Olympic duo boost the Roaring Game
Local club benefits from PyeongChang link
As Stirling-based Eve Muirhead and Kyle Smith chums were leading rinks in South Korea recently, curling fever was sweeping the Stirling area.
Scores of people tuned in to see the agony of Team GB’s male and female curling teams miss out on medals at last month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
But with interest in the sport currently at a high, an historic Stirling club are hoping to take advantage and win themselves some new members.
Sauchie and Bannockburn Curling Club, which was founded in 1857, are currently operating with around 20 members – having previously had up to 60 people on the books at their peak.
And club president Graeme Anderson hopes that the sport hitting the mainstream last month will inspire a new generation to take to the ice.
He said: “The membership of the club has mostly been around the 30 or 40 mark, but that fell as a lot of people got older or retired.
“There are plenty of opportunities for people to now get involved. The PEAK do ‘come and try’ taster sessions and as we’re an affiliated club people can join up through that.
“Anyone can also contact us if they want to go along to a taster session.”
When asked if the club will see a positive spin-off from the Winter Olympics, he added: “I really hope so. A lot of people have been talking about it. I was actually at the doctors the other day and he was talking to me about it. I told him to come along to one of the sessions so you never know.
“People should know that it is a young person’s game too – you need to be fit to play. But the great thing is people can play till they are older, right in to their 70s.
“Our oldest member Jim Kerr has been playing for 40-odd years and he’s 77 now.”
In addition to their own internal club competitions and leagues, they also play in Stirlingshire Province matches and games against other clubs from throughout the area.
The club plays at The PEAK with the majority of games on Mondays and Wednesdays.
For more information go to www.sauchieandbannockburn curlingclub.moonfruit.com.