First Scot Tour Get Together

It took over a year for it to happen due to a yearlong delay in the tour brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 2022 Scot Tour participants finally got to meet as a group for the first time on the weekend of May 20 - 22, 2022 at the Four Seasons Curling Club in Blaine, MN.

On a personal note, I was happy to see a souvenir poster from the U18 Nationals we hosted just a month earlier in Fort Wayne framed and proudly on display at the Four Seasons Club:


18 of the 20 Scots Tour participants made the trek to the Twin Cities to meet the people that they would be spending 3 weeks with in January 2023.  Unfortunately, tourists Charlie Brown and Doug Brugler (a recent addition to the tour to replace Joel Lenneker who unfortunately had to withdraw from the Tour for personal reasons) were unable to make it.  They were sorely missed by the other tourists.  Chris McMahon made it on on Friday but needed to depart on Saturday morning for a prior commitment.

The weekend consisted of a round robin tournament between the 5 teams, the distribution of the Scot Tour apparel by Jeff Wright and a Saturday evening dinner hosted by Ken Olson and his lovely wife Deb at their home in Maple Grove.

The Tourists had a blast during the round robin tournament which was won by Team Jackson who went undefeated.  Kent Beadle gave us all a scare when his gripper mysteriously stuck to the ice while sweeping a stone and he found himself unexpectedly on his slider.  Somehow, he miraculously stayed upright.


After the Friday night draw, the Tourists checked in to the hotel and had dinner at the Muddy Cow.  Due to needing a table for 18 people on a Friday night without a reservation, the Tourists were forced to sit outside on a cool and windy night.  One Tourist quickly learned not to use his beer as a paperweight on the menu when the wind upended the beer and dumped it on him.

After dinner, the Tourists took over a meeting room at the hotel and received their apparel.  Jeff Wright did an amazing job procuring it all.  Working with multiple vendors and the 20 tourists was a herculean task.  Great job Jeff and thanks for all of your hard work!

Each Tourist received a personalized garment bag, curling jacket, suit jacket, squall jacket, multiple shirts, dress pants, curling pants and hats (and probably more that I have forgotten).  Still a few more items to come.  But the Tourists were amazed with the quality and variety of what we received.










After the first draw on Saturday, the Board of the 2022 Scot Tour pulled out the prestigious Herries-Maxwell trophy that the Tourists will be competing for.  During our 3 weeks in Scotland, the number of points scored by the U.S. teams and the Scotland teams will be totaled.  The country with the highest number of points at the end of the Tour will win the trophy and keep it until the Scots come to the U.S. in 2027.  Interestingly, we found a note in the trophy box indicating that in 2016, the replacement value of the trophy was $80,000.


After the 2nd of 3 draws on Saturday, the Tourists gathered for our first group picture.

 

2022 Scot Tour Tourists (L-R) - Keith Schreiber, Bret Jackson, Leland Rich, Wayne Anderson, Bill Gryder, Doug Potter, Steve Shaffer, Doug Anderson, Craig Fischer, Greg Eisenhauer, Jeff Kitchens, Jeff Wright, Ken Olson, Roger Smith, Peter Lyons, Kent Beadle and Shawn Oleson.

After the 3rd of 3 draws on Saturday, the Tourists headed over to the house of Ken Olson in Maple Grove, MN where he and his wife Deb graciously hosted the Tourists for a wonderful dinner.  The dinner consisted of salad, baked manicotti, garlic bread, some lovely desserts, wine, beer and scotch.  We are so thankful for the Olson's inviting our group of misfits into their home.  As best we can tell, the damage inflicted on the Olson home was largely superficial.



The Tourists had one more draw on Sunday morning, had some drinks at Moe's restaurant at the club and then departed.  We are hoping to reconvene the group again in Denver in November.

Thanks to the Board for organizing a wonderful event, to Jeff Wright for all of the work on the apparel and Ken and Deb Olson for hosting us for a wonderful evening.

Until we meet again friends!



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