Origins
Boreland Curling Club was founded in 1979 by eight neighbours and friends living on the Boreland Estate in Inverkeithing. The impetus was refreshingly pragmatic: seeking an alternative to spending every Friday evening in the local pub, the group settled on curling — though, as club lore records, this strategy did not entirely achieve its intended purpose.
In the early years, the members took ice informally at Kinross and played amongst themselves. After a couple of seasons they formalised their arrangement, established Boreland Curling Club, and applied for membership of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC). They were duly admitted in 1981, sponsored by Fossoway Curling Club.
Founder Members
The eight founding members were Derek Arnott, Bill Linton, Eric Low, Robin Park, Bill Rennie, Bob Tait, Alistair Bell, and Tommy Wallace, who passed away in 2007.
Early Years & Annual General Meetings
In its formative years the Club was run on an entirely informal basis. The minutes from the earliest meetings were unfortunately lost when a gust of wind on the Forth Road Bridge dispersed them from the boot of the then-Secretary’s car — an incident that set an enduring, if unintended, club tradition of temporarily misplacing items of importance.
Annual General Meetings in those early years were held alternately in members’ homes and local hostelries, and were notable for their thoroughness, if not their brevity. One memorable AGM at a founding member’s house ran from 7pm through to 5am. Another, convened at the Bruce Arms in Limekilns, was still on item two of the agenda at closing time, necessitating an adjournment to a member’s house. A subsequent AGM at the Coaledge Tavern near Crossgates was enlivened, albeit involuntarily, when a disturbance broke out between two local patrons — an incident in which no Club members were involved.
By 1988 membership had grown from the original eight to approximately twenty. Reflecting this increased standing, that year’s AGM was held in the boardroom of the City Hotel in Dunfermline. Two significant resolutions were passed: that the Club should adopt a formal Constitution (duly drafted and adopted the following year), and that a Dinner and Court should be held in 1989 to mark the Club’s tenth anniversary.
Club Dinners
The inaugural Dinner and Court was held in 1989 at the King Malcolm Hotel in Dunfermline, chaired by Club President Robin Park. The event was a considerable success, attracting a record number of new members. Recognising that a small club depends heavily on the goodwill of neighbouring clubs to support such occasions, it was agreed that dinners would be held every second year rather than annually. This pattern has continued ever since.
Subsequent dinners were held at the King Malcolm and later at the Brucefield Hotel in Dunfermline. From 2005 to 2017, the Club’s dinners were hosted at the Queen’s Hall in Charlestown — a venue well suited to the occasion, accommodating the famous Clyde Steamers served on arrival and providing excellent facilities for the evening’s activities.
Curling Activities
Since its earliest days, Boreland has participated actively in all major competitions within the West of Fife Province, winning the Province League, Province Knock-Out and Province Pairs on a number of occasions. The Club has maintained an annual entry for the Grand Match, submitted perennially more in optimism than expectation.
Two members have toured with RCCC sides in Canada, and numerous members have competed against visiting touring sides from Canada, the United States and elsewhere. Several members have also curled in Spain, and the Club has been well represented at Bonspiels across Scotland. Highlights on the playing front include recording an eight-ender in a match against Dalgety Bay Curling Club.
The Club has cultivated long-standing challenge matches against a number of neighbouring clubs: Aberdour, Broomhall, Dalgety Bay, Dunfermline, Fossoway, Inverkeithing, the Royal Bank of Scotland (Edinburgh) and the Sweepers (originally National Coal Board). These fixtures are keenly contested but invariably conducted in excellent spirit, and have fostered enduring friendships across the West of Fife curling community.
Members’ Wider Involvement
Several Boreland members have held, or continue to hold, significant positions within the wider curling world. Bob Tait served as Director and Chairman of the Board of the RCCC; Bill Linton was an RCCC Board Member and twice served as President of the West of Fife Province; Robin Park served as RCCC Director of Communications and as Province President; and Bill Rennie served as Province President.
Many Boreland members are Founder Members of Kinross Curling Trust, a charitable body established in 2009 to develop curling facilities in Kinross. On 1 September 2013, the Trust took over operation of the Curling Rink at Kinross. Bob Tait, Mike Caffyn and Bob Anderson have all played active roles in the Trust’s governance.
In Memoriam
The following members passed away whilst actively involved with the Club, and are remembered with great affection:
- Dave Thomson (2002)
- Gilleas McCallum (2007)
- Bill Kidd (2011)
- Dave Martin (2012)
- Andy Stevenson (2018)
- Robin Park (2025)
- Ken Myles (2025)