Sutherland curlers on ice again
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Sutherland Province's league curling season has restarted in the Inverness Ice Centre with new and old faces turning out and Sutherland's best ever curler, Keith Stewart, has dug out his brush and returned to the ice.
Stewart won nine Province league championships, seven of them as a Skip with the Royal Marine Club - and his first two as third player to former Marine Skip Robbie Innes, as far back as season 1990/91.
Then he led the number three Marine team to the last championship played in the former Royal Marine Hotel Ice Rink, but decided not to continue playing in Inverness after the Marine closed.
Losing none of his old craft the Brora curler has this season joined Loch Fleet and helped Scott Lyon to an opening night win over Locheye.
On the ice last week for the first time were two new curlers to the Province. To the West Coast small township of Oldshoremore has moved former Loch Leven Province curlers, Angela and David de Boer, who before their move north were members of the Fossway Curling Club who played in the Kinross Ice rink at the Green Hotel.
Still keen to continue curling and unconcerned with the journey time to Inverness, David made a début in Province Match Secretary Richard MacKenzie's NHCT rink while Angela started alongside the reigning Province champion Hugh Mackay and his triumphant North Highland Curling Trust rink.
Against the three new faces out this season is Brora's Ted Gregory who has recently had a replacement knee operation ruling him out of action for a year.
Results: I Mackay (Dornoch) 6, B Watson (Brora) 8. H Mackay (NHCT 1) 5, N Murray (Rogart) 6. T Watson (Locheye 1) 6, S Lyon (Loch Fleet) 8. C MacRae (Alness) 10, A Munro (RSYF) 4. A Mackenzie (Locheye 2) 4, R Mackenzie (NHCT 2) 8.
* For a full report on these Province league matches, read this Friday's Northern Times.
