Curling champions keep their cool to defend Inverness Skins title
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ALLY Fraser led his team to victory at the Johnny Foxes Inverness Skins Curling Competition which was held for the first time in three years.
The skip, with his team of Grant Fraser, Calum Greenwood and Ruairidh Greenwood, claimed the trophy at the Inverness Ice Centre on Sunday.
In a closely contested final, they defeated the team skipped by Graham Mackenna with Mike McInnes, Peter MacPhee and Gordon Miller.
A total of 96 curlers competed in 24 teams who came from across Scotland to compete for a purse of £4320.
The competition started on Friday as a round robin format with four sections of six. The top two teams from each section progressed to Sunday’s knockout stages.
The skins format was developed in Canada in 1986 with teams competing for skins rather than the normal shots format.
Each skin had a cash value which increases as the games progress.
To win a skin, a team must either win an end by more than one shot or steal the end without last stone.
Under the format, the teams winning the most cash progress.
Fraser successfully defended the team’s title which they won in 2019, with the competition being put on hold for three years as a result of the impact of the pandemic.
Event organiser Brenda Macintyre says players embraced the competition due to the event being put on hold for so long.
“It was a very good game in the final with both teams producing some great curling shots,” says Macintyre.
“The tournament was a great success with people offering their thanks for putting on such a good event. Some players said they hadn’t had so much fun in a long time.
“The event has brought the social side back and the ice rink was packed as people were really enjoying themselves.
“We have not seen anything like that for quite a while due to the pandemic.
“Everyone wants to come back next year and take part again and we are really pleased with the way that people supported us at the tournament.
“To have 24 teams from across Scotland was great.”
Organisers are already in the planning stage of hosting the event in 2023, with it being planned to take place next November.
