Curler, 94, sets Grand Matches record

A 94-YEAR-OLD man made history yesterday by becoming the only living person to have taken part in all six curling Grand Matches in the last 50 years.

Iain Rutherford, from Lenzie, near Glasgow, threw the first stone yesterday at Braehead Curling Rink to herald the start of a Scottish North versus South Indoor Grand Match.

The veteran first took part in a Grand Match at Loch Leven in 1959, and then competed in the next two at Lake of Menteith in 1963 and 1979. He also took part in the two indoor Grand Matches when he played at Braehead Curling Rink in 2000 and 2005.

Rutherford, a member of Cadder Curling Club, said: "I've seen some wonderful spectacles playing in these contests over the years. Undoubtedly my favourite is when we played at Lake of Menteith in 1979. There were about 2,400 curlers playing on 300 rinks on the ice and there must have been an equivalent number of bottles of whisky there as well."