Douglas Curling Club
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Richard Gray kindly agreed to present the trophies to the season's winners
Earl of Home Cup (Jinglin Geordie) – G Coke (Skip) R Mitchell, R Anderson, L Muldoon
Clarkson League – I Bairner (Skip), D Hair, B Carswell, E Owen-Smith
Douglasdale Trophy – R Scott (Skip), D Clarkson, K Chapman, E Deeney
Jack Lamb Pairs – R Scott (Skip), B Carswell
Covenanters Cup – J Trainer (Skip), K Chapman, B Carswell, C Graham
Lamington Bowl – I Fleming (Skip), K Chapman, J Loch, D Telfer
Bicentenary Bonspiel – G Coke (Skip), W Mitchell, E Owen-Smith, D Telfer
Annual Supper
2008


Andrew Provan – Piper
High Bannatyne - Haggis Bearer
Jim Smith - Address to the Haggis
Derek Hair – Chairman
Alastair Mackie – Immortal Memory
Archie Gilbert – Recitations & Vote of Thanks
Sandy Addison – The Lassies
Barbara Mackie – Reply
Artistes – Ann Smith, John Jackson, Willie Mitchell and ‘The Black Douglas’ dance band

"Scotland's Ain Game" - Alex F. Torrance - Hamilton & Thornhill Curling Club
"The Curlers Song" - Willie Mitchell jnr - Douglas Curling Club
"Douglas Curling Club" - Robert Flowerdew
Reply - Sandy Addison - Douglas Curling Club
"The Guests" - Mark Robertson - Douglas Curling Club
"The Last Word" - Larry Muldoon - Douglas Curling Club
Artistes - John Jackson, Willie Mitchell, Lindsay Addison, Andrew Morrow & Archie Gilbert
2006 / 7 Winners - Alex Torrance kindly agreed to present the trophies to the season's winners
Earl of Home Cup - George Hodge (Skip) Davie Clarkson, Ted Gordon, John Jackson
Clarkson League - Kerr Finlay (Skip), Graham Cowan, Bobby Ramage, Tom Gold
Douglasdale Trophy - Bill McCormack (Skip), Archie Gilbert, Bert Carswell, John Loch
Pairs - Kerr Finlay (Skip) John Pate
Covenanters Cup - Robin Scott (Skip), John Mitchell, Stuart Finlay
Lamington Bowl - Robin Scott (Skip), Bill McCormack, Robert Taylor, Steve Grainger
Bicentenary - lan Fleming (Skip), Robert Taylor, Bert Carswell, Steve Grainger
Douglas Curlers win Hamilton nail-biter
The Douglas Curling Club rink of John Trainer, Robin Scott, Kerr Findlay and Graham Cowan (above) won a nail-biting Sport Clydesdale Curling Bonspeil title by a single shot in Hamilton on Thursday December 28.
Also pictured above is the Lanark Ladies Curling Club rink of Morag Sandilands, Jane Gilchrist, Jenny Lorimer and Margaret Neilson, who finished High Road runners-up after losing the final at Lanarkshire Ice Rink. Pictured below is the Upperward Ladies Curling Club quartet of Mary Armour, Ann Smith, Margaret Hyslop and Rita Herd, victorious in the Low Road competition. Runners-up in that category, Coulter Curling Club, are also pictured below. They were represented by Hugh Jackson, James Moffaf, Gavin Jackson and Agnes Jackson. Ten Clydesdale clubs participated in a competition using the Schenkel System with ends, shots and points deciding ranking. The prizes were presented by David Strachan, chairman of Sport Clydesdale, and thanks were extended to Lockhart Steele for administering the event and ice rink staff for their assistance.
Carluke & Lanark Gazette 11/1/07

WINNERS 2005/06
K FINLAY(SKIP), P GEMMELL, J,HARVIE & L MULDOON
R/u R SCOTT, G, COWAN, K CHAPMAN & J JACKSON
LAMINGTON BOWL
G COWAN, E DEENEY, A GILBERT & R SCOTT
R/u W GALLOWAY, K CHAPMAN, F SMITH & P GEMMELL.
JACK LAMB PAIRS
I FLEMING (SKIP) & A GILBERT
R/u G COKE (S) G COWAN
BICENTENERY TROPHY
K FINLAY (SKIP), A GILBERT, E DEENEY & J HAMILTON
R/u W PLENDERLEITH(SKIP), P GEMMELL, F SMITH & W MITCHELL (Sr)
THE ALEX CLARKSON TROPHY
R SCOTT (SKIP), P GEMMELL, J MITCHELL & M ROBERTSON
R/u J TRAINER (SKIP), D HAIR, A ADDISON & R ANDERSON
DOUGLASDALE TROPHY
I BAIRNER (SKIP), G COWAN, A GILBERT & S GRAINGER
R/u K SLUDDEN (S), R MITCHELL, R RAMAGE & S FINLAY
EARL OF HOME CUP
R SCOTT (SKIP), P GEMMELL, J MITCHELL & M ROBERTSON
Non Club Tournament Success
J TRAINER (SKIP), K CHAPMAN, A ADDISON & R ANDERSON
PROVINCE CHAMPIONSHIP
H BANNATYNE (SKIP), D CLARKSON, A ADDISON & R GENTLE
Country Club, Douglas

© of Lindsay Addison
(Standing)
W Mitchell (Snr) - Selkirk Grace, W Mitchell (Jnr) - "There Was A Lad", H Bannatyne - Haggis Bearer, A Provan - Piper, J Mitchell - "Star O Rabbie Burns", J Jackson & A Smith - "Ae Fond Kiss", D Telfer - Vote of thanks.
DOUGLAS CURLING CLUB
Parish games seem to have appealed strongly and by 1760; and probably much earlier, a rink of Douglas players was in the habit of matching their prowess on the ice against a Muirkirk team.
On the 25th of January 1792, “a number of ice players in the Parish of Douglas, agreed to form themselves into a Society. Every person becoming a member shall pay sixpence at his entry and three pence yearly.” It was also laid down that “each member was to be associated with one or other of the racks (rinks) and that in this he would have a settled place; if for any game he refuses to play in his allotted position, a fine of 6 pence was to be levied, and should he refuse to play in a parish game he would be fined one shilling unless he could furnish a reasonable excuse.”
Thus was the Club inaugurated on Robert Burns’s birthday, who was by this time approaching the end of his short life.
The early curlers of Douglas frequently played matches for the benefit of the poor. The entrance money to these games of 1795 was sufficient to supply upwards of 40 carts of coal for distribution among the more needy villagers. A hundred years later, charity games were still being played to provide the poor with tea, sugar and bread.
The Douglas Curling Club does not claim to be the oldest curling club in the world.

It would appear that there are none who can equal Douglas by having a complete record of minutes without a break, from constitution to present day. While the desire to claim an ancient lineage is understandable and desirous, the R.C.C.C. has done the history of the game a disservice in acknowledging spurious claims to antiquity based on legend only.
In 1838, the club was invited to join with other clubs that were endeavouring to set up an association of clubs to be called the Grand National Curling Club, with a view to governing and standardising all curling. After much debate the Douglas men decided not to join, but ten years later 8/12/1848, they reversed their decision and agreed to apply for affiliation to the group. In the interval, this group of clubs had been successful in their aims; received the Royal Patronage and in 1843 had become the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.
Around 1850, a shortage of players forced the Club to adopt the “new” method of playing with four men per rink, playing two stones instead of eight men each playing one stone.
For the past 155 years, the Douglas Club has been proud to have the Patronage of the Lairds of Douglas. From the first Patron Lord Douglas to the present 15th Earl of Home, they have had a close affinity with the Club and over the years have granted land for an artificial pond, built a clubhouse, supplied labour to help clear ice and presented in 1858, the famous Earl of Home Cup.
Now the Club’s most treasured possession, the Earl of Home Cup is affectionately known as the “Jinglin’ Geordie” as winners hang an engraved medal upon it, so thus it jingles merrily when passed from hand to hand.

Towards the end of the 19th century, there was a continuing change in the winter weather from hard to mild, so there was not enough frost to make strong ice on the ponds. The Club decided to construct an artificial pond at Douglas, on ground granted by Lord Home. The surface was of tar macadam, which had superseded the clay used by John Cairnie at Largs. This new surface had been successfully pioneered by the Watsonian Club in Edinburgh. The artificial pond was completed in 1909 at a cost of £185 and illuminated with gas lamps. The “Tarmac”, as it was fondly named, was a great success and in constant use on frosty nights. To help defray the running costs, each player paid sixpence per night. During 1922, it was reconditioned at a cost of £38 but between 1939 – 1945 it was used as a parade ground by the military, who had a large encampment in the Castle Policies. On their departure it was deemed beyond repair. However in 1963 the club had it reconditioned at a cost of £400 and installed electric floodlighting. The “Tarmac” again proved very popular, but the opening of the Ice Rink at Hamilton was its death knell and now it has been landscaped into a public park.

On the 25th January 1992, the Bicentenary Dinner was attended by two hundred curlers, which included the Douglas Curlers, representatives from all the neighbouring clubs, plus the current President and five past Presidents of the R.C.C.C. and the secretary of the R.C.C.C. The Bicentenary celebrations continued with an all day Bonspiel at Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton on 27th February 1992. The Douglas rinks skipped by Presidents and Past Presidents of the Club, were in combat with rinks drawn from throughout Scotland. The celebrations were drawn to a close on 24th October 1992 with a Curlers Court.
The Douglas Curling Club is now into its third century and is still strong and in good heart. There are now over three times the number of founder members, with many new names but some whose family names can be traced back through the centuries. The conditions and rules have made dramatic changes since the 18th century, but the Douglas curlers still each season with the same excitement, anticipation and enthusiasm as did their predecessors over 200 years ago.

200 Years of Douglas Curling Club

CURLERS' SONG
Sing the rink, the rings, the patlid,
Hogscore, midline, banked snaw,
Stanes and hannels, cows and crampits,
Bonspiel famous sing them a'.
Tel - 01698 282448