve our thanks and appreciation for the time and effort they put in to make the day a success.
The Area 6 Office Bearers of Joe Barry, Area Representative, Alan Wilson, Area Secretary and Ritchie Stewart, Area Treasurer started off the organising process and were supported by the Office Bearers in the four Area Provinces of Scottish Central, Stirlingshire, Forth & Endrick and West Lothian as well as ladies from the Ladies Centre, Stirling.
Active Stirling, through Suzanne Burns, Programme and Events Manager, fully supported the event by subsidising the ice costs, meeting our requests regarding changing facilities, advising on advertising for sponsors and generally meeting our needs on the day. The Ice Technicians made good ice and Dougie Fergus, was his usual supportive and helpful self, both before and during the event.
Zacs, through Greg and Darren, listened to our plans for the day and menu suggestions and went away and came back with better ones. Again, we had lots of requests, on a limited budget, regarding the provision of coffee / tea almost all day, the provision of shortbread by the ladies at the coffee / tea station and the layout of the dining and bar area on a very busy day. They managed the situation very well and provided first class catering arrangements on the day.
Deanston Distillery was very supportive by providing seven dozen miniatures at a heavily discounted cost as well as a substantial prize. Thanks to Margo Bain for all her work regarding this success.
The two photographers, Graham Russell and Val Saville, worked tirelessly throughout the day taking pictures of anything and everything from curling teams to stacked brushes and from score cards to prize winners. Val also found time to play and man the reception desk.
Rhona Johnson, President of the Ladies Centre Stirling, proved to be an invaluable resource to the committee with her contacts, her eye for detail and enthusiasm. She made contact with the local papers for publicity and photo-shoots as well as liaising with the ladies on the provision of tablet, shortbread and home baking. The floral presentations on the tables which she managed to acquire from Gleneagles Hotel together with the tartan napkins and table clothes, set off the dining area in splendid fashion.
Phyllis Beattie and Isabel Gillespie organised unseen volunteers in the making of tablet, shortbread and baking which was enjoyed by all the curlers with their coffee before and after their games. The ladies were present throughout the day manning the coffee station and repeatedly replenishing the sweets and the tablet in the ice hall.
Jacky McLaren, after working through the week at the International Wheelchair Curling event at the Peak, was back on Saturday looking after the reception desk and welcoming the curlers. In between times she managed to take the dogs for a walk as well as support skip Debbie and Wheelchair Stirling to a victory on the ice.
Other volunteers including Tom Lambie, President West Lothian Province and Bill Strang, Secretary Scottish Central Province, managed to play unsuccessfully for their clubs but still managed very successfully from early morning, to fill all the gaps as they appeared in the managing and volunteering programme.