Mild winters have been the rule in Scotland for the last few decades – and one of their victims has been the traditional pastime of curling. An Olympic sport, curling involves sliding polished stones towards targets marked on ice, with teams (or rinks) of four players competing to see which team can get their stone closest, using brooms to smooth the way.
The origins of curling are unclear. A version of the game (using wood rather than stones) was played in the Low Countries, but in its current form the sport almost certainly began in Scotland where (according to the Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland) the oldest curling stones are found. Documentary evidence places the first written reference to the game in 1541 (Royal Caledonian Curling Club) and it is mentioned (and was probably played) by Robert Burns.
Originally an outdoor sport, the change in temperatures means that it is now played almost exclusively indoors. The recent spell of sustained cold weather, with temperatures well below freezing, has brought opportunities for Scotland’s curlers to revert to tradition with an outdoor tournament, or bonspiel.
The word ‘bonspiel’ is of Scottish origin and means a curling tournament. Traditionally, the word referred to outdoor tournaments, but these days is taken to refer to indoor tournaments as well. These days, a large outdoor tournament played in Scotland between the North and the South (each represented by many different teams) is referred to as a Grand Match to distinguish it from other bonspiels.
What are the Prospects for a Grand Match?
As the recent cold weather has persisted and intensified, members of the curling community have been excited by the prospect of a Grand Match and the matter has been considered at length by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the sport’s governing body in Scotland. Three venues have been considered:
- Piper Dam near Dundee
- Loch Leven, Kinross
- Lake of Menteith, Stirlingshire.
Requirements for the tournament include the capacity for coping with the large number of teams, or rinks, involved. (In the most recent Grand Match, in 1979, 600 rinks competed.) The most crucial factor, however, is the depth and quality of the ice, which must be at least seven inches thick (preferably more) to support the weight of the hundreds of competitors. It must also be sufficiently clear, as frozen snow renders the surface unusable for curling.
Both Piper Dam and Loch Leven are currently (6 January) considered to be unplayable due to a layer of frozen snow. Although the Lake of Menteith was previously removed from the list of possible locations for a variety of reasons, it is this location which is the current front runner, having both the thickest ice and the best ice quality.
Previous Grand Matches
Because of the conditions required, Grand Matches have never been a regular feature of the curling community’s calendar in Scotland - and have become increasingly irregular. Records kept by the RCCC indicate that there have been thirty-three events in the last century and a half – but only eleven of those took place in the twentieth century and there have only been two, in 1963 and 1979, since the Second World War.
Bonspiels have always been popular, as RCCC records show. In 1929 RCCC reports indicate around 2,500 competitors and at least as many spectators. Fifty years later the 707 teams which entered had to be whittled down to 600 and the estimates of spectator numbers vary from 3,500 to 8,000.
The 2010 Grand Match: the Current Situation
At present (January 6 2010) the prospects of holding the first Grand Match for over thirty years are good. The RCCC is to make an announcement on January 8 and the expectation among Scotland’s curlers is that if the cold conditions continue the first traditional bonspiel in a generation will be held at the Lake of Menteith the following week.
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