On a roll tonight and so here is my second blog of the evening.
Those who know me well know that I am a transport planner by profession and in connection with that I have come across a number of interesting websites. One such is the website of a group called SABRE - The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts - a sort of road-spotting group as opposed to train spotting. While flicking through the forum I came across the following thread and thought you might be interested in it.
I have also sent the reference to Lindsay Scotland at the RCCC who has been putting together a database of historical curling sites in Scotland and he did not have it on his list and so it has now become number 2838 on that database.
He has also started a historical curling site database for England and it can be found here.
If anybody can add any more information to this website he will be very pleased to hear from you.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Street Curling
Further to my previous blog please have a look at this news item on the WCF website - looks like 'street' curling is taking off!!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Summer Curling in the Park
It all started back in February with one of the many similar enquiries I get through the ECA website Contact page – “I live in West Wiltshire and I am looking for a local curling team please.”
My response to this was my usual standard one of: “Afraid there is no local curling team or club in Wiltshire. The only curling rink in England is at Tunbridge Wells in Kent”. (followed by weblink).
But the reply that came back was different and totally unexpected!!
“I am arranging an Olympic Play Day and I have hired in an ice outdoor Curling rink and I am looking for someone who can run workshops on the day and it’s not something I have ever played.”
This was beginning to get interesting – raised so many questions. Was it going to be like one of the skating rinks that spring up around the country just before Christmas? What equipment would we need to gather together? Who could I get to go down and lend them a hand?
So my reply was fairly straightforward:
“Well we may be able to help as you will obviously need some equipment as well. What date are you doing this?”
And back came a further surprise:
"The date is the 26th May in Trowbridge in Wiltshire and the idea is to inspire the community into different sports. I have attached the curling rink I have hired for the day which comes with the equipment as well, so I would be looking for people to engage the community and teach them how to play."
And there was a website link included in the message. There I found out what it was all about:
Our synthetic rinks are manufactured from a strong 100% ultra density polyethylene which will not warp, crack, splinter or corrode. The rink floor is made up of 18mm thick 1-meter square slabs, which connect together using the latest tongue and grove technology. Within each 1-meter section a 1-meter tongue is inserted to form a connection between the two slabs to stop the slabs moving apart and to create a smooth, seamless surface with no joints or ridges. Due to the versatility of our mobile ice rinks we can build them any size or shape to fit even the most demanding venue.
Of course most of their website talks about the use for skating but there was one little bit about curling:
Curling is a sport that except for the lucky few is only available to view via your television. At ice magic we have a custom made curling arena which is fantastic for all events including team building and exhibitions to give your guests the opportunity to try something new.
And there is also a picture of it in use as part of an Aquafresh toothpaste promotion:
This was looking interesting, if a bit curious - was that a giant toothbrush? And what were the little yellow things looking like ice hockey pucks?
The only way to find out was to get down there on the 26th May and see for myself - so along with President Alison Arthur (who lives just 40 minutes from Trowbridge), James Gibb and Charles Murphy and his partner, Linda, I turned up to Trowbridge Park on a baking hot Saturday to find the men from Ice-Magic setting up the skating rink before tackling the smaller task of fitting the panels together for the curling rink - and when they had finished it looked a bit less spectacular than the Aquafresh promotion in the picture above, but still quite realistic.
You will immediately notice that if the panels are 1 metre square then the rings are just over 1 metre in diameter and so not quite the full size of the real thing and it was only 6 metres from the 'hack' to the house. And so what about the stones - well they were quite ingenious - full size, made of plastic, weighing about 5-7 kilos and with three metal feet as the following pictures show:
So was that it then - did it work and was it realistic? There was one final ingredient to be added to the mix - a spray of glycol on the surface of the 'ice' to make it slippy and yes it did work and we had lots of delighted children challenging their parents and their siblings.
There were no hacks but a rubber mesh mat was laid at the throwing end and we taught people to throw in the old crampit style
Major problem was that we got lots of people literally throwing the stones on to the ice from a height of a couple of feet rather than sliding it along from the edge of the plastic - good job it was not real ice as the cracks would have been quite impressive!!
Here are a couple more pictures from the day.
So was it worth it - well many people had a lot of fun and if we have managed to get one person interested in asking at their local ice rink then maybe in 2 years time around about Olympic time we will get a rise in interest in the Wiltshire area. One mother said she was going to talk to Bristol Ice Rink as her two sons had enjoyed it so much so we shall see what happens.
As far as the ice rink people were concerned it is definitely 'work in progress' as they would like to increase the realism in some way - maybe by adding a pebble to the plastic. The stones did curl, but very late in their travel and quite abruptly, but it was possible to get around behind a guard and show people the way that stones curl on ice. At the moment they have not really had much interest, but I notice that the paragraph about curling has appeared on their website since I first looked at it and so maybe they will be getting more clients in the future. The rink can of course be as long as you want just by adding more squares of plastic and they will need to test to see what length is most suitable for different markets.
Aquafresh had been the instigators of the idea - but I still have no idea what the small yellow 'pucks' are in the picture - I forgot to ask!!
So at the end of a long day in the sun we all went our own separate ways and I headed off to Scotland - but that is another story, not much to do with curling but may well appear her in the near future............
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Switzerland, Denmark and now Scotland
Just got back from Denmark on Sunday after the sensational Senior Finals on Saturday and now here I am in Scotland - up to attend the Carmunnock and Rutherglen club dinner and see a few other people.
So no I am not in Turkey and so cannot add any extra information over and above what you can get on the official World Mixed Doubles website - sorry!!
At the moment I do know that England have won 2 and lost 3 and I think Scotland are the reverse. What is clear is that the draw seems very random - with 3 groups and 5 sessions per day some teams seem to have played 5 games while others had played just 3 - so very difficult to work out who is doing well relative to others in the Group - except of course those who are undefeated!!
I usually look at the games lost in this situation rather than the games won - don't know why but it seems to give a better impression of how teams might finish up!!
And the worst kept secret was revealed on Monday when Fredericton in New Brunswick was announced as the venue for the World Seniors and Mixed Doubles next year - so yet again I will have to decide which one to aim for as it will be impossible I would imagine to do both though Hugh Millikin of Australia has tried in the past and John Sharp of England was forced to do so in Chelyabinsk when half of the Senior team could not get there.
One problem with visiting Scotland this time is that my mother-in-law has no computer / or broadband and so currently in a cafe in Glasgow - I know I could get a dongle - when I did that at Christmas it worked once and then my laptop would not recognise it. But I will try and keep blogging as much as I can!
So no I am not in Turkey and so cannot add any extra information over and above what you can get on the official World Mixed Doubles website - sorry!!
At the moment I do know that England have won 2 and lost 3 and I think Scotland are the reverse. What is clear is that the draw seems very random - with 3 groups and 5 sessions per day some teams seem to have played 5 games while others had played just 3 - so very difficult to work out who is doing well relative to others in the Group - except of course those who are undefeated!!
I usually look at the games lost in this situation rather than the games won - don't know why but it seems to give a better impression of how teams might finish up!!
And the worst kept secret was revealed on Monday when Fredericton in New Brunswick was announced as the venue for the World Seniors and Mixed Doubles next year - so yet again I will have to decide which one to aim for as it will be impossible I would imagine to do both though Hugh Millikin of Australia has tried in the past and John Sharp of England was forced to do so in Chelyabinsk when half of the Senior team could not get there.
One problem with visiting Scotland this time is that my mother-in-law has no computer / or broadband and so currently in a cafe in Glasgow - I know I could get a dongle - when I did that at Christmas it worked once and then my laptop would not recognise it. But I will try and keep blogging as much as I can!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
IRISH GOLD and SCOTTISH SILVER
Unbelievable scenes here at Taarnby as Johnjo Kenny, Bill Gray, David Whyte, Tony Tierney and David Hume won gold for Ireland in the World Seniors. A slack shot by Canada set up a double for 5 for JJ at the 4th end which he slightly miscued but still got 4 and led 4-1. That was the last score for the Irish until the 8th end when JJ was forced to draw for one to tie the score up at 5-5 after the Canadians had clawed their way back into the game.
And so to the sensational extra end. Everything seemed to be going Canada's way until the last Irish stone when JJ played an unbelievable run back triple takeout to lie 2 and when the Canadian skip was long with his draw it was celebrations all round for one of curling's smallest nations who have no curling facilities on their home ground but play in Scotland.
And here is the proof!!
Barabara Watts' Scotland ladies ran into a hurricane in the shape of Heidi Hanlon's Canadians and were 4-2 down at half time. Further scores of 3, 2 and 3 left Canada clear winners at 12-2.
Bronze medals in both competitions were won by Sweden.
And here is one very confused Englishman!!
And so to the sensational extra end. Everything seemed to be going Canada's way until the last Irish stone when JJ played an unbelievable run back triple takeout to lie 2 and when the Canadian skip was long with his draw it was celebrations all round for one of curling's smallest nations who have no curling facilities on their home ground but play in Scotland.
And here is the proof!!
Barabara Watts' Scotland ladies ran into a hurricane in the shape of Heidi Hanlon's Canadians and were 4-2 down at half time. Further scores of 3, 2 and 3 left Canada clear winners at 12-2.
Bronze medals in both competitions were won by Sweden.
And here is one very confused Englishman!!
It's the British Isles v Canada in the finals
The "Shot heard 'round the world’" is a phrase that has come to represent several historical incidents. The line is originally from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" (1837), and referred to the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.
Since then, the phrase has also been used to allude to the importance of single actions in sporting as well as other cultural and social events.
- In baseball, it refers to Bobby Thomson's game winning home run that clinched the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants.
- In International Men's Ice Hockey, it refers to the winning goal of Paul Henderson in the final seconds of the 8th and final match to secure Team Canada's victory in the 1972 Canada-USSR Super-series.
- In golf, it is used most often to describe Gene Sarazen's albatross on the fifteenth hole at the 1935 Masters Tournament, which helped propel him into a 36-hole playoff with Craig Wood.
- In US soccer, it is used to describe the goal scored by Paul Caligiuri for the United States against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain in 1989. The win propelled the team to the 1990 FIFA World Cup, helping to start a resurgence of American soccer.
They were Jonjo Kenny’s hit and stick which gave Ireland a victory over Norway at an extra end in the men’s semi-final and Barbara Watt’s similar shot which ensured that she and her unheralded Scottish team would face Canada in the women’s final. Ireland will also face Canada.
The Scottish and Irish flags were flying high above the hotel in Taarnby this lunchtime:
Full details of Ireland's 5-4 extra end victory can be found on Louise Kerr's blog here.
I was a wee bit late getting to the rink this morning and the Irish and Norwegians were already on their half time break with the score at 1-1 but my eyes were raised by the other scores - New Zealand were leading Canada by 3-1 in their women's semi-final and Scotland were 3-0 up against twice World Champion Ingrid Meldahl from Sweden. Sweden had taken a 2 at the first in their semi-final against Canada though Canada had replied with a 3 before Sweden squared it all up with a single.
The latter game swung back and forth with no steals but unfortunately for the Swedes, while they were taking 1 when they had last stone the Canadians were taking 3, and they eventually shook hands after 7 ends with the score at 9-5 to Canada. Canada thus maintained their record of appearing in every Senior Men's final since it began in 2002, but it only the third time they have not faced USA. What a day for Irish curling - and let's hope it can get even better!!
Canada's women have only missed out getting to the Seniors' final on one occasion - in 2005 when Scotland won their only gold medal against Japan in the Lagoon Centre in Paisley after the round robin games at Greenacres. They started off slowly and were 3-1 down after 3 ends but struck a killer blow when they scored 5 at the 4th end. However, the Kiwis fought back and were only two down going into the last end without the hammer. In the end they could only score 1 and so Canada marched on undefeated into the final by 7-5.
The Canadian team are vastly experienced and have 36 appearances for New Brunswick at the Canadian National Championship Finals (the Tournament of Hearts) amongst them. The skip Heidi Hanlon and third Katthy Floyd have 11 appearances each, the lead, Judy Blanchard has 8 and the second Jane Arsenau has 6, all between 1984 and 2004. On none of those occasions did they play together as a team ironically and they have not won any Canadian Championships but when you play against that class of competition it is difficult not to be overawed, but Wendy Becker and her team were certainly not overawed today.
This is a new team from New Zealand, all 4 players coming from the Otago region, the heartland of NZ curling. Wendy Becker is the mother of Sean and Scott who did so well for New Zealand in Basel the other week and has played in 5 previous World Seniors while Carolyn Cooney first played in 2009. Christine Diack and Helen Greer are at their first World Seniors but have represented their country at a number of Pacific Championships previously.
And what about the Scottish ladies. I have no record but I imagine that Barbara Watt is possibly the oldest player to represent her country in a World Championship final. She is of course the mother of Janice Rankin who won gold for Great Britain as lead for Rhona Martin at the 2002 Olympics, and she has won a number of competitions across Scotland, including the Henderson Bishop in 2005, playing with Janice and her other daughter Shona, and 1989 when playing third to Marjorie Kidd.
She and her team of Jean Hammond, Maggie Barry and Valerie Mahon surprised everybody, including themselves when they won the Scottish title and, after a shaky start which saw them lose to Russia, they have gone from strength to strength. The last Scottish women's team to get to the final was Kirsty Letton in 2008.
In today's game they lost their good early lead when Sweden got a three, but only by means of an angled raise onto the guarded Scottish stone. The Scots gave Sweden little room to work in and some great work in the 5th end left Barbara to draw for 4 shots. Again at the 6th end there were lots of Scots stones in and around the 4 foot and they were lying 3 before Sweden's last stone. When the dust settled there was still one Scottish stone counting and it was 8-3 with two ends to go.
When Barbara caught a guard with her first stone at the 7th it enabled the Swedes to lie 2 frozen. Barbara removed one but Ingrid had a free draw for two and then came a nervous last end for the Scottish supporters. Barbara's first stone was a half freeze on the Swedish shot but it was then removed leaving the Swedes lying 3 and Barbara needing to remove 1 for the win. Halfway down the ice the arms were raised and they were in the final.
Friday, April 20, 2012
World Seniors - men's quarter finals
After all the mathematical calculations involving dsc it was down to the simple task of knocking other teams out of the competition today. As reported earlier the day started very well for Scotland with the men winning their tie breaker against Italy and their quarter final qualifier against Switzerland, while the women won their tie breaker against USA.
So on the ice this evening in front of a packed house it was Australia v Norway, Scotland v Canada, Sweden v New Zealand and Ireland v Finland - for a full review of the Irish game see Louise Kerr's blog on the Irish Curling Association website here - suffice to say here that the Irish came from behind and took advantage of a dreadful error by the Finnish skip who more or less gifted them a steal of 4 shots to help them win by 8-4.
Scotland v Canada was the match that attracted a lot of attention, firstly just because it was Scotland v Canada and secondly, how would the 2 extra end matches already played today affect the Scottish team. The two teams romped through the first 4 ends in about 52 minutes at which point Norway and Australia were still on their third end, and when the seventh end began the latter were still on their 5th!! Two contrasting games, yet equally interesting.
With last stone Canada took a single at the first end when I am pretty certain they were trying to blank and Scotland then blanked the second end when my notes say just one word - "Yawn". You can guess how that end was played out!! Scotland tried to get something going in the 3rd end by immediately drawing around a Canadian centre guard twice (great stuff from Tommy Fleming) and forced the Canadians to remove their own centre guard. The Scots had built up 4 stones in the house but then 3 double take-outs by the Canadians reduced Keith Prentice to trying to blank the end - unfortunately he nosed it and Scotland were all square without hammer.
The 4th end was very much like the second and Canada blanked it - so at half time it was 1-1. At the 5th end we had a Scottish miss and after the Canadian third split the house the end ran out with successive hits to give Canada the 2 they were looking for and a 3-1 lead. At last at the 6th end we had a guddle - sorry - an aggressive end!! There were lots of Canadian stones in play in the house but a great draw by Lockhart Steele got one in among them though this was bettered by the Canadian skip before Keith Prentice tapped a Canadian rock back to lie shot himself at the top of the button. It looked then as though the Canadian skip decided that he would give Scotland one and so he added another stone to the pile to stop Scotland getting another shot but there was still a draw on the other hand which Keith then went for but he came up slightly short and just scored one for a 3-2 scoreline to Canada.
At the 7th end Scotland tried again to get something going to get their 2 but eventually they had to be content with playing out the end for the blank. So last end and Scotland need to steal. Two good centre guards from Tommy Fleming while the Canadians threw through began the end. Two good draws by Robin Aitken while the Canadians peeled the guards and then a guard again by Lockhart Steele, which was also peeled, followed. Lockhart's next guard was slightly offline and the Canadians elected to ignore it and go for the shots in the house. A nose hit double removed one and moved the other to the side leaving, it seemed, the Canadian shooter as shot. Keith then tried to draw inside that stone but played it heavy and ended up in the back 12 foot. The Canadian skip, Kelly Robertson then drew to the top of the 4 and Keith's last shot simply pushed the other Canadian stone in at which point hands were shaken,with the final score 5-2 to Canada.
This very lonely corner guard was spotted during the Scotland v Canada game:
I was sitting at the side of the ice to escape the heat from the bar and so I must apologise to Sweden and New Zealand for paying less interest to their game than those closest to me. However it seemed all over when the Swedes raced into a 5-1 lead after 6 and the Kiwis got only one back at the 7th, but Swedish skip Connie Ostlund was facing 3 new Zealand Counters when he came to play his last stone. Unfortunately for the New Zealanders he hit one and rolled out to secure his passage through to the semi-finals where he will play Canada.
Sheet A next to where I was sitting was Norway v Australia who were trying for their third successive semi-final.This game was played at a slow pace for the first half and the first three ends took nearly 55 minutes. But there were a lot of guards in play and neither team seemed content to be defensive and both played aggressive curling.
At the first end Eigil Ramsfjell had to draw the 4 foot against 2, which he did, At the second end Hugh Millikin had to draw the 4 feet to get 2, which he failed to do. At the third end Hugh tapped his own stone to the back of the 4 foot well guarded but Eigil found a couple of angles on short stones to raise his own stone to the button and take a 2-1 lead. Again in the 4th end we had lots of stones in the 4 foot.Unfortunately a missed Australian peel took out one of their own stones and Hugh was left with a outside edge double which he just failed to get totally correctly and he only scored one - 2-2 after 4.
In the 5th end two great stones by the Australian second, Steve Hewitt - a draw and a hit and roll behind a centre guard left them lying one guarded after Sjur Loen was short with a draw. This time Eigil could not find the correct set of angles and Australia stole 1 to go 3-2 up.
The 6th end was the killer for the Australians. Norway had a corner guard with one stone behind and after an Aussie mistake it became two stones behind. Australian third, John Thierault played for the freeze but simply sat alongside the Norwegian shots at which point Sjur Loen then played a great soft weight hit and roll into his own shots to lie a closely grouped 3 shots. In attempting to remove these shots Hugh Millikan then wrecked on the corner guard which was followed by an exquisite hit by Eigil on an Australian stone at the top of the house and a perfect roll to lie guard on the 12 foot. Hugh then tried to remove as many as possible but only caught the front one leaving Eigil a free draw for 4.
Some great peeling by the Norwegians at the 7th end but there was still a guard left to draw around. Eigil then wrecked on the guard but then another mistake by Australia left a simple double for Norway which was followed by Hugh Millikan blanking to keep last stone at the 8th. The last end seemed to be a pretty straightforward affair although Rob Gagnon hogged a guard for Australia. and then Morten Sogard simply ticked a centre guard rather than peeling it and then Sjur Loen missed a peel and Eigil was left with a hit on one of two Australian counters either of which could have easily jammed on a back Norwegian stone, but he made it and Norway were through to meet Ireland tomorrow morning - in about 9 hours time actually!!
So on the ice this evening in front of a packed house it was Australia v Norway, Scotland v Canada, Sweden v New Zealand and Ireland v Finland - for a full review of the Irish game see Louise Kerr's blog on the Irish Curling Association website here - suffice to say here that the Irish came from behind and took advantage of a dreadful error by the Finnish skip who more or less gifted them a steal of 4 shots to help them win by 8-4.
Scotland v Canada was the match that attracted a lot of attention, firstly just because it was Scotland v Canada and secondly, how would the 2 extra end matches already played today affect the Scottish team. The two teams romped through the first 4 ends in about 52 minutes at which point Norway and Australia were still on their third end, and when the seventh end began the latter were still on their 5th!! Two contrasting games, yet equally interesting.
With last stone Canada took a single at the first end when I am pretty certain they were trying to blank and Scotland then blanked the second end when my notes say just one word - "Yawn". You can guess how that end was played out!! Scotland tried to get something going in the 3rd end by immediately drawing around a Canadian centre guard twice (great stuff from Tommy Fleming) and forced the Canadians to remove their own centre guard. The Scots had built up 4 stones in the house but then 3 double take-outs by the Canadians reduced Keith Prentice to trying to blank the end - unfortunately he nosed it and Scotland were all square without hammer.
The 4th end was very much like the second and Canada blanked it - so at half time it was 1-1. At the 5th end we had a Scottish miss and after the Canadian third split the house the end ran out with successive hits to give Canada the 2 they were looking for and a 3-1 lead. At last at the 6th end we had a guddle - sorry - an aggressive end!! There were lots of Canadian stones in play in the house but a great draw by Lockhart Steele got one in among them though this was bettered by the Canadian skip before Keith Prentice tapped a Canadian rock back to lie shot himself at the top of the button. It looked then as though the Canadian skip decided that he would give Scotland one and so he added another stone to the pile to stop Scotland getting another shot but there was still a draw on the other hand which Keith then went for but he came up slightly short and just scored one for a 3-2 scoreline to Canada.
At the 7th end Scotland tried again to get something going to get their 2 but eventually they had to be content with playing out the end for the blank. So last end and Scotland need to steal. Two good centre guards from Tommy Fleming while the Canadians threw through began the end. Two good draws by Robin Aitken while the Canadians peeled the guards and then a guard again by Lockhart Steele, which was also peeled, followed. Lockhart's next guard was slightly offline and the Canadians elected to ignore it and go for the shots in the house. A nose hit double removed one and moved the other to the side leaving, it seemed, the Canadian shooter as shot. Keith then tried to draw inside that stone but played it heavy and ended up in the back 12 foot. The Canadian skip, Kelly Robertson then drew to the top of the 4 and Keith's last shot simply pushed the other Canadian stone in at which point hands were shaken,with the final score 5-2 to Canada.
This very lonely corner guard was spotted during the Scotland v Canada game:
I was sitting at the side of the ice to escape the heat from the bar and so I must apologise to Sweden and New Zealand for paying less interest to their game than those closest to me. However it seemed all over when the Swedes raced into a 5-1 lead after 6 and the Kiwis got only one back at the 7th, but Swedish skip Connie Ostlund was facing 3 new Zealand Counters when he came to play his last stone. Unfortunately for the New Zealanders he hit one and rolled out to secure his passage through to the semi-finals where he will play Canada.
Sheet A next to where I was sitting was Norway v Australia who were trying for their third successive semi-final.This game was played at a slow pace for the first half and the first three ends took nearly 55 minutes. But there were a lot of guards in play and neither team seemed content to be defensive and both played aggressive curling.
At the first end Eigil Ramsfjell had to draw the 4 foot against 2, which he did, At the second end Hugh Millikin had to draw the 4 feet to get 2, which he failed to do. At the third end Hugh tapped his own stone to the back of the 4 foot well guarded but Eigil found a couple of angles on short stones to raise his own stone to the button and take a 2-1 lead. Again in the 4th end we had lots of stones in the 4 foot.Unfortunately a missed Australian peel took out one of their own stones and Hugh was left with a outside edge double which he just failed to get totally correctly and he only scored one - 2-2 after 4.
In the 5th end two great stones by the Australian second, Steve Hewitt - a draw and a hit and roll behind a centre guard left them lying one guarded after Sjur Loen was short with a draw. This time Eigil could not find the correct set of angles and Australia stole 1 to go 3-2 up.
The 6th end was the killer for the Australians. Norway had a corner guard with one stone behind and after an Aussie mistake it became two stones behind. Australian third, John Thierault played for the freeze but simply sat alongside the Norwegian shots at which point Sjur Loen then played a great soft weight hit and roll into his own shots to lie a closely grouped 3 shots. In attempting to remove these shots Hugh Millikan then wrecked on the corner guard which was followed by an exquisite hit by Eigil on an Australian stone at the top of the house and a perfect roll to lie guard on the 12 foot. Hugh then tried to remove as many as possible but only caught the front one leaving Eigil a free draw for 4.
Some great peeling by the Norwegians at the 7th end but there was still a guard left to draw around. Eigil then wrecked on the guard but then another mistake by Australia left a simple double for Norway which was followed by Hugh Millikan blanking to keep last stone at the 8th. The last end seemed to be a pretty straightforward affair although Rob Gagnon hogged a guard for Australia. and then Morten Sogard simply ticked a centre guard rather than peeling it and then Sjur Loen missed a peel and Eigil was left with a hit on one of two Australian counters either of which could have easily jammed on a back Norwegian stone, but he made it and Norway were through to meet Ireland tomorrow morning - in about 9 hours time actually!!
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