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The Grand Match, also called The Bonspiel, is an outdoor
/ref> *
Royal Caledonian Curling ClubAm Baile - Highland History and Culture - Curling Bonspiel
The Grand Match, also called The Bonspiel, is an outdoor curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
tournament, or bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...
, held most recently on the Lake of Menteith
Lake of Menteith, also known as Loch Inchmahome (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig''), is a loch in Scotland located on the Carse of Stirling (the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers Forth and Teith, upstream from Stirling).
...
in Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, when the weather is cold enough. Traditionally it is a match between the north and south of Scotland.
History
The last tournament was held in 1979. From then until 2010, aloch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...
never froze to the required depth of seven inches of ice to allow the tournament to take place. It can attract thousands of curlers when it is held.
The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC) stated in December 2010 that the Lake of Menteith
Lake of Menteith, also known as Loch Inchmahome (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig''), is a loch in Scotland located on the Carse of Stirling (the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers Forth and Teith, upstream from Stirling).
...
is no longer suitable for holding a Grand Match due to the logistics involved, with Loch Leven Loch Leven may refer to:
;Bodies of water in Scotland
* Loch Leven (Kinross), a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross
** Loch Leven Castle, a fortress on the loch
** William Douglas of Lochleven, later the 6th Earl of Morton
* Loch Leven (Highlands) ...
and the Piper Dam in Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
now the preferred sites.
In total, the Grand Match has taken place on 38 occasions, of which 33 were on outside ice: one in November, nine in December, 16 in January, and seven in February. The five indoor matches were held at the Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
ice rinks.
On 5 January 2010, following weeks of freezing weather conditions throughout the UK, the RCCC met to discuss holding the event for the first time in 30 years. However, just days later, the plans had to be scrapped as Health & Safety issues could not be resolved in the short time available. Nevertheless, upwards of 20,000 people turned up over the weekend in defiance of the police, and numerous matches were held on the ice. An unofficial tournament was planned for a few days later, not sanctioned by the RCCC. This had to be abandoned due to warmer weather making the ice dangerous.
To celebrate the millennium, an Indoor Grand Match was inaugurated in 2000, and this proved so popular that it became a regular event, being held every five years since. It is spread across several indoor ice rinks across the nation, with the last Indoor Grand Match in October 2015 being won by the south.
List of national bonspiels
*Penicuik
Penicuik ( ; sco, Penicuik; gd, Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. It lies on the A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hills.
Na ...
, 15 January 1847 - 96 competitors
*Linlithgow Loch
Linlithgow Loch lies immediately north of the town of Linlithgow in West Lothian, Scotland. 1.3 kilometres in length and 0.4 in breadth, its area of 41 hectares makes it the largest natural freshwater loch in Lothian. It is, however, shallow, w ...
, 1848 - 680 competitors, 6000 spectators
*Barr Meadow, 1850 - near Castle Semple Loch
Castle Semple Loch is a 1.5-mile-long (2.5 km) inland freshwater loch at Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Originally part of an estate of the same name, it is now administered by Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park as a watersports centre. ...
* Carsebreck, near Blackford Blackford might refer to:
People with the surname
*Charles Minor Blackford (1833–1903), an American lawyer
*Hosea Blackford, a fictional character in books by Harry Turtledove
*Ian Blackford, a Scottish politician
*Isaac Blackford (1786–1859), ...
- 25 matches between 1853-1935, on leased land which was specially flooded to provide good, safe ice - the final match, on 24 December 1935, attracted 2576 competitors
*Loch of Aboyne
Loch of Aboyne is a shallow, artificial formed, freshwater loch in Grampian, Scotland. It lies northeast of Aboyne and west-southwest of Aberdeen. An earthen dam was constructed around 1834 to retain the loch. It also served as a reservoir for ...
was used for a bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...
on the 10 February 1891 between curlers from the south and north of the River Don.Curling History/ref> *
Loch Leven Loch Leven may refer to:
;Bodies of water in Scotland
* Loch Leven (Kinross), a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross
** Loch Leven Castle, a fortress on the loch
** William Douglas of Lochleven, later the 6th Earl of Morton
* Loch Leven (Highlands) ...
, 1959
*Lake of Menteith
Lake of Menteith, also known as Loch Inchmahome (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig''), is a loch in Scotland located on the Carse of Stirling (the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers Forth and Teith, upstream from Stirling).
...
, 1963, 1979
External links
Royal Caledonian Curling Club
References