Okay, I unreservedly withdraw the allegation, you did not load the figures. I am certain you interpreted them to the best of your ability.

I recall Colin Grahamslaw explaining to me that the RCCC database of clubs etc is only an indication, in that many curlers are members that don't curl, while many curl but are not members of the RCCC. Bums on seats, I suppose.

The link you provide is available, but still under development. It also lists three curling rinks that closed some years ago. No blame to the RCCC, I believe the database they are developing will be extremely helpful and informative when it is fully up to date.

These figures from the Fife Curling Trust raise even more questions.

If a 4 sheet rink is built in Cupar, it is reasonable to expect that all the Cupar province clubs will be based there, but according to those figures, that amounts to only 325 curlers.

The 5 Cupar clubs leaving Kinross to play at Cupar reduces the Kinross curler count from 919 to 771, so if 6 sheets is too many for 771 curlers, how is Cupar going to manage 4 sheets for only 325 curlers?


John, are you now involved with the FCT project?

Boys, boys, boys.
Here are some facts.
The Fife Curling Trust issued a questionairre about ice usage to the Fife Clubs.
They got figures for current ice usage from all the clubs and where they curled e.g 20 sheets at Kinross, 10 at Kirkcaldy, 5 at Perth etc.
We then asked them how they would place their ice if a rink was built at both Cupar or Glenrothes.
We found Cupar more popular than Glenrothes - hence why we are there.
we looked at the issue strategically - we did not want to shut down a decent rink like Kinross by our actions as that is counterproductive for the sport. We felt that Kinross and ourselves could work well with both being in existance and would encourage participation in the sport - Johns theory on local rinks i guess.
In our NCA submission - we went for 6 sheets - for most of the reasons outlined above and in the knowledge that 4 sheets at Kinross was at capacity.
When Kinross got the NCA we thought long and hard about our intentions and the way forward - we decided on looking at the business plans etc that the pragmatic and sensible approach would be to go for 4 sheets - in essence a reversal of the roles.

In our projections from the questionaire Stevew isnt far from the mark at Kinross losing 25% to Cupar.- we reckoned 30%
HOWEVER
There is a substantial amount of west Fife ice at Kirkcaldy with some also at Murrayfield and Perth. We reckoned that migration to the local rink at Kinross from those rinks would make up a good proportion of shortfall for Kinross.
With Kinross going to 2 sessions on the 6 sheet, this is still the case.
The upside of this - everybody is actually curling at their local rink.
It is no secret that FCT and Kinross are comfortable with each others plans and the joint effect of both rinks will have a positive effect on the sport in the wider area.
The losers in ice terms  are definately Kirkcaldy with little bits from Murrayfield, Perth, Forfar, Dundee.

We all know the long term Kirkcaldy prospects, Perth is now busy with extra atholl ice, No Gogar keeps Murryfield busy, Forfar has absorbed Letham Grange ice and gone to 7 sheets, Dundee can only curl 2 nights a week max anyway.

Strategically for the sport - everybody (except Kdy) wins

Let me stress - in no way is Cupar in Competition with Kinross, just that patterns of ice will move to a more local level between all the rinks.

SteveW,

Been checking over your figures.

A flurry of posts between 3.05pm and 3.59pm. Quite a long afternoon tea break then!

Glad you rushed your lunchtime analysis of the figures.

25% wasn't my guess. I calculate more like 15%.

If the questonnaire response says that 25% of curlers would move from Kinross to Cupar, then so be it, but from my analysis, that would mean almost half of the clubs in West Fife moving from Kinross to Cupar and a cursory look at the geography and location of West Fife clubs makes this, in my opinion, somewhat unlikely.

Perhaps, some of the respondants were influenced by the possibilities of getting ice at times that were actually practical. The rush to get to Kinross from work for the 5:45 session and the discomfort of getting home well after midnight after a 9:45 session being unpopular for many people.

"Kinross has 17 clubs from East Fife and Cupar Provinces Curling there on a regular basis the combined ice allocated to these clubs in season 0809 is 413 sheets of mostly peak time"

which could be offset by  over 500 sheets at Kdy that is currently taken by west fife clubs + 100+sheets at perth & murrayfield

steveW - there is a difference between numbers of members and numbers of games - some clubs curl more than others!

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