The Edinburgh Reporter Newspaper February 2020

The Edinburgh Reporter
30 SPORT
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SPORT 31
Casting around for fishing news
by Nigel Duncan
International angler Kevin Lewis
is looking for enthusiastic women
anglers to join the Scotland sea
fishing squad in the build-up to the
Home International shore angling
championships at Weymouth.
The Tartan Team came second
to Ireland last year on their home
water at Tralee in County Kerry
and coach Kevin is determined to
go one better this time.
Applicants don’t need to be
experienced sea anglers as
coaching sessions will be held
ahead of the event.
The squad of five and a
travelling reserve will also fish
the location at Preston Beach in
Dorset for prior to the two-day
championships in the first week
of July.
England, Wales, Ireland and
Scotland are invited and Kevin
added that equipment can be
provided.
He added: “The girls did really
well last year in Ireland and we are
naturally travelling hoping to win.
“However, longer-term, we
are looking for them to pick up
valuable experience.
“It would be great if we could get
more women coming forward from
the Lothians or anywhere else in
Scotland so we can travel with the
strongest possible squad.”
Anybody interested should call
Kevin on 0797 362 2059
Well-known sea angler Neil
Cuttler from Gateshead won the
Amble Open with a bag of 15lb
7oz including 16 flat fish and one
coalfish.
David Cooper from Edinburgh
was 39th with six cod for 6lb
4oz and Craig Ogilvie from North
Berwick weighed in with 5lb 7oz
thanks to five flat fish and one cod
to take 45th place.
Stuart Fairbairn from Haddington
landed one flat fish for 14oz in a
field of nearly 500. He was 162nd.
Climb every mountain
by Nigel Duncan
The Edinburgh Mountain
Film Festival (EMFF) returns in
February staged at the Gordon
Aikman Lecture Theatre in George
Square from Saturday 15 to
Sunday 16 February 2020.
Tickets start at £5 and are on
sale now at www.emff.co.uk
Among the highlights are a posse
of mountain bikers from Whistler,
aged 11-14.
Skiers drop fearsome-looking
lines in Alaska and sketchy gullies
in the West Highlands. A female
climber scales apparently blank
rock faces using holds the size of
a pinhead, without ropes.
Then there are the parkour
athletes on a stomach-lurching
rooftop race in Paris and a blind
man attempting to lead-climb
the Old Man of Hoy sea stack on
Orkney.
The festival welcomes three
speakers. Jenny Graham from
Inverness recounts her worldrecord
breaking unsupported
cycle around the world, navigating
tornados, bears and Russian
traffic.
Anna McNuff, now blister-free
Diving into the record
books
Edinburgh Diving Club’s James
Heatly won the 3m Springboard at
the British Diving Championships
at Plymouth in January. This is
James' third British individual
title and it was a personal best
points score of 478.50. He
executed a Forward four and a
half somersaults tuck to take the
highest points for one single dive
in the final.
Heatly told British Swimming :
“I’m so happy - I’ve retained my
title, and it’s a personal best as
well, not sure I could ask for more
at this stage of the season.”
Image courtesy of
British Swimming
Heatly is hoping for a place on
the Olympic team heading for
Tokyo at the end of July 2020.
The sea was flat calm and
there was a light breeze and
temperatures reached around 12C
and a spokesman said: “A total of
177 anglers weighed in with 131
cod, 526 flats and 12 coalfish with
a total weight of 736lbs 14oz.”
Elsewhere, Blyth-based Sonik
Sports have released details of
their Gizmo bite alarm which, they
claim, offers a miniature package
giving instant indication for the
slightest of line movement.
Functions are controlled by click
dials which are claimed to be
quick to setup for multiple alarm
heads. An anti-theft and torch
function are included.
Each alarm can also be assigned
a colour channel to instantly
recognise which alarm head has
been triggered.
Prices start from £49.99 for a
single alarm and £199.99 for a
two-plus-one alarm and bivvy lamp
up to £299.99 for a four alarm and
bivvy lamp version.
after her 2,620 mile barefoot
run through Britain and Leon
McCarron who made a 1,000 mile
walk through the heart of the Holy
Land at a pace which allowed him
to meet the people and understand
the challenges of that region.
The festival, staged in
association with Tiso and
Mountain Equipment, expects
big numbers and it has grown to
be one of the most popular and
dynamic events in Scotland’s
outdoor adventure calendar
attracting in excess of 2,000
outdoor enthusiasts.
City race
Race in Edinburgh city centre on
Sunday 15 March 2020.
£20 registration fee, minimum
sponsorship amount £50 You are
encouraged to sign up for Crisis’
Race to End Homelessness, held
in partnership with YTL Hotels The
Glasshouse, a former church
that offered shelter to people
experiencing homelessness.
Crisis’ Race to End
Homelessness is the first of its
kind in Scotland, offering a truly
unique route around Edinburgh, all
while raising money for charity.
https://www.crisis.org.uk/
get-involved/fundraise/calton-hill/
Local angling scene
by Nigel Duncan
TWO local angling associations
have come together to offer
cut-price access to one of
the most popular rivers in the
Lothians.
Anglers who sign up now
will be able to fish on the River
Almond from the Forth Estuary to
Livingston with a £10 deduction
on the cost of a joint ticket.
An adult ticket is £35 for
Cramond Angling Club (CAC) and
£15 for West Lothian Angling
Association (WLAA)
Joe Arndt, secretary of CAC,
explained that if you pay £15 to
WLAA then you would pay £25 to
CAC or if you pay £35 to CAC then
you pay £5 to WLAA which works
out at £40 for 16 miles of fishing.
Bruce Hope, chairman of WLAA,
said both clubs are keen to
promote junior angling and adults
taking up the offer.
Applicants will also be allowed
one junior permit (under 16) free of
charge and thereafter at £5 for the
other water .
Anglers apply for membership
of their home club, including any
junior memberships.
They will be issued with a unique
number which can then be used
The Young People’s Sport Panel
recruitment is now running until
24 February 2020.
Young people in Edinburgh are
offered an opportunity to play their
part in the future development of
Scottish sport.
sportscotland is looking for new
members for the panel which was
set up in June 2018.
Since then they have met
with the Minister for Sport
Joe Fitzpatrick to discuss the
importance of young people as
leaders in Scottish sport. The
panel is working in three particular
areas : on women’s and girls’
sport, access to sport and mental
health and sport.
Panashe Muzambe, a
Watsonians and Edinburgh
University rugby player, is hoping
to be named in the Scotland
Six Nations Squad, and she
encourages young people to apply
for the panel. The 24 year-old said :
"Sport is an opportunity to be free,
it is a freedom expressed as an
to apply to the other club for the
discounted permit or permits.
Applications can be made with a
cheque/postal order/bank transfer
and a stamped self-addressed
envelope to :
Memberships Cramond
Angling Club, 22 Parkgrove
Loan, Edinburgh EH47QX or
Memberships WLAA, 8 Cunnigar
Hill View, Mid Calder, Livingston
EH530SG
The offer provides permits
anglers to fish the other club's
water but does not confer full
voting membership of that club
and either club retains a right of
refusal.
Members will be bound by
the rules of whichever club
water anglers are fishing at the
time and both organisations
urged fishermen to familiarise
themselves fully before travelling.
Permit holders are required to
carry photographic identification
in addition to the permits and will
have to leave the river if requested
by Bailiffs of either club or the
Forth Rivers Trust. Proof of age is
required for junior permits.
Joe said: “Both clubs hope
anglers take advantage to try out
new waters and enhance their
experience of the river.”
Applications for sport
panel open now
individual or in a group. It brings
people with differences together,
bonded by something they have in
common.”
sportscotland.org.uk
Sarah is in the GB team
by Nigel Duncan
Sarah Robertson heads Down
Under for high-profile women’s
hockey clashes with Australia and
New Zealand.
That is short-term. Her long-term
goal is to be picked for Great
Britain’s Olympic squad which
would realise an ambition for the
talented midfielder who has played
on 99 occasions for Scotland.
She has also proudly worn the
Great Britain colours in 42 games,
but the pinnacle would be Tokyo
from July 24 to August 9 2020.
Law graduate Sarah, a former
Edinburgh University star, has
been named in a 22-strong squad
who face Australia, who played
in the Grand Final last year, on
February 1 and 2 and then New
Zealand on February 8 and 9.
The matches are in the FIH Pro
League and coach Mark Hager
has selected all 18 of the players
who secured their Olympic berth
by overcoming Chile at the end of
2019.
This is the first time that the
women have experienced the new
format of playing two doubleheaders
away from home.
It’s a serious challenge but one
Sarah relishes and the double
Commonwealth Games player
(Glasgow and Gold Coast) argued
that playing the best will help
Hager iron out any snags in their
game ahead of the Olympics.
The coach firmly believes he has
versatility in his squad and he is
excited to get the build-up under
way.
So is Borders-born Sarah who
has been a professional athlete
for over two years. The law degree
is parked while she pursues her
dream of Olympic glory and, of
course, Britain returned from Rio
four years ago with gold.
That, said the 26-year-old athlete,
raises the expectation level but the
steely Scot said: “That was four
years ago and there have been
major changes to the squad.
“Around seven of the gold medal
team are still in the squad but
there are a lot of new faces and it
takes time to gel.”
The Dundonian was picked
for the GB squad after a strong
performance in the EuroHockey
Championships II in Glasgow last
year when Scotland won gold and
secured promotion back to the
top tier of European hockey. Since
then, pacey forward Charlotte has
made an impact on the national
side in her five appearances. She
has 67 Scotland caps.
So has Edinburgh-born defender
Costello who has been with the
squad since February 2018 and
has collected 27 Great Britain caps
to add to her 51 for Scotland.
It’s good, admitted Sarah,
to have Scottish voices in the
camp but Sarah, who plays for
London-based, Hampstead and
Westminster, knows the Englishborn
players well from her club
games.
She now opts out of the club
scene to travel Down Under but
her international schedule allows
for a return just before the crucial
end-of-season play-offs.
The Scottish Hickory
Tour revived
On 6 February the first Scottish
Hickory Tour since 1930 will
begin with the James Braid
150th Anniversary Hickory Open
event over 9 holes at Braid Hill,
followed by 9 holes at Merchants
of Edinburgh Golf Club in the
afternoon.
The Merchants was originally
designed by Ben Sayers in 1907
and altered by James Braid in
1936. The course is challenging
and fun, and will be a good test
for players, including past World
Hickory Open Winners Fraser
Mann (Scotland) and Andrew
Marshall (England).
In April Jack’s Open Pro Am will
be played at Musselburgh Golf
Club and Royal Musselburgh on 8
and 9 April 2020.
Hearts overcome Rangers at home
Ladbrokes Premiership – Sunday
26th January 2020 – Tynecastle
by Mike Smith
It was just like old times at
Tynecastle at the end of January
as Hearts produced their best
performance of a troubled season
to come from behind to defeat
Rangers. The Gorgie team secured
three vitally important points in
the Ladbrokes Premiership.
After going behind at the
beginning of the second half
the Jambos roared back and
goals from Steven Naismith and
debutant Liam Boyce secured
Hearts first league win in ten
games. Hearts 2 Rangers 1
PHOTOS Ian Jacobs
Heriot's Rugby welcomed Boroughmuir Bears for a local FOSROC Super 6 match at Goldenacre for their
Round 8 match in the new – for this season – competition. Heriot's swept aside Boroughmuir to go joint
top of the FOSROC Super6 table and maintain their top-four play-off place PHOTO John Preece
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