Barcraigs Reservoir, near Greenacres - 30/9/06       Vigorous sweeping from [L to R] Andrena H, Sandy D, and Ken G       Club President Maryel P calls the shot           Young guest Chris R delivers a stone ...       ... and [L to R] Dad Paul R, Neil A and daughter Val sweep the stone across the far hogline       The winners! [L to R] Ken G, Club President Maryel P, Peter A, Sandy D, Andrena H

The Opening bonspiel of the season took place on Saturday 30th September, on a sunny early autumn evening at Greenacres.  11 Bridge of Weir Curling Club members arrived, accompanied by 8 invited guests.  Not so many guests turned out this time, compared with last season's running of the event, but this by no means diminished the fun had on the evening.  Four teams were drawn, to be skipped by Paul R, Sheila D, Sandy D, and Ron A, with guests spread across the teams.  The teams took to the ice, where for the first 20 minutes or so, the experienced players taught the rudiments of the game to the newcomers in their teams.  All the guests managed a few practice deliveries and a bit of sweeping practice too.  The matches then started, with play being set up to allow two 3-end matches per team.  Three teams had 5 players, and one team had 4, but the order of play was set to ensure that all the guests could deliver two stones per end.  In the first round of matches, Paul R's team had a tight 3 - 2 victory over Sheila D's team, with Paul's son Chris managing two pot-lid draws in the second end of his first ever game.  It was pointed out to Chris that luckily, he hadn't inherited his father's lack of talent.  In the other match, Sandy D's team outplayed Ron A's team by 7 - 3.  In the second round, a close match between Sheila's and Ron's teams saw Sheila edge home 2 - 1, while Sandy's team soundly trounced Paul's 9 - 0.  More importantly than the scores, everyone enjoyed themselves.  (But then again, you might expect the skip of a team who had just lost 9 - 0 to say that!).  With the overall winning team being decided on the highest aggregate shots scored, Sandy's team ran away with the competition, having score a total of 16 shots over the two games. After the curling, the teams adjourned to the bar for a well-earned drink.  True to form, the meal was well up to the usual high Greenacres standard.  After the meal, President Maryel P welcomed the guests, and presented the prizes to Sandy's winning team.  Booby prizes were also presented to the worst team (although as "worst skip" Paul R pointed out to the audience, his team was only 1 shot adrift of the joint silver medal winners). The evening closed happily, with laughter and reminiscences of an enjoyable day. Thanks go to all club members who turned out on the day to make the event such a success.  Here's hoping we may see a new recruit or two for the club!

Guest Peter A and Andrena H keep a close watch on skip Sandy D's stone       Skip Ron A rises after delivering his stone       Ken G gets ready to sweep opposing skip Paul R's stone behind the tee, watched by Paul's team       Ron A's and Sheila D's teams shake hands at the end of their match       President Maryel P presents tokens of appreciation to the "first time" guests         The booby prize winners [L to R] Paul R, Valerie A, Chris R, President Maryel P, Neil A, Bruce P

[Thanks go to Maryel P's husband, Bruce, for all the photos in this report. (That big self-stabilsing telephoto lens works a treat!) Click on any of the photos above to get the corresponding full size picture - it may take up to 10 seconds to display.]   © Bridge of Weir Curling Club - 2006