NATIONAL MASTERS COMPETITORS CONFIRMED AFTER EXCITING ROUND OF QUALIFIERS
Many congratulations to the 12 teams that booked a spot at the National Masters Men’s championship through the qualifiers at Greenacres. A total of 19 sides split into four groups took to the ice with the top three of section going through to the championship to be held from 1 to 4 February 2024 at Greenacres.
Section A was a tight affair until the very end with all four sides still in contention going into their final draw. Team Wilson (Peter Wilson, Graeme Adam, Alex Dickson, Jim Stirling, Andrew McQuistin) (Dumfries), who had astonishingly started the tournament with two draws, edged out Team W Paterson (Willie Paterson, Sandy Nelson, Jimmy Taylor, Alan Barr) (Kinross) to bag their first win and top the table. However, it was heartache for Team W Paterson who missed out on qualifying on a one win, two defeats record as Team Gillespie (Ian Gillespie) (Greenacres) took their first victory in the other fixture to make it a win, a draw, and a defeat each. Also going through were Team Horton (Ken Horton, Mike Dick, Trevor Dodds, Jean Lesperance) (Edinburgh) who had done enough early on in the competition with a win and a draw.
Not lacking in excitement either, two sets of teams were matched on points at the end of Section B and the ranking went down to statistics. Team Durno (Alan Durno) (Moray) went into the competition with two wins while Team Clark (Rab Clark, Billy Howat) (Ayr) had to recover from a one-point defeat in their first fixture to fight back with two consecutive victories. Facing each other in the group’s third draw, there was nothing to separate the sides. However, Team Durno still had a fixture left to play and with them losing by a single point, the sides were tied on two in one plus a draw each. Team Durno had the advantage on 18 ends to 13 to secure top spot of the table, but since both first and second qualified anyway, this was a mere formality.
It was a different story in the fight for third. Team Linton (Bill Linton, Billy Nicol, Tom Jarvis, Phil Barton) (Kinross) had a tough start to the tournament with two successive defeats before they finally got a win on the board. Meanwhile, Team Davis (Paul Davis, Ken McCall, Stewart Philip) (Edinburgh) started with a win but fell to defeat before bagging another W, meaning they had the edge by two points with one fixture each to go. However, while Team Linton kept their momentum going and bagged victory, Team Davis missed out, meaning the sides were now tied on record and points. Although Team Davis had beat Team Linton in their match, the decision went to stats and Team Linton just edged it on 16 ends to 15.
Meanwhile, first place in Section C was a straightforward affair. Team Sharp (John Sharp, Angus Storrie, Ross Barr, Drew Gemmell) (Greenacres) were in swinging form and won all their fixtures to roar on to the National Masters Championships. However, it couldn’t have been tighter for second and third. No less than three teams sat on the same amount of points at the end of proceedings: Team Cullen (Jim Cullen, Paul Jess, Bill Byers, John Hodge) (Border), who had played W-L-W-L, Team Nelson (Robin Aitken, Paul Nelson, Robert Hastings, Quintin Donald) (Auchenharvie) on L-W-W-L, and Team Gray (John Kenny, Bill Gray, David Whyte, Neil Fyve) (Edinburgh) on W-L-L-W. Once more, the ranking went to ends, meaning Teams Gray and Nelson took the advantage on 17 each versus Team Cullen’s 16.
Section D too went down to details with multiple sides matched on points. Team Gormley (Scott Gormley, Steve Wilcox, John Fingland, Mike Dougal) (Kinross) were on a winning run of three consecutive victories – until they met Team Prentice (Keith Prentice, John Dowell, Mike Ferguson, Robert Anderson) (Border) in their final fixture. That meant Team Prentice were now undefeated for three games running, but they still had a match left to play. Recording their first loss in their last game, the Border side were matched on points with Team Gormley but nevertheless topped the table on head-to-head and superior ends.
In the fight for third and the last remaining qualifying spot, Team Stark (Don Stark, Billy Johnston, Brian Fleming, Gary McFarlane, Eric Richardson) (Perth) and Team Boswell (Jim Boswell) (Ayr) went into the final draw matched on points. Both sides knew they needed a win to keep their chances alive and, indeed, they both secured the two additional points, meaning there remained nothing to separate them still. While team Boswell had won their head-to-head duel, Team Stark had the superior ends record, leading by 17 to 15, and secured the ticket to the Masters.
Full results are available here.
Qualified for the National Masters Championship 2024:
Team Wilson (Peter Wilson, Graeme Adam, Alex Dickson, Jim Stirling, Andrew McQuistin) (Dumfries)
Team Gillespie (Ian Gillespie) (Greenacres)
Team Horton (Ken Horton, Mike Dick, Trevor Dodds, Jean Lesperance) (Edinburgh)
Team Durno (Alan Durno) (Moray)
Team Clark (Rab Clark, Billy Howat) (Ayr)
Team Linton (Bill Linton, Billy Nicol, Tom Jarvis, Phil Barton) (Kinross)
Team Sharp (John Sharp, Angus Storrie, Ross Barr, Drew Gemmell) (Greenacres)
Team Nelson (Robin Aitken, Paul Nelson, Robert Hastings, Quintin Donald) (Auchenharvie)
Team Gray (John Kenny, Bill Gray, David Whyte, Neil Fyve) (Edinburgh)
Team Prentice (Keith Prentice, John Dowell, Mike Ferguson, Robert Anderson) (Border)
Team Gormley (Scott Gormley, Steve Wilcox, John Fingland, Mike Dougal) (Kinross)
Team Stark (Don Stark, Billy Johnston, Brian Fleming, Gary McFarlane, Eric Richardson) (Perth)
