This weekend, the Canadian Strathcona Cup Team arrives in Dumfries and Galloway as part of a Scottish tour competing for the oldest trophy in international curling.
Scottish curlers first toured Canada in 1902, suffering heavy defeats but building friendships. So, when curling clubs were invited to play host to visiting Canadians in 1909, “virtually the whole of Scotland was prepared to receive the Canadians and offer hospitality.”
1909 was the year that teams from Canada and Scotland first competed for the Strathcona Cup. To commemorate his presidency of the Royal Caledonian Club and the first visit of a Canadian curling club to Scotland, Lord Strathcona donated the trophy that is still competed for. It is the certainly the grandest and probably the most valuable curling trophy.
Hosted by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the competition for the Strathcona Cup is unique as it is played nationwide over a number of weeks, with the touring curlers taking on local curlers representing their countries. 40 Canadian curlers arrived in Scotland on 10 January and are touring until 2 February.
When the Scots last toured Canada, in 2013, they were victorious and brought the trophy back to Scotland. Now, the Canadians are here for ‘revenge’.
The Canadians will play 27 games against more than 1,000 local Scottish curlers. As well as competing in 10 ice rinks in the south of Scotland they will also manage to visit museums, historical and cultural sites, participate in a Burns Supper, and maybe fit in a couple of distilleries.
Council Leader Elaine Murray said: “Sport can transform people’s lives. It offers obvious benefits in terms of fitness, health, and wellbeing. It can help us to develop self-discipline, respect, teamwork, sportsmanship, fair play, confidence, and self-esteem. The curling competitions between Scotland and Canada are an exemplar of sporting relationships and fair play. On behalf of the Council, I very much hope that everyone enjoys the sporting competition while rekindling old friendships and forging new ones.”
Dumfries and Galloway has long been a centre of curling. In Kirkcudbright Museum, we have one of the oldest curling stones in Scotland: a heart-shaped stone dating back to around 1720. And, 2 of Scotland’s earliest recorded clubs were Sanquhar [founded in 1774] and Wanlockhead [1777].
In the early 1700s, curling was a parish event and, in the late 1700s, curlers began to form clubs in order to regulate the game and the behaviour of players.
An early publication outlining the regulations of a curling club stated that ‘When a member falls and is hurt, the rest shall not laugh but render him assistance to regain his former erect position.’ It’s not clear if this applied to the rink or the clubhouse!
The early records of Lochmaben Curling society bemoan the fact that their long winning streak against local parishes was curtailed when a match against Kirkmichael was abandoned. For what reason could the match be abandoned so inconsiderately. Well, 6 of the Kirkmichael curlers fell through the ice and were drowned!
In recent years, Dumfries and Galloway has celebrated Olympic success for our local curlers. This was not due to chance. The mastery of sporting technique can only be achieved by practising for hour after hour, every day, over many years. There is no shortcut. Successful sporting talent development can only be achieved by building on large numbers of young people participating. The more young people we can involve in sport, the greater the chance of developing exceptional sportsmen and sportswomen. The broader the base of the pyramid, the higher we can build. And, in Dumfries and Galloway, young curlers have facilities such as Dumfries Ice Bowl [which has had a dedicated 6 rink curling pad since 2010], Lockerbie Ice Rink, and North West Hotel in Stranraer [the first hotel in the world to have its own indoor Curling rink.
Strathcona Cup history: http://www.scottishcurling.org/about-us/tours/strathcona-cup-history/
Tour of Scotland 2018: http://www.strathconacup100.ca/2018_TOUR/2018TourSchedule.html
Tour of Dumfries & Galloway:
Sunday 28 January
1230 Welcome & Lunch at Dumfries Ice Bowl
1400 Games v South Area at Dumfries Ice Arena
1900 Informal dinner at the Globe Inn
Monday 29 January
1000 Games v South Area at Dumfries Ice Arena
1230 Lunch at Dumfries Ice Arena
1400 Games v South Area at Lockerbie Ice Rink
1900 Informal dinner in Lockerbie
Tuesday 30 January
1000 Games v South Area at Lockerbie Ice Rink
1230 Lunch at Lockerbie
