Historic win for Rogart curling Club
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Introduced to the game by a previous generation of Rogart curlers – Ali Mackenzie, Sandy Mackenzie and Alec Murray, who got the Rogart Curling Club back up and running after the opening of the Brora Ice Rink in 1985 – Nigel took to the sport like a duck to water.
Indeed, whenever a pond froze over in his Morvich fields, he would be out honing his game and arranging outdoor bonspiels for his curling friends.
Bonspiel days were his favourite competitions, a winner of many in Brora and further afield but the Sutherland Cup for the Province League title always evaded him.
The league move to Inverness did not diminish his enthusiasm and, although losing several Rogart village curlers who did not make the change to Inverness, Murray made the effort to recruit from further afield and not allow the Rogart club to fade into extinction.
From within the Province, ex-Brora curler Joan Murray, now Fraser, and her husband Hamish who now live on the Black Isle, joined up and with Colin Wilson from Dornoch they came close to league success last season but became a formidable outfit this season.
With Joan playing third stones, Colin at second and Hamish at lead, they went into last week’s round eight fixtures with an unbeaten record and topping the league table by four points. After another convincing win, 8-5 over Alan Mackenzie (Locheye), Rogart emerged as champions before the final round of games is completed on 26th March.
After round eight wins, Richard Mackenzie and Scott Lyon remain in joint second place, four points adrift of Rogart, with Mackenzie’s North Highland Curling Trust rink claiming second position by virtue of a better shots and ends record over Loch Fleet following the Trust’s 6-2 win over Loch Fleet last week.
Coreen MacRae (Alness) brought in as a substitute former Brora curler Neil Murray who was lost to the Province when after attending Golspie High School he became a soldier. When stationed in the north of England he continued his curling interest, travelling to play at ice rinks in the Scottish Borders and joining a rink that represented England in the European Curling Championships of 2007 played in Fussen, Germany.
His army career over and now working in Inverness, Murray was given the lead stones alongside John McHarg and Brian Weaver in last week’s Alness line-up. They came away with a comfortable win over Dornoch’s Ian Mackay who was missing, due to illness, his long-time third player Russell Mackenzie.
Bill Watson gave Brora a lift away from the foot of the table beating Alan Munro and the Ross Sutherland Young Farmers by a big score.
In the final game of the round, Hugh Mackay, the outgoing champion, with the North Highland Curling Trust first team, bid farewell to his title with his best score of the season, 16-5 over Tony Watson (Locheye)
Two days after the round five fixtures, the Province members met in the Trentham Hotel, Dornoch, for their annual general meeting. With president Allan MacLennan, Invergordon, and vice-president Brian Weaver, Alness, having completed the first year of their two-year terms, they continued in post.
The other officials, secretary Emma Deeth (Locheye), treasurer Christine Mackenzie (Locheye) and match secretary Richard Mackenzie (Locheye) were also returned to their posts with due appreciation for the work they had undertaken over the past 12 months.
The main topic of the evening was to gain the Province’s views on proposed changes to ice times suggested by the Inverness Ice Rink.
The general consensus was that all were in favour of an earlier finish to the late session but there were mixed feelings from the farming fraternity about earlier evening starts, as travel time to Inverness would have to be taken into account.
Nigel Murray, Rogart, reminded the curlers that they had always been good supporters of bonspiels held by other Provinces but Sutherland Province no longer had a competition of their own,
On his suggestion, the committee undertook to look at reviving a Sutherland Bonspiel with invitations sent out to attract 80 curlers for a full day’s play using the Inverness Ice Centre.
Rogart’s success in winning both the Province League and knock-out competitions was recorded, as was Dornoch’s Ian Mackay victory in the points competition.
The final league night is on Monday, 26th March, followed by the presentation of trophies at as dinner-dance on 31st March in the Carnegie Hall, Clashmore.
Results. Round 8 – R Mackenzie (NHCT 2) 6 S Lyon (Loch Fleet) 2. A Mackenzie (Locheye 2) 5 N Murray (Rogart) 8. C MacRae (Alness) 11 I Mackay (Dornoch) 0. H Mackay (NHCT 1) 16 T Watson (Locheye 1) 5. A Munro (RSYF) 2 B Watson ((Brora) 13.
