Stewarton Academy are the 2022 School Champions
Congratulations to Amy Mitchell, Ewan Jackson, Holly Smith, and Libby Johnstone of Stewarton Academy on winning the 2022 Scottish Curling Schools Championship at Curl Aberdeen. The Kilmarnock side beat Perth Academy I (Arran Thomson, Lewis McCabe, William Gorton, Sam McConnachie) comprehensively with a 6-1 win in the final.
16 teams, four each in four sections, went into the tournament held at Curl Aberdeen. A round robin in the individual sections was followed by quarter-finals played between the top two teams from each section. These determined the four rinks that would contest the semi-finals on Sunday to earn a chance to compete in the shoot-out for the title.
Stewarton Academy lost only a single game in the section stage – curiously to Perth Academy I – and secured their chance on the final day with a commanding 13-0 quarter-final win over Forfar Academy II. They would face Kinross High School on Sunday morning who edged a narrow 5-4 triumph over Perth Academy II.
Kinross High School started the game with hammer and opened the scoring with a single in the first end. However, this would remain their one and only point. Stewarton Academy responded by scoring a deuce and followed it up by stealing another two points. A four-points steal in the fourth end took the sting out of the encounter and when they repeated the same feat in End 5, the final end did not even have to be played for the Kilmarnock team to secure a 12-1 victory and a spot in the final.
Unbeaten in their section, Perth Academy I continued their winning streak in the quarter-finals with a 7-3 success over Elgin Academy that guaranteed them an outing on Sunday. Their semi-final opponents in the morning would be High School of Dundee who dominated Webster’s High School to secure an 11-1 triumph.
The second semi-final was far less straight forward than the first one. High School of Dundee with hammer secured the first point of the game, but Perth Academy I instantly gained an advantage with a three-points score in End 2. The Dundee side levelled straight away and then regained the lead with a single steal in End 4. They looked in the driving seat when another steal gained them a two-points advantage going into the last end. Perth Academy I, however, turned the game around by scoring three and bagging a 6-5 win.
Going into the final with hammer, Perth Academy I blanked the first end, a decision they would soon regret when Stewarton Academy subsequently stole two in the second end. Another steal in End 3 had the Kilmarnock team in control halfway through the game and when Perth Academy I could only claw one back in the fourth end, they were ready to deal the deathblow. Stewarton Academy scored two in End 5 and although their opponents from Perth bravely contested the sixth end, another steal secured a 6-1 victory.
Images courtesy of Curl Aberdeen
