Scottish Curling Forum

The March 2009 Scottish Curler is now being printed. It contains the following statement:

"The publishers of the Scottish Curler, Clyde and Forth Press, are looking at the options for the future of the magazine and they are discussing these with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

After seven years as Editor, Bob Cowan will retire at the end of this season.

There will be further news for readers in the April Scottish Curler with information regarding current and future subscriptions."

Thanks for the years and the professionalism Bob.  I will be very sorry to see you go.

I think the whole of Scottish curling will miss the work and effort that Bob has put in over the past few years.

It is one of these jobs that ends every so often that one man/woman carried out but will need several people to replace him/her. Such is the workload that Bob does to keep us informed.

Thanks for your efforts Bob

This is a very sad piece of news as for 55 years the Scottish Curler has been the main source of information for all levels of Scottish curling. Granted that in recent years the instantaneous nature of the Internet has made it less relevant, but the Curler covers a much broader range of information than any Internet site.

In that respect what is more worrying is the statement on Curling Today blog that "This blog, which exists to support and promote the printed magazine, will be run down over the next few weeks. "

Many of the readers (if not all) of this Forum have come to rely on the Blog to be the first bearer of any news about Scottish curling and I wonder if the RCCC will be taking over the production of that as well as the magazine. If not is there a volunteer who knows how to do blogs who wants to take it over and keep it going - please!!!!

Maybe I am biased as I have been writing for the Curler for over 20 years but, no matter what you think of it, it has undertaken a great service for Scottish Curling. I hope that the RCCC will conrinue to produce it in some form - and it may be that it becomes totally online, but let's all wish Bob all the every best in his 'retirement'.

Bob you'll be sadly missed as will The Curling Today Blog and Scottish Curler as they are always the 1st port of call to find out what's going on in curling.

The void should be filled but where will we get someone with the dedication that you have shown over your tenure?  (Not in the corridors of the RCCC I will bet anyway........ odds for this please!)

Enjoy your "retirement" and remeber there are a "shower" who know you as friend that will always pleased to see you in sunny Speyside should your travels bring you past our way. 

PS. Curling should recognise your achievements in a positive way and I would like to start the campaign to name the new Kinross facilty "The Bob Cowan Stadium"!

Thanks John for your comment. It is not a difficult thing to do the blog, and there are many out there who could do one, if they have the time and commitment. The reasons that I do not intend to carry the blog on independently of the magazine are two fold. 1. It would be in direct competition to the online/e-magazine efforts that I believe are envisaged in the discussions between C&L Press and the RCCC (although I have not been part of these discussions), and I think it would be unethical of me to do so. 2. The cost. The blog costs me nothing, aside from my time, as I am already travelling to and staying at events, and go to photocall and press conferences and the like, maintain an office and camera equipment and so on, as part of my 'job' as editor of the printed magazine. And I get some expenses for this. Take away the magazine expenses, and I would not have any money coming in, and the blog would be costing me just the same. Unfortunately, I am not independently wealthy, and have but a small pension from my working days at GU, so cannot continue. I estimate that if anyone was to take on the blog - in the current form - they would need to raise say £1000 each month to cover costs. That may be an underestimate. Travel miles alone last year were more than 20,000. To do it properly of course, there needs to be more than one person, and able to travel to the international events where Scottish/GB teams are competing. (Although then of course you run the risk of being called an ****hole, by the occasional ignorant player, and have to deal with morally corrupt organisations like the ECF who are prepared to condone such behaviour.. but what the heck. It's all part of life's rich tapestry!)

The blog is great fun to do, and I will stop Curling Today reluctantly. I'm not sure just when yet, I suspect sooner, rather than later. No point in prolonging the agony!

I personally think that this Forum could become the key hub for curling news and comment.  

Goodness, I'm not dead, ... although I might well be by the time Kinross is actually a reality. Only joking, I'm looking forward to seeing how the museum aspect of that facility works out.

I may be retiring as Scottish Curler editor, but I am not dropping out of curling completely (unless I go abroad again). If I had to have my name attached to anything if would have to be something to do with junior curling. If mixed doubles gets into the Olympics (big 'if', I know) then we need more mixed doubles event here. Juniors can play mds, as well if not better than the oldies - remember the National Pairs.

I would also like to see juniors having something to play in every weekend. As the U-17 events get more competitive, then we need other fun competitions up and down the country, say every other weekend. Individual entry, mix and match teams, fun! More things like the SALSC events (dear to Gorth I know), and the Braehead festive cup.

For years of unwavering dedication to curling and for reinventing what has become a first class publication and an unmissable blog.

THANK YOU

This is a modern day disaster for Scottish Curling. Bob is irreplaceable. I'll say no more.

Oh dear, the end is nigh. I can't say I'm surprised, what Bob has been doing for us and for curling has been far beyond the ordinary and he will be remembered for that. Whatever the RCCC and Press dream up to replace the Curler and Blog will never be as good, and if it is to be done with volunteers it will struggle. Amother nail in the coffin, I fear.

Thank you, Bob, and as you say we must do our best to keep this forum going. Free speech must endure.

gutted - no other word for it !

Where will we get our up todate info from? I fear this is a very big loss for the sport as somebody said - Bob is both irrepresible and irreplaceable. if only more folk shared his enthusiasm for the sport.

If we give Bob 12/10 for his communication and information and the RCCC maybe 5/10 (being nice) where and how can we make up that gap?

Can a retainer be offered by Rccc to HGW to pick up the role in their organisation? or is he really hanging up the pen?

This is awful news.  While Bob has done an outstanding job, my biggest concern is that the "replacement" will be RCCC driven.

Bob has acted as the public voice of curling that is NOT connected with the RCCC. While I am sure we all agree that the RCCC does a wonderfull job, with Bob at the helm of  the Scottish Curler we had a source of information and comment that was not filtered through official channels. This has to be the healthy option.

It is clear from many examples in the past that Bob has been yet another thorn in the side of the RCCC, not because they don't like him, but because he asks questions and/or disagrees, for the best possible reasons. The RCCC will no doubt be delighted to have an e-mag of which THEY are in charge, releasing only THEIR opinion. Ask yourself why Vernon has become such a problem, when it started simply because Gail (as I understand it) didn't roll over and die but stuck to her rights and, of course, the facts.

Referring to JJK's post, why is Bob not involved in the e-mag, ask yourself why the SCIG is not involved in the NCA at present. Will we be asked back on board when the Design process starts? Will Bob be asked on board for the e-mag? Do any of us involved still care, considering how we have been treated over the months and years? I can go on, but my head hurts with all this selection stuff....

Having known all three Editors of the Scottish Curler as friends it is a shock to hear the news. As Bob has often said we need an independent voice or blog more than just this forum. As in a Mag or a blog you have a named person(s). However it is a sign of the financial times when cost get trimmed and the Mag is one of these for F & C.
Hope the RCCC can do at least something.

Regarding Bob, I know the milage that has to undertaken to cover all these Scottish curling events. It is a lot much more expensive if there are any overnites stays as well. It all adds up.
So to Bob many thanks for all your work and your hard work  and especially your passion for the sport, and which only a good independant voice can give.
Whilst  I could possibly live without the Magazine, I would miss the Blog which has become part of my daily ritual, going onto the Internet. -- Check e mails, check news check Curling today.   Howelse can we get onto the other internet curling sites not only here but oveseas for news and results and watching webcasts of events. It has been a source of great news and information.

Thanks Bob for everything.

I'll add my words of thanks and appreciation for what Bob's done.

Particularly with the blog, whenever there is a championship on, I know I could hit the blog and find results, news and pictures - very impressive, and I think we all took it for granted.

it allowed someone from the south of England like me to get to know the faces more of the players, and follow along with various teams progress.

Let's hope the RCCC replacement is something we can take for granted in the same way...?

No reason why anyone can't start their own blog - if it's good, people will get to hear about it, but I think it's the photos which made Bob's blog, and it will be much missed.

Gordon

Bob deserves an award for his services to Curling - his voice in curling has been all I have known since I was a teenager - great magazine with in depth coverage - will not be the same without his professonalism.

Thanks

Just an update for everyone on what is happening.

The Royal Club Board has decided not to take on the Scottish Curler. The publishers, Clyde and Forth Press, have made the following statement:
"Despite our exhaustive efforts to find a new publisher for the Scottish Curler we have not been successful. Therefore, regrettably, the Scottish Curler will cease to be published after the forthcoming May edition. Subscribers who have paid for editions into next season will have outstanding amount from their subscriptions refunded. Readers will receive a direct communication to this effect in due course."

I am sad that this appears to be the end of the road for the title. April's magazine goes to press tomorrow, and I will put together one last issue next month.

The Curling Today blog's final post is about to go up. That's the bad news.

However (is this good news?), there is a link therein, and below, to my own (new) blog, which I dare say will have some curling news. Not perhaps as extensively as recently, I'll see how it goes. I feel there is still a need to have an independent voice out there, and there is no problem keeping a blog going for a little while longer, at least until the magazine has finally been laid to rest, and my own plans for the future are finalised. 

skipcottage.blogspot.com (http://skipcottage.blogspot.com)

Thanks to everyone for their encouragement.

Bob

 :(  Goodbye to CurlingToday  -  The end of an era and sorely missed already.

Hello to SkipCottage - A beautiful new beginning!  :)

It is a sad time for Scottish curling. The magazine was a permanent record of curling matters from year to year, and there will now be no such record. The Blog was the one place where the news was new, fresh, and well presented, with all those pictures to match, and now there will be nothing to do the same job.

Well, Bob, we all thank you for your dedication to our interests. There will never be another like you. Thank you, keep well, stay in touch. And I'll be following your new blog......

all the very best for the future, we will all miss the magazine and the blog. As someone once sang "you don't know what you've got until its gone"
Good luck Bob.

Following Bob's statements on the blogs, the Scottish Curler has had a reprieve (unless of course it is the same thread as the new paper!). I for one can't keep track of all this, a magazine that can't sell enough copies and a top-notch editor no longer at the helm. My position is that I'll wait and see who will be in charge and how independent it will be, before I renew my subscription. The vibes are not good, Scottish curling is at a serious crossroads and no-one seems to notice.

My initial reaction was, Great News, it's good to hear that organisations will listen to their customers and react.
(  R.C.C.C.   take note )
Having had a little time to think it through, I now begin to wonder how, if the magazine was unsustainable with it's present subscription/sales profile, and assuming that we would have been the only people who protested at it's demise, so no obvious way of increasing sales and advertising...... what changes are to be made to allow it to continue?

It's still very good news...but I just wonder.

I have been out of the loop about the recent developments with the magazine. It came as quite a surprise to learn that Clyde and Forth Press had changed their minds about closing the title down, although I am pleased to hear the news.

When I have information on how it will be produced, and who the editorial team will be, I will be sure to post that here.

Bob