Dumbarton Curling Club

Proudly Silver Accredited by Scottish Curling

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Picture courtesy of 106 video and photography

Welcome to Our Site

"Since we have enjoyed good fellowship on the ice, and are resolved that we will meet and form ourselves in a band of brotherhood and fellowship, and that we will be called Dumbarton Curling Club." - These are the opening words in the minutes of the first meeting held in 1815.

Membership is open to both male and female players of all ages and abilities.

You don't require any expensive equipment, just a pair of training shoes and a jumper, as all other equipment will be provided.

Coaching from our own qualified coach will always be available to our members, particularly for those who are new to curling, and our more experienced players are always willing to provide advice and assistance.

More information pertaining to Dumbarton Curling Club can be found on our About Us page.

Dumbarton Win Allan Medal

allan medal 2026A Dumbarton rink (pictured right, named from l-r) consisting of David Campbell (Second), Jim MacDonald (Skip), Karen Haggarty (Lead), and David Shanks (Third) won the Allan Medal for the first time in 25 years following a 9-3 win against Kelvinside Accademical in a keenly contested final at Greenacres.

Johnny Flowers and Alex Brown featured in previous rounds of the competition, and the ultimate success in the competition would not have been possible without their contribution. 

Dumbarton started their campaign on Wednesday 28 January with am 8-3 victory in the 1st round against Nondescripts.  The 2nd round against Ski Club was a much tighter contest ending 7-7 after, with Dumbarton progressing to the semi-final on ends by a count of 4-3.

Next up were Cadder in the Semi-final, which historically has always been a tough match-up with Roberty Storey at Skip, and the current Ian Gillespie (the current Province President) at third.  Over the past few years, Dumbarton teams have put in some outstanding performances, arguably none of those have reached the levels of performance Jim, David S., David C, and Karen reached against Cadder that night winning by a score of 8-1, with Cadder conceding after 6 ends.

All eyes then turned to the other semi-final being played on the adjoining rink between Bearsden and Kelvinside.  Kelvinside sped into a 5 shot lead in the first end, but Bearsden clawed themselved back to lead 7-6 after 6 ends.  At that point it looked like Dumbarton would meet Bearsden in the final before Kelvinside stepped up a couple of gears to eventually win 9-7 and book a place in the final against Dumbarton.

Dumbarton carried the high levels of performance from the semi-final into the final, to lead 6-1 after 4 ends.  In the 5th end Dumbarton were sitting 2 shots with what looked like a perfectly placed guard a couple of feet in front of the house, with other guards about a stone width either side of it.  With his final stone of the end, Jim Whittle found the tiniest of gaps to squeeze his stone through the gap an remove both Dumbarton stone for a score of 2.

The next end was ultimately the pivotal moment in the match.  It was extremely tight with several stones from both sides in and around the 4 foot well guarded by numerous stones at the front of the house.  Kelvinside were sitting 2 when David Shanks played his second stone of the end.  The shot call was to tap up their own stone at the edge of the 4-foot into the button, which David managed to execute pefectly with excellent teamwork by the sweeping and line call to take shot.  Jim Whittle then came up the other side to promote one of his own stones which he managed to make contact with, but it wasn't clear if it had taken shot, or if it was still with Dumbarton.  After Jim MacDonald played a guard to prevent them from trying again, Jim Whittle could improve his own stone leaving Jim MacDonald with the hammer.

After looking at the placement of the stones, both David and Jim believed that Dumbarton had shot, and with no other shot available to improve the position, Jim decided to burn the hammer in fear of causing damage to the head.  As expected, it went to a measure with Jim and David's judgment proving sound as Dumbarton scored a single to move 7-3 ahead going into the final end.

Going into the final end 4 shots up without the hammer, Jim decided to keep it simple and keep the front clear.  Karen played her to lead stones into the 4 foot.  Kelvinside place a guard at the front then drew in on top the Karens stones.  WIth a number of stones in play withing the 8-foot, most of them near or in the 4-foot, it became increasingly difficult for Kelvinside to remove a sufficient number of stones to score the 4 shots they required, and so it proved.  With Jim Whittle's penultimate stone, he played an in-off on his own stone in the side of the 12-foot to create an angle to remove several stones.  He caught it just a bit thick and was unfortunate to remove his own stone.

Jim then played his final stone into the house for added security.  Jim Whittle completed an intensely competitive match with an entertaining trick-shot by spinning 360 degree's during his slide before delivering the last stone.  Although it moved a few stones in the house, the final end resulted in another brace to Dumbarton for a final score of 9-3.

Dumbarton last won the Allan Medal in 2001 with the winning rinks consisting of Bill Marshall (Skip), Tom Woods (Third), Tony Atkins (Second), and Alistair MacPherson (Lead) who defeated Cadder 8-4 in the final.