After many trials and tribulations with illnesses and other problems, England will be represented by a new and untried combination at the World Wheelchair Curling Qualifying Competition (WWCQC) in Inverness from the 5th to the 9th November.

The team is skipped by Ian Wakenshaw who has played in all of England’s championship teams. Valerie Robertson at lead has been in the team since 2004, while Garry Robson returns after a couple of years out. Robin Crawford is a newcomer to the team this season.

There are 10 teams competing and 2 will qualify to advance to the World Wheelchair Curling Championships in Sursee, Switzerland in February.

Full details can be found here

Good start for England with 4 wins out of the first 5 games (beat Finland, China, Czech Republic, and Denmark but lost to Poland) to share top position with Denmark and Germany all with one defeat (Denmark have played one more game).

Three more to play (Germany, Sweden and Italy) and probably need to win all of them to qualify - so good luck to the team.

England’s good run of results came to a staggering halt on Thursday when two heavy defeats left them relying on results elsewhere to give them a chance of qualifying for the World Championships.

A morning loss of 3-11 against Italy was followed by a 1-9 defeat from Sweden. With just one game left, against Germany who are in a qualifying position, the team must also rely on two other results going their way to gain a tie-breaker.

It would be a sad end to a gallant effort which only three weeks ago looked to be a non-starter when various issues meant that key players were not able to play.

ECA SENIORS TIMETABLE

Glynnice Lauder (skip), Venetia Scott, Joan Reed and Moira Davison

Sadly England’s attempt to qualify for the World Wheelchair Championships fell at the last when a 4th loss meant that they failed to qualify for the tie breakers but they still finished in a very respectable 5th place overall on 4 wins and 4 losses.

Four nations finished joint top on 6 wins and 2 losses and Italy and Sweden won the tie breaks to qualify for Sursee.

Michael Sutherland, John Brown, John MacDougall and Robin Gemmell retained their ECA Senior title with a 3 games to 1 victory over Peter Bowyer’s team.

The championships was played on superb ice at Murrayfield with 4 foot swings to the tee on both hands and a good draw to the wings as well. All sheets were pretty much the same and it made for some spectacular shot making.

The winners got off to storming start in the first game by stealing a 4 at the first end and never looked back, easing to a 10-3 win. In the middle of this game it looked like they had locked away a 6 but Peter remarkably found a port and hit and stuck for shot.

For the second game Chris Robinson (who had flown in especially from Minneapolis for the weekend) moved up to play last stones while Peter skipped and this certainly seemed to help both players as the second game went to the last stone before a tap back by John Brown sealed a second victory by 7-4.

It was another thriller in game 3 and this time another last end victory, this time for Peter Bowyer by 9-5 saw the players back on the ice 20 minutes later for game 4.

The holders took an early lead in this one and were never behind eventually winning by 10-5 and booking their place to the World Senior Championships in Finland in March.

Many thanks must go to Iain Baxter and his ice crew at Murrayfield for their excellent ice and also to the catering staff for the delicious food which gets praised elsewhere in other forums - if you do not want to put on weight you have to avoid going there as the home baked cakes will ruin your diet.

   British Curling

Co-ordinator - Vancouver 2010

 
British Curling is looking to appoint a Co-ordinator in winter 2007 that will assist in the management and organisation of the Curling Squad and support staff in their preparation for both the Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver 2010.  This will ensure that the athletes and coaches are given the best possible opportunity to perform their roles effectively and to their full potential.
You will be responsible on a day-to-day basis to the British Curling Performance Director and will also be accountable to the Chairman and Board of British Curling.
In year one (appointment – 31 Aug 2008) it is anticipated that the time requirement will be 30 days. This will be increased to 50 days in year two (1 Sept 2008 – 31 Aug 2009).  In year three (1 Sept 2009 – 31 Aug 2010) the commitment will escalate in line with the escalation of the programme for the Olympic athletes. 

Closing date for applications is Monday 26 November 2007 and it is anticipated that interviews will take place on Tuesday 11 December 2007.
 
 
For further information and details on how to apply for this position, please contact Karina Buchanan at the Scottish Institute of Sport.
 
Karina Buchanan
Senior Administrator
Scottish Institute of Sport
Airthrey Road
Stirling
FK5 9PH
Tel: +44 (0)1786 460100
Email: Karina.Buchanan@sisport.com

British Curling, in conjunction with UKSport, sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport are currently seeking to appoint 2 Olympic Curling Head Coaches.  You must have extensive high performance curling coaching experience and a record of world class success.  You must be able to demonstrate an outstanding and exceptional understanding of world class curling and the requirements for international success in Curling.  The ability to prepare and lead an Olympic Standard programme of preparation and competition is essential to these roles.

You will:
·         Coach, direct and lead the delivery of the World Class Plan for Curling to the Olympic Squads and Teams. 
·         Lead on a programme of integrated support for the British Curling athletes at Podium level.
·         Deliver high quality coaching within the Olympic Curling programme and, where appropriate, work with the personal team coaches and Home Nation Governing Body head coaches.
·         Develop training & competition programmes for the continuous development of British Curling Programme athletes.
You should have:
·         An ability to work with others, to motivate, provide direction and influence.
·         An ability to demonstrate confidence, empathy, enthusiasm and initiative.
·         An innovative approach through a demonstrated ability to “think out of the box” and suggest creative solutions which will lead to successful implementation.
·         Effective high level ITC skills and a commitment to exploring the best use of these for effective implementation of the role and programmes.
Applications should include a CV and covering letter (3 copies of each), names and addresses of 3 referees, and should be sent to Karina Buchanan at the address below.
Closing date for applications:  Monday 17 December 2007

Scottish Institute of Sport, Airthrey Road, Stirling, Scotland, FK9 5PH.
www.sisport.com
 

England will be represented at the World Mixed Doubles Championships in Vierumaki in Finland in March by Jane Clark and Steve Amann of the SECC.

Jane and Steve finished as runners-up in the ECA Mixed Doubles to John Brown and Glynnice Lauder, but John and Glynnice are both playing in the World Seniors which is concurrent with the Mixed Doubles and it was not possible for them to fully compete in both competitions. 

The Senior teams are:

MEN: John Brown, Michael Sutherland (skip), John MacDougall and Robin Gemmell

WOMEN: Glynnice Lauder, Venetia Scott, Joan Reed and Moira Davison

The competitions take place between the 8th and the 15th March 2008.

ECA Newsletter, November 2007

Stephen Hinds, Director of Development of the ECA has produced the first of a new series of ECA newsletters. It is over 3 years since the first series of newsletters stopped being published after 21 issues in 14 years.

Access it by clicking on the link above.