News Update - Third English Schools Championships- March 2008

40 young curlers took part in this year's Championships held at the rink from 18th to 20th March.  Students from St Gregory's, Weald of Kent, Judd, Tunbridge Wells High School, Tonbridge Grammar School and Uplands College all took part in a closely fought contest.  The format was a "Round Robin" with all the teams playing each other.  The final games saw the top two teams, Judd - skipped by Ben Fowler - playing Tonbridge Grammar - skipped by his sister, Anna Fowler, the current holder.  Ben's team gave up a five in the second end to let Anna retain the trophy.  Third spot went to Tunbridge Wells High School with Weald of Kent girls team in fourth position.  Well done to all who participated! See photos in our gallery.

News Update March 2008

The last couple of months have been very busy. There continues to be a growing number of bookings from a wide variety of sources, from groups of friends, staff outings, birthday parties and corporate entertainment, etc. In addition, this time of year is when various major competitions take place, including the English Championships.

We hosted both the 2008 Men's and Ladies' English Championships at the end of January. Eight teams took part in the Men's events - the most there has been for several years. The contest was extremely closely fought with the holders, Andrew Reed and his team from Glendale coming through to win in a play-off against Phil Atherton's Preston rink.

In the Ladies' Competition, only two teams competed, with last year's winners - Kirsty Balfour and her team beating off a challenge from a new rink skipped by Susie Law, winning 3-1 in the best of five contest.

The English Mixed Championships were held here at the beginning of March with Alan MacDougal's team triumphing over the other four entries to win the right to represent England once more in next season's European Championships.

Full details and results of all the above can be found on the English Curling Association's website at www.englishcurling.co.uk.

The local club, the South of England Curling Club has carried out a full programme of leagues super leagues and mini-bonspiels, and details of those can be seen on their website www.curlengland.com.

A new event this season has been a series of min-bonspiels aimed at local curlers held monthly on a Sunday. This has proved very popular and the last in the series, held on March 16, saw Lizzie Howard and her team just make if over teams skipped by James Hustler, Gavin Brown and Chris Hall.

The season is now drawing to a close with the last curling taking place on April 11th . There are a few spaces left so it's still possible to book a session before the ice melts! Call 01892 826004 if you wish to book a session. Bookings are already coming in for next season which is scheduled to start on October 1st. If you have a specific date for a curling event don't leave it too long before contacting us!

Have a wonderful summer - and see you on the ice next season.

BBC News Report - January 2008

News from Fenton's Rink - January

Happy New Year - and Good Curling in 2008!

So - we're half way through the season - already!! The Rink staff had a welcome break over the holiday period and we are ready for a busy second half.

The first major event to be held at the rink will be the English Curling Association's Men's and Ladies English Championships to be held from 30th January to 3rd February. Eight men's teams are taking part this year, up from five last year, and two ladies' teams have entered. It should be an interesting battle and anyone interested in coming along to watch is most welcome. The finals are expected to take place early on Sunday afternoon, subject to how the competition works out.

The South of England Curling Club (SECC) ran another successful mini-bonspiel on December 15th and another is planned for March 15th. For the first time at the Rink, the club held a Points Competition, which proved very popular. The winner was Michael Opel. A second Points Competition is now planned for January 26th .

The Club League will continue for the second half of the season, and a second league competition is planned.

The club always tries to have some space each week to enable newcomers join in with the more experienced players. Contact James Hustler, games secretary, on games.secc@googlemail.com for more information on the Tuesday and Wednesday evening programmes.

On Saturday 19th January the British Deaf Association is hosting a Curling Day. Contact the rink if you wish to be put in touch with the organisers.

The London Club is hosting its annual Fleming Trophy on the weekend of 15th and 16th February. Please contact James Hustler if you wish to enter a team.

The next in the series of Junior Curling Academies takes place on Sunday 20th January at 4pm. This is for 11 to 12 year-olds. This season's English School Championships will take place during the week beginning March 17th . Any schools interested in taking part should contact the Rink.

Finally, the Rink closes for the season on April 11th . Please make sure you book all your curling as soon as you can. Time marches on!

News from Fenton's Rink - November 2007

Sorry to be late this month - we have been a little rushed! It has been wonderful to welcome back so many old faces to the rink during the past few weeks. It's clear that many of those that came curling late in the season last year were determined not to leave it so late this time. There are only a few evenings slots left between now and Christmas, and 2008 is filling up well too!

The South of England Curling Club (SECC) ran a mini-bonspiel, "The Great Gordino Classic" on November 10th. This was the brain child of one of the club regulars, Gordon Bryan. It was a great success and Gordon is to be congratulated on his initiative. Regular league games are progressing well with some very close matches being fought. The club always tries to have some space each week to enable newcomers join in with the more experienced players. Contact James Hustler, games secretary on games.secc@googlemail.com for more information on the Tuesday and Wednesday evening programmes. There is a "Points Competiton" on Saturday 24th November where individual skills will be demonstrated (or exposed!).

British Curling held their first AGM at the rink on Wednesday November 21st . This body is responsible for overseeing the selection, training and performance of the Olympic team and the meeting heard at first hand the progress being made from Derek Brown, British Curling's Performance Director.

On Thursday 29th November a group of 30 people from UK Sports, is coming to the rink to try their hand at curling. This influential body is instrumental in ensuring that curling receives the necessary funding for its Olympic ambitions.

Once more, Ramada Jarvis Hotels are supporting our local curling activities with a Cash 'Spiel to be held on the week-end of 8th to 10th February 2008. The first prize will be up to £1,000, the exact figure dependent on how many teams sign up. The tournament is available to those staying in the hotel for the weekend.

News from the Rink - October 2007

We are off to another flying start! The rink re-opened for the new season on October 1st and from then on it has been non-stop.

The home club, The South of England Curling Club (SECC), has started its regular weekly sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and it is pleasing to see new faces among the regulars, as numbers continue to grow. The club also had an opening mini-bonspiel in early October to start the season off. Another mini-bonspiel "The Great Gordino Classic" is to be held on November 10th. The club always tries to have some space each week to enable newcomers join in with the more experienced players. Contact James Hustler, games secretary on games.secc@googlemail.com.

On Sunday October 7th the Rink ran a "Come and Try" day. About 50 people came along to try their hand at curling for the first time and a number of them have either joined the club or booked private sessions.

On the same day a Junior Academy follow-up session was held when around 20 youngsters had their second curling session. Most of these are already Schoolchildren members of the SECC and ECA. A further Academy is planned to be held on November 4th at 3.30pm. Details can be had from the Rink.

These are in addition to the regular Junior Sessions held each Tuesday at 6pm. Several newcomers are taking part this year, coached by John Sharp. Our best juniors are preparing to go to Stranraer during the Christmas period to take part in a competition against Scottish juniors.

We wish them good luck!!

The Rink was bursting at the seams when the Margarita Bonspiel was held from 18th to 21st October. This event is held every second year in Europe, the other years in North America . Twenty-two teams took part, mostly from USA , Canada , Switzerland and other European countries.

Winners were Markus Fischer and his Swiss team, with the home team, skipped by Alan MacDougall in second position. Some pictures can be found in the gallery.

The Rink is also busy with a constant stream of corporate and other private bookings. Regulars such as Glaxo Smith Kline and AXA PPP are already using the facility for team building and staff outings. Some local schools are booking in for the new Schools Championships to be held next spring. Details can be had from Sandie Marsh at the Rink.

NEWS FROM THE RINK SEPTEMBER 2007

Only 4 short weeks to go before the beginning of Season 2007/8!

The rink is slowly coming to life again with preparations well under way for October 1st. You will find that the rink now has a number of TV cameras mounted above each sheet and monitors in the club room. This way everyone can see that great shot you just made, but on the other hand, your blushes will not be save if you miss an easy take-out! (We can record the action as well!!) Thanks to Chris Robinson for doing the installation.

Club Curling starts on October 2nd. Both the 2nd and 3rd are being used as informal get-togethers by the SECC. Full details of all club activities are to be found on their new website - click here to visit.

Come and Try your hand at curling! There's an "Open Day" on Sunday October 7th. You can just come along and have a look - or you can have a one hour session on the ice with an instructor. It starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm. If you can, let us know if you are coming!

The first big event of the season is The Margarita Bonspiel. This will run from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st October. Some 24 teams are booked in to take part, making it the biggest gathering of curlers we have ever had at the rink. Many will be travelling from North America and Europe to join in the curling - and the fun!! James Hustler is running the competition - contact him at games.secc@googlemail.com if you want to be on the standby list for this event.

Junior Curling will again be held on Tuesday evenings at 6pm, starting on October 2nd. A second session is being planned for Sundays (probably afternoons). Details shortly.

Marketing and Development Officer The rink has been able to secure so funding support for the post of Development Officer. This position will be held by Sandra (Sandie) Marsh, who has been helping with coaching for the past three seasons. She will be concentrating on liaising with the local authorities to develop Schools curling - as well as marketing the rink for club, junior and corporate curling as well.

Other News: The new body responsible choosing and developing our Olympic squad is British Curling. This entity is in the form of a company and it has decided to hold its first ever agm at Fenton's Rink on November 21st. We look forward to welcoming Chris Hildrey and his Board to the rink.

British Curling is also responsible for choosing the Paralympic curling squad and in order to find the best Wheelchair curlers in Great Britain, five assessment meetings will be held. The English meeting will be held at the rink on 25th March 2008, under the supervision of Tom Pendreigh, GB head Wheelchair coach and former coach to the Scottish Mens' world champion team. This is a real opportunity to get wheelchair curling on the map in the South East. More details from the rink.

News from the Rink - June 2007

Last season ended on April 8th - a relief for the hard working staff and coaches! As in the previous year, the last few weeks were particularly busy as everyone tried to get that last game in. The ice has long since gone and all is quiet - for the moment!

Our regular staff at the rink, Paul and Louise, decided to move on having done a great job in dealing with the rink's many and varied customers over the season. Sam Fowler, ice man extraordinaire, is on his travels and starts at Bristol University in the autumn. So it's all change.

We are fortunate to have been able to recruit a Curling Ring Manager from Scotland. He is Alister Martin, a 31 year-old from Edinburgh. He was ice technician at Gogar Park for 8 years, working under the expert eye of Scott Henderson. Since Gogar closed, he has been working at Murrayfield as coach and ice technician. Alister is a qualified RCCC Grade B coach.

Mike and Sandie Marsh are also joining the staff. They did a great job last year in providing novice coaching at all time of the day and evening - plus running the bar when required. Mike has been working at a local school, where he is a governor, but has decided to take up the full time position with us as Club Steward. His wife Sandie will continue to help with coaching - and everything else, but she will concentrate on marketing and development as well.

So we are all set for 2007/8. The rink is due to open for business on Monday October 1st and there already a number of bookings reserved. The SECC will continue to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, with some week-end events as well. Events at the rink this season include:

The Margarita Bonspiel (sponsored by Glenfarclas) - 18 to 21 October
Ramada Jarvis Masters - dates to be decided
English Championships (Men's and Ladies') - 1 to 3 February
English Mixed Championships - 29 Feb to 2 March
The POL Fleming Trophy - dates to be decided
English Schools Championships - March 2008

News: Current ¦ 2008/09 ¦ 2007/08 ¦ 2006/07 ¦ 2005/06