Idaburn Council and Clubs

The first two weeks of Idaburn Council's annual Macrae Trophy competition for 2012 have fallen foul of the weather.

Only half of the scheduled four rounds of games were possible on the first day, Monday 11 June, before ice conditions and safety concerns forced organisers to halt play for the day. The following week's competition was then postponed altogether on account of road and weather conditions.

Alpine's top run of form this season continued today when they won the 2010 Macrae Trophy at Alexandra's Ice-In-Line rink.

The club's Number 2 team beat the other 7 finallists to win the the Idaburn Curling Council's major competition, and so added this trophy to the Snuff Box won earlier in the month when Alpine Curling Club won their first-ever National Bonspiel.

The curlers of Manorburn and Poolburn Curling Clubs have swept all before them in the Idaburn Council's competitions this season.

So it was fitting – and perhaps not too much of a surprise – when they met again in the final of the Macrae Trophy at Alexandra on Monday 20 July.

There was praise for the weather and the ice conditions yesterday when the one-day Wilson Cup bonspiel was held near Oturehua. Defending champions Alexandra joined the other 15 clubs of the Idaburn Curling Council in a memorable day on the frozen Idaburn Dam.

Even a bad day's curling is better than a good day at work.

So say the lads from the Poolburn Curling Club, and they received no argument yesterday as 50 curlers took part in a mini-bonspiel on the lower Manorburn dam, near Alexandra.

Twelve teams from six clubs – Poolburn, Arrow, Chatto Creek, Manorburn, Alexandra and Lowburn – vied for the Wilson Rosebowl.

The Manorburn rink of Bruce Kissel (skip), Paul Harrex, Gavin Spence and Bert Kemp have won the final of the Jerry Sanders Trophy for 2009, the Idaburn Curling Council's knockout competition.

Manorburn won the 2009 Nicolson Trophy for the Idaburn Council at Alexandra last Thursday 2 July. Their win was by the narrowest of margins though when the four competing clubs all won two games each.