Thanks. Yes, that's 28 weeks, so 28*7=196. You say 34 days equivalent taken by East Fife and Cupar clubs, so that's 34/196 = 17%.

I met SJK this morning and we had a good chat. I'm not going to go into the percentages again, but can we settle for a likely loss of 20% to Kinross when Cupar opens? It won't be far off the mark. There could be a 15% increase from NCA business, mostly off-peak ice, so that will not affect the 20% loss, which means there will still be a 20% loss in peak-time demand.

Fife is a rural area with not many changes in demography, and with a population not nearly as well off as perhaps Aberdeen. Although Kinross is next to a motorway the travelling curlers form Perth or Edinburgh will not increase much, except for NCA business and the odd competition. So how can Kinross make up for the 20% loss?

It is said that the six sheeter is essential to allow people to curl during peak time and get to bed earlier. Kinross might be fully subscribed for these sessions now, but will they still be in the future? For the area of Cupar/Kinross, ice availability will rise from four sheets now to ten sheets later, for basically the same number of curlers. An increase of 150% in ice availability, with only an increase (in off-peak needs) of 15% for the NCA, after that loss of 20% (mostly peak ice).

Kinross curlers are loyal and will support their new facility, of that I am sure. But to increase their ice by 50% at a time when 20% of the current business will move to Cupar -- and then expect the Kinross curlers to pay for it -- makes no sense at all. Certainly, from my point of view, there is an awful lot of wishful thinking involved here. I am quite sure that, if the Kinross curlers are allowed to look carefully at this situation, they will adapt their curling habits to fit in with available ice, rather than adapt available ice to suit their supposed preferences.

and by the way - the man behind the Kinross thing has already stated that he is cutting the evening sessions to 2 rather than 3 - the net effect being the peak ice available is exactly the same - not an increase of 150% !!!

There is also the issue of actually growing the number of curlers and games - if you are fully booked - where do they curl or how does that happen?

Only if the Forth Road Bridge is congestion free, which for a 5:00pm/6:00pm session would be,,,er,,,well, you try it sometime.