The Broughty Ferry Curling Club has celebrated its 150th anniversary.
Created on February 20, 1871, the club gathered with old and current members at the Woodlands Hotel to toast its success.
The celebration had been postponed from February by Covid and lockdown. Members, where the eldest attendee was in his late 90s, were relieved to finally be able to join together to recall tales of the club.
The curling club was founded after five gentlemen gathered at the refreshment room at Broughty Ferry train station in January 1871, where plans were made to form the group.
Spending £1,000 – roughly £125,010 in today’s money – the group bought the pond and surrounding ground at Dalhousie Estate.
They set about creating two concrete slides to hold matches on and managed to recruit 39 members in their first year.
Matches and competitions were held as and when possible due to the game depending on the weather.
In 1895, minutes from the club history recorded that winter as one of the most successful they have ever had.
Due to freezing temperatures, the outdoor rinks were covered in ice from January 1 until February 27.
Opening of Dundee Ice Rink
When the Dundee Ice Rink opened in 1938, it changed the future of curling. Members no longer had to rely on the frosty weather, phoning around homes to invite people for a match.
Competitions could be scheduled well in advance, without having to worry that the rink would be melted away.
After World War II, membership in the group dropped. The club made the hard decision to sell back the original rink to the Dalhousie Estate.
In the 1950s, the club began travelling across the world to take part in matches and competitions.
From Canada to Zermatt, members made their mark – event helping the Swiss hotel to start their own curling club.
The last major outdoor game held was on the Lake of Menteith in 1979, which Alistair Scott, a trustee for the group, said was due to temperatures increasing.
“It was colder for longer back then,” he said.
Ian Steve, the former president of the curling club, said: “These days, it is hard to imagine enjoying outdoor competitions.
“When our rinks occupied the current Bonspiel Gardens site, we hosted regular al fresco games from 1875 until the end of the 1950s.
“Throughout the years, our successes have been many and varied.
“These include those of the women’s team, who famously won the 1981 Scottish ladies championship to much acclaim.”
However, Ian added: “Despite these successes, Covid has had quite the impact on the club.”
How the pandemic has impacted the group
Younger members, usually associated with the two Dundee Universities, haven’t been playing in the club for the last year due to virtual learning.
Alistair Scott, a trustee for the group, said that like golf, curling was a very sociable sport, so the pandemic had impacted greatly on membership.
He added: “It was very much a rural sport – it was all farmers around Dundee and Angus. It was a way to bring them all together, these traditionally isolated people.
“When the ice rink opened, it was very much supported by them. They loved it.
“It was a very sociable sport.”
Hamish Thomson, current president of the club, added: “We all got to know each other really well through the curling. It’s a very convivial sport.
“The greeting is brother and sister curlers.”
He added: “It’s sometimes difficult to keep the activity – it tends to be when you have a little more time in life.
“Until I stopped working, it was quite difficult to get up to the rink for 6pm. I just flew through the door and was straight on to the ice.
“But I enjoy it – it’s good fun.”
The club is always welcoming new members, and you can find out more about joining here.