East of FifeProvince
of The Royal Caledonian Curling Club
Minutes of the A G M held in Craw's Nest Hotel, Anstruther
on Thursday 7thApril 2011 at 7.30pm
Present:President,Pat Hughes (Hercules Ladies); Vice-President Kevin Thomson (Thornton) and 38 members representing all clubs in the Province.
Apologies:Ann Brook (Kennoway); David Maiden (Hercules); Allan Milne (St. Andrews); David Steel (Cambo); Alan Stuart (Leven); Jan Stuart (Hercules Ladies); and Wilma Wilson (Largo).
In Memoriam:Ian Chrystal (Thornton); John Dewar (Markinch); David Garland (Hercules); George Harvey (Leven); John Lambert (Glenrothes); Lottie Lees (Thornton); Tom Pearson (Leven); Nancy Peddie (Balcaskie); June Rolland (Leven); Eddie Ross (Markinch); and Jimmy Warden (Markinch).
Correspondence: None
Minutes:Minutes of the 2010AGM, having been circulated, were corrected by amending the years in which Alistair McCabe served as Province President to 1998-99, as RCCC President to 2006-07 and as Captain of the U.S.A Tour to 2007. The minutes were then approved byAlistair McCabe (Kennoway) and seconded by Allan Marshall (Balcaskie).
Matters Arising from Minutes:Iain Rennick (Province Secretary & Treasurer) highlighted the following issues from the minutes:
- Seven clubs entered the new Mixed League competition which ran successfully during the season.
- As agreed at the 2009-10 AGM, the Entertainment Fund was closed and the money transferred to the General Account.
- The Indoor Grand Match took place on Saturday 23rd October. The sessions at Kirkcaldy sessions went very well. A £207 profit from the raffle on the day was donated to the KirkcaldyCoachingSchool.
There were no other matters arising.
Competitions:A list of the various competition winners was circulated.
President Pat Hughes drew attention to the high number of defaults in the Duncan Millar League during the season and also a number of late withdrawals from our various competitions against other Provinces. She requested all clubs to make every effort to fulfil all their fixtures in season 2011-12.
Accounts:The Treasurer gave a short explanation of the accounts. These were then approved, without further comment, by Andrew Stevenson (Balcaskie), seconded by Bertie Brown (Balcaskie).
Subscriptions, Levies and Fines:The Treasurer proposed that Subscriptions, Entertainment Levy and Fines remain as at present. This was seconded by Margaret Lambie (Balcaskie).
Clubs having defaulted during the past season were:-
Thornton on 1stNovember; Lundin & Montrave on 8thNovember, 17thJanuary and 24thJanuary;
Kennoway on 13thDecember; St. Andrewson 20thDecember; Markinch on 24th January (all Duncan Millar League); and Leven on 10 January (Graham Mixed Pairs).
Grace Brown (Cambo Ladies) proposed that these clubs be fined in accordance with the Province’s default rule, seconded by Bill Creevy (Largo).
President's Report: President Pat began her report by saying what a privilege it had been to serve as Province President, following in the footsteps of several relatives including her father. The year had been made particularly special by her participation in the successful Ladies Tour of the U.S.A. in January.
She congratulated Kennoway on their 150th and Hercules on their 175th Anniversaries. She also congratulated members of the Province who had qualified to represent Scotland during the season – Colin Howden (Scottish Junior Men’s Team) and Fiona de Vries (Scottish Senior Women’s Team).
She thanked Bill Arnot for his continuing efforts as President of Area 7 and Bill Creevy and others for their work in bringing new players into the sport through KirkcaldyCoachingSchool.
While we had again come close to holding an outdoor Grand Match only to be disappointed, several clubs had the consolation of outdoor curling on Kilconquhar Loch on Boxing Day. We also had an Indoor Grand Match in October, with a very successful day over 3 sessions at Kirkcaldy. Pat thanked the organising committee and reflected on a successful result for the Area 7 team.
Pat thanked her club, Hercules Ladies, for giving her the honour of being Province President and thanked the Province Committee for supporting her so wholeheartedly during the year.
Elections:
Honorary Presidents Alistair McCabe (Kennoway) and Bertie Brown (Balcaskie) were elected in 2010.
President PresidentPatproposed Kevin Thomson (Thornton)as President, seconded by Allan Vallance (Markinch). Pat congratulated Kevin on his appointment, pointing out that he was one of the youngest Presidents in the Province’s history. In turn, Kevin thanked Pat for all her efforts on behalf of the Province.
Kevin then took the chair for the rest of the meeting.
Vice-President Mark Turnbull (Cambo) was proposed as vice-president by John Nisbet (Cambo), seconded byPresident Kevin.
Treasurer/Secretary President Kevin proposed the re-appointment of Iain Rennick (Glenrothes), seconded by Ian Johnston (St. Andrews).
Assistant Secretary President Kevin proposed the re-appointment of Andrew Stevenson(Balcaskie and Hercules), seconded by Iain Rennick (Glenrothes).
Examiner President Kevin proposed the re-appointment of Bill Whyte (St Andrews), seconded by Pat Hughes (Hercules Ladies).
Ice Marshal President Kevin proposed the re-appointment of Crawford Edie (Balcaskie), seconded by Bertie Brown (Balcaskie).
Assistant Ice Marshal President Kevin proposed the re-appointment of John Thomson (Balcaskie), seconded by Crawford Edie (Balcaskie).
Committee Kenneth Wilson (Markinch)was due to retire and was thanked for his time on the Committee. Ken Weir (Hercules), Helen Raeside (Balcaskie) and Bill Creevy (Largo) were re-elected. For the vacant position Robert Wilson (Strathkinness) was proposed by Alan Cairns (Strathkinness), seconded by Ian Lumsdaine (Strathkinness).
Representative Members President and Secretary were duly elected.
Area 7 and RCCC report:Bill Arnot (Lundin & Montrave), reported on the first of his two seasons as Area 7 President.
Bill reported on the success of Eve Muirhead and her team on winning the World Ladies Junior Championship for the 4th time. He congratulated Colin Howden (Strathkinness) on his success in representing Scotland in the World Junior Mens team. He also reflected on successes at university and wheelchair level.
The RCCC had prepared a new booklet which described the benefits which membership had for club players. This would be sent out over the summer. The RCCC preferred to communicate with members by email if possible, and members were encouraged to sign up for this.
There had been much debate in the first half of the season over the proposed sale of the CharlesLees painting, which had led to a decision that it wouldn’t be sold. The RCCC were now preparing a record of all the artefacts held by the Club.
The RCCCAGM would be held at Dewars Centre, Perth on 18 June 2011. One member - one vote had been introduced in 2010. It was important that members used their vote.
There would be an incoming men’s tour from the U.S.A in 2012. Games against the Area 7 Provinces would take place on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th February.
Fife Curling Trust: Andrew Stevenson (Balcaskie) reported on behalf of the Trust that there had been little progress over the past year. Sportscotland had indicated that they would not reach a decision on possible funding for an ice rink at Cupar until the situation with the proposed new ice rink at Kinross had been resolved. The Committee continued to raise money via the Crampit club.
Kinross Curling Trust: Alistair McCabe (Kennoway) spoke on behalf of the Trust. He was able to report that agreement had just been reached in the dispute over the land on which the new ice rink would be built. Fund raising and other work could now recommence and the business plan was being updated. The current estimate of costs was somewhere between £4m and £5m. Bill Arnot (Lundin & Montrave) and Dennis Duncan (Glenrothes) both queried the substantial increase in costs and whether it would be more sensible to go for a more modest facility. Alistair said that this option would be looked at if it the full funding bid wasn’t successful. Ronnie Wilson (Markinch) queried why the costs were so much higher than for the Aberdeen rink. Alistair replied that this was because it was a larger facility.
KirkcaldyCurlingSchool: Bill Creevy (Largo) reported on the activities of the KirkcaldyCurlingSchool. He congratulated Colin Howden (Strathkinness) and Allan Marshall (Balcaskie) for their successes over the season as former pupils of the CurlingSchool. The School’s activities continued to include successful Come & Try sessions, the Curling’s Cool programme for schools and regular coaching sessions for beginners and improvers. The Kirkcaldy Virtual Club continued to flourish, with 27 members and others keen to join. The Club had played in a number of competitions including the Indoor Grand Match and the National Virtual Club Bonspiel at Lockerbie. Bill thanked all those who had helped the CurlingSchool over the season and encouraged others to volunteer.
A.O.C.B
Alistair McCabe (Kennoway) referred back to the U.S.A men’s tour mentioned in Bill Arnot’s Area 7 & RCCC report. As the captain of the successful 2007 touring team which had won the Herries Maxwell trophy in the U.S.A. he was keen that it should be retained. He asked clubs to put forward strong players to play in the match.
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President Kevin presented the trophies to the various winners
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The meeting closed with a vote of thanks by Vice-President, Mark Turnbull.
TROPHY WINNERS 2010 – 2011
Duncan Millar League 1st Strathkinness (26 Points)
2nd Balcaskie (25 Points)
Duncan Millar Handicap 1st Markinch (32 Points)
Province Mixed League1st Strathkinness(10 points)
2nd Largo(9 points)
Zermatt TrophyEast of Fife won by 21 shots (Cambo were highest up rink with +14 shots)
Challenge Cup (v Cupar)East of Fife won by 13 shots (Strathkinness were highest up rink with +7 shots)
Reid Trophy1st round - East of Fife beat Perth & District by 9 shots.
Final – East of Fife lost to Atholl by 13 shots (Strathkinness were highest up rink on losing side with +4 shots).
Waldie GriffithsGroup 1 team did not play due to weather conditions (snow).
Group 2 team lost to Forth & EndrickProvince by 1 shot – at Kirkcaldy.
Province Points1st Ronnie Wilson (Markinch) (26 points)
2nd Allan Marshall (Balcaskie) (25 points)
3rd Bill Drysdale (Thornton) (23 points)
Points (Ladies) 1st Pat Hughes (Hercules Ladies) (20 points)
2nd Irene Stevenson (Hercules Ladies) (18 points)
3rd Olive Weir (Largo) (17 points)
Graham Mixed Pairs1st Alan Cairns & Wilma Wilson (Strathkinness)
2nd Vice President & Partner (Kevin Thomson & Anne Maiden)
Low Road Robert Wilson & Wendy Howden (Last Year’s Winners)
Province Cup1st Cambo(+ 11 over 2 rinks)
2nd Strathkinness (+ 6.5 over 2 rinks)
3rd Balcaskie(+5 over 3 rinks)
Willie Lawson1st Cambo (+8.8 over 5 games)
2nd Strathkinness(+5.16 over 6 games)
3rd Glenrothes(+2.75 over 8 games)
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