A JUBILANT Greenock team is celebrating after winning a sought-after tournament for the first time.

Skip Angus Shearer and his squad of Mairi MacDonald, Kathryn Tweedle and Kirstin Bousie made history at the end-of-season Newcomers Trophy meeting at Greenacres Curling Rink, near Howwood.

The talented foursome are the only group of Waterfront Junior Curling Club stars to win the event in nine years.

The event attracted 72 young curlers to play in 18 teams over the course of one day. Each team was guaranteed four games of three ends with the best-placed teams playing in 'High Road' and 'Low Road' finals.

All other teams played in a Hotshots draw and strike competition.

Waterfront Junior Curling Club has sent its members to play in this competition over the past nine years and whilst it always produced good results, it had not produced a skip capable of getting his or her hands on the handsome trophy.

This year four club members were entered: Angus Shearer, Euan Polea, Fraser Clark and David Kane. All four had reached a level of curling skill to be selected as skips for the competition.

The earlier games in the round robin produced mixed results for the 'famous four'. While Angus romped away from the opposition winning all four games without losing a single end and Euan grimly ground out favourable results, Fraser and David had much tougher games and were relegated to the Hotshots competition.

Euan, having won his semi-final, contested the Low Road final and was very unlucky to lose to a very good team skipped by local junior Martin Wilcox.

Angus, who had to work hard in his semi-final, only going through on a draw shot to the button, contested the High Road final with another Greenacres favourite, Matthew McConnell.

A very tight, low-scoring game had the watching players, parents and coaches on their feet as the first of Angus's two stones in the last end secured victory. He then tantalised and terrified his supporters by 'pretending' he was going to play his second and totally needless stone but eventually decided against such foolhardy behaviour and called the proceedings to a halt.

The name of Angus Shearer now placed on this trophy joins the names of such curling legends as 2002 Winter Olympics gold medalist Rhona Martin, Alan McDougall and Gillian Howard. Inverclyde can be justly proud of this very engaging and talented young athlete.

The event was again superbly organised by Braehead CDO, David Horne, assisted by local coaches and parents.