Interesting thoughts
"Things have to change. The current way of selecting our international representatives is a lottery between those who have the backing of all the Scottish Institute support and those who dont."

It seems always to bring up the subject between funded and non funded teams!Sure it would be great to have financial help who would say no!
Why is it that we are now looking at the 5th player more than not coming into teams due to performance, surely in the bigger picture we are wanting to produce or encourage all curlers to pursue and maintain performance levels nobody goes out to play badly so I agree about having a support structure that supports all curlers.
Whether people choose to take that support or want to be part of it is whether they want to put the time in? Surely we are wanting to make "elite curlers" of all teams and players participating in our championships then representing our nation. As you say a level playing field is maybe all that we are asking for?

I think that you will find that the President is ex-officio on every committee.

That's the most constructive post I've seen on here in ages DA

There is no question in my mind that the status quo is not the way forward, and some 'thinking out of the box' (if you will forgive the jargon) is needed. I suggested in another thread some ideas that might be considered. May I throw some of these into the discussion again.

1. Everyone assumes that the winners of the Scottish Championships should be the teams that go to the Worlds. The problem of course, as has been pointed out elswhere often, the World events are qualification for the Olympics, which, rightly or wrongly, seem to be the olnly thing that matter at the moment. Perhaps, just perhaps, the future should hold something different. Could it not be that the winning teams (men and women) do NOT go to the Worlds when they win the Scottish, but get funding to allow them to compete in, say, three World Curling Tour (Curling Champions Tour) events in the following season. Perhaps a cash prize incentive too. And Institute support, if they don't already have it. The Scottish (or perhaps it could be the British Championship) is open to any four curlers, and as many teams as possible encouraged to enter, including the Institute teams.

2. The sportscotland/Scottish Institute elite curling group comprises two, or possibly three, 5-man (and 5-woman) teams which compete in Tour events as at present, and get all the support currently on offer. All five in each team must buy into this (ie no support for just a couple in a team and none for others). I say teams, not squads. It is only these teams that will play off to decide which goes to the Europeans, and to the Worlds. I say five man teams, not just to cover illness, but to get round the unsavoury business of selecting an alternative from another team, and ending up fielding a team at the Worlds which has never actually played together before. And each team still has to win the right to be our international reps. And we get around fears that an untried team might go through. And we're not picking individual curlers into squads.  

3. The Royal Club puts ALL its efforts into developing junior teams and strengthening the Scottish Junior Championships. Much more should be put into junior curling in all its forms - juniors, U-17, schools, camps. But most importantly, the basics of the curling delivery must be better taught to beginners than they are at the moment. I am appalled that some juniors playing competitively in the U-17 and Juniors appeared not to have mastered the basics of throwing the stone.

I'm sorry if I appear to be labouring this point, but let's get back to the importance of the TEAM, rather than picking individuals. Working as teams, playing as teams, losing as teams, enjoying the competition, having rivalries, and winning as teams.

Psychic Bob

Forget Vernon for the present, the Boards nominated disciplinary panel will decide the next course of action, wither or not you agree with that.

Consider the way forward, is it not the case to meet the Olympic team criteria and funding the representative team must be selected from the best British players for each position. That why you have to nominate your desire to join it.

Concern yourself with the future of the Scottish Championship and the views that may come the  newly formed Performance group as to how Scottish representative teams may be selected in future. You can rest assured the board will have, as all boards do, selected like minded people to themselves.
Your challenge is to figure out the boards objectives as far as the future method of selecting a Scottish team for the Worlds. Is it by open competition or closed selection? Will it be influenced by the RCCC's Olympic ambitions. Maybe!!!

WCF office is in Perth.

the answer is definitely no. As far as I am aware, Switzerland is inches (read 12 months) away from creating a national team/squad which will make the Swiss League and Swiss Championships (e.g. 3 weekends round-robin plus a whole week for the final 10) unnecessary because there won't be anything to win at the champs anymore.

Will be interesting to see who of the top teams will resign / turn away from elite curling. Personally, wether it is Scotland or Switzerland, I think that development will prove desastrous for the sport as a whole. What point is there in playing very expensive championships if you have not a possibilty to represent your country internationally as a goal in front of your eyes?
And if you don't have a national championship that deserves it's name anymore, where does the national team get the playing experience necessary from? And more importantly, where do the future national teams get their championship experience from? (Because before you get the funding to attend overseas evens, you will have to prove your capabilites on home turf, won't you? Just that there won't be many high class home turf events with the championships gone...)