The trustees are delighted to announce that the 2019 applications are now open for the Trillium Camp in Ontario, Canada. The camp will take place from 11-16 August with the two successful recipients being accompanied by a chaperone & instructor supported by Matt Murdoch Curling Foundation and Scottish Curling.
About the Foundation
The Foundation was set up by Matt Murdoch's friends and family in association with Rotary, in his memory. Matt, from Lockerbie, who died in 2014, was a past President of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and had captained the 2012 Rotary tour of Canada. A passionate curler all his life, he had contributed much to the success of junior curling in Scotland and support for and funding of the Foundation is a fitting tribute to his memory.
The 2017 Foundation recipients were Andrew Robson from Lockerbie and Fay Henderson from Dumfries. They were joined by Great Britain's Olympic Bronze Medallist Claire Hamilton who travelled with the recipients and coached at the camp, funded jointly by the Foundation along with The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (national governing body for curling in Scotland)
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| Claire, Andrew and Fay |
Andrew said ‘Getting to go to Canada and experience different coaching input is an opportunity of a lifetime, and as a local curler from Lockerbie who knew Matt well, I feel honoured to have been selected’.
‘As far as my experience goes it was 10/10 all round. The host family treated us like royalty. The coaching at the camp was the next level and I filled about 10 A4 sheets with new information; both the on ice and off ice sessions were fantastic. I feel the week really helped me develop as a curler as well make new friends who I have promised to meet up with again in the not so distant future’.
Fay said 'First of all I would like to thank The Matt Murdoch Curling Foundation and everyone behind the scenes for this amazing experience. It was an amazing week; the accommodation was clean/secure, interesting on and off ice, coaches really helpful; we used lasers, split timers and video footage for visual feedback, & everything was well organised with lots of information before and during camp. Whilst at the camp I made lots of new friends and was voted as most valuable player - the vote was based on sportsmanship and etiquette as well as curling abilities and leadership!
Claire said 'While still competing myself, I am keen to get involved in coaching and help junior curlers. The camp is extremely well run; I was briefed on the first day and quickly got to grips with what was expected of me. The rest of the coaching staff were excellent, made me feel very welcome & showed me how things are done in the camp. We had a group of 16 & I instructed some of the on ice sessions or if the athletes were separated into groups on ice I would take one group. I also presented one classroom session and accompanied the athletes to the other activities like beach volleyball & swimming. It was a great insight for me and great to accompany two such lovely juniors on behalf of the Foundation.’
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| Nancy Smith |
Trillium Camp Host Jim Waite said ‘We continue to be thrilled with this exchange. The young people that you have sent us over three years have been outstanding representatives of the Matt Murdoch Curling Foundation, Scottish Curling and your country.