Meeting of the Parliament 31 May 2023
I congratulate my colleague Murdo Fraser on securing this members’ business debate, which celebrates Dewars ice rink. I should say that, although it might be the Hampden in that respect, Dumfries and Galloway certainly provides the feeder clubs for our national success.
It is clearly a worrying time for ice sports enthusiasts, whether they be curlers, skaters or ice hockey players. Sadly, many of Scotland’s ice rinks face prohibitive energy price increases that threaten their very existence. As the Scottish Ice Rinks Association has stated, we have literally come to the end of the road unless someone can wave a magic wand and get energy prices down to a realistic level or we receive significant external funding.
Annual bills used to be between £50,000 and £60,000, but many are now heading towards almost £200,000—or three to four times the increase. That is purely for energy, but energy is needed to make the ice. There is no way around the matter; essentially, ice rinks are massive refrigerators. Talks are being held with governing bodies, utility firms and the Scottish Government to find a way forward. Given that Scotland’s ice rinks have been the breeding grounds for such exceptional international talent, we need to support them in those efforts.
In the south of Scotland, we have three different ice rink models: one in a hotel in Stranraer, a council-run facility in Dumfries and a registered charity in Lockerbie. The North West Castle hotel was the first hotel in the world to have its own indoor curling rink, and it continues to attract visitors from around the globe. It was recently taken over by Bespoke Hotels, at the time when the energy crisis was having the strongest hit, and like other groups, it was worried about how to continue curling. Thankfully, with a season now under the belt, things now look slightly more encouraging. I put on record my thanks and the thanks of the people of Stranraer and the wider community to the management of Bespoke Hotels, including the ice rink manager, Gail Munro, for the sterling work that it has done to keep curling in Stranraer—which, arguably, is the most prolific breeding ground for world champions.
Dumfries ice bowl has an enviable reputation for nurturing world-class curlers, too. It has been successful in attracting the world ice hockey championship, and it is home to award-winning figure skaters and synchronised teams: the Solway Stars, Solway Eclipse, Solway Lightning and Solway Comets. All of that, along with the ice hockey team that is based there, helps to sustain the venue’s two ice rinks, and the hard work of the team there deserves to be recognised. Much of the success has been initiated by the vision of Dumfries and Galloway Council staff, particularly Richard Grieveson, who went on to be the chairman of Ice Hockey UK for five years.
Sportscotland has provided £1.75 million to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, but more financial aid is needed. We must ensure that the legacy of the phenomenal success enjoyed by our curlers is felt for years to come. Winning a gold medal at the world championship in Ottawa was the crowning glory of the Scottish men’s curling team; it was skippered by Bruce Mouat, who was assisted by three team mates from the south of Scotland. Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan from Stranraer are the latest trailblazers to have carried on the fine skills developed by their respective families. Those lads were joined on the winner’s rostrum by Dumfries curler Grant Hardie and their near-perfect curling saw them defeat the home nation favourites 9-3. That glorious achievement came just months after team Mouat clinched their third European men’s curling championship in Sweden, adding that to the silver medal that they won in the 2022 winter Olympics.
Joining those curlers on the conveyor belt of talent from Stranraer is Hugh Nibloe, who helped Scotland win bronze at the world wheelchair curling championships in Canada, reaching his century of appearances for the Scottish national curling team. He has also represented Great Britain at the Paralympics, where he won a bronze medal in 2017 and silver in 2019.
Not to be outdone, Fay Henderson from Dumfries and Robyn Munro from Stranraer helped Scotland’s women strike gold at this year’s world junior championships in Germany. Scotland’s junior men’s team, skippered by Orrin Carson with teammates Logan Carson, Archie Hyslop, Charlie Gibb and Scott Hyslop—all from Dumfries curling club—won a bronze medal at the world junior championships. There was also success for Blair Haswell from Stranraer and Jack Carrick from Dumfries, who won gold for team GB at the winter session of the world university games at Lake Placid in New York state.
I cannot pass up the opportunity to praise my own daughter, who scored the one and only—and first ever—goal for the team GB ice hockey squad, against Japan, at the same games. She has had the wonderful experience of playing ice hockey on rinks right across Scotland, the United Kingdom and the world. It has been a huge part of her life and continues to be so.
The achievements of all those players are now inspiring many youngsters to take up sport, which can be only good. To ensure that those sports have a future, though, we must ensure the future of our much-loved ice rinks.
17:46