The Maxwell is a men’s competition between ice rinks where three teams line up for home and away fixtures. Stirling were drawn in the East qualifying section alongside Edinburgh, Kinross, Forfar and Borders ice rinks.
Competitors will at all times abide by the current Rules of the Game.
| In the event of a team being incomplete that game shall be forfeited and the other two games shall proceed; see R11 (j): Failure to Appear. All Section games shall be 8 ends or the bell, and the Section winners and runners-up shall play in the final stages before the end of March in each year. All games on the Final day shall be played over 8 ends. Should one of the qualifiers be unable to play then the next available will take their place. The method of scoring for each individual game shall be: 2 points shall be awarded for a win; 1 point shall be awarded for a draw; 0 points shall be awarded for a loss. Where Ice Rinks are equal on points after the Section Games the result between the equal Ice Rinks shall determine the qualifier. Where more than two Ice Rinks are equal for a qualifying place overall shots up shall determine the qualifier. |  |
- Stirling win Maxwell Trophy
Twelve players travelled to Ayr on Tue 7th March to compete in the Maxwell Trophy Finals having qualified from the East group stage, alongside Kinross, over the course of the 2022/23 season.
Stirling 1 Stirling 2 Stirling 3 Lee McCleary Brian Ferguson John Davie Gavin Fleming Neil Murray Mark Watt James Dunn Rory McNair David McEwan Stuart Brand Dougie Telfer Les Goodfellow Stirling were drawn against Greenacres Ice Rink in the semi-final, while Kinross faced Lanarkshire.
The Greenacres side were strong favourites to retain the Maxwell Trophy for the third year in a row and raced to an early lead in all three games versus Stirling.
Stirling2 were ultimately defeated, however a late score of 4-shots by Stirling3 in the 7th end levelled the match and John Davie’s team went on to steal a victory in the 8th end. Meanwhile Stirling1 also needed to steal in the last; one shot down without last stone advantage. They piled on the pressure to lie game with several stones guarded in the rings, the Greenacres skip jammed his double take-out attempt giving Stirling the 2-shots they needed and an overall 2-1 win and place in the final against Lanarkshire.
In the final Stirling1 dominated their Hamilton based opposition with a heavy victory. Stirling3 however could not repeat the heroics of the semi final and were ultimately well beaten by a veteran Lanarkshire team. It all came down to Stirling2 to decide the Maxwell Trophy. One shot down in the last end Stirling had last stone advantage.
With his final rock Brian Ferguson faced a half guarded Lanarkshire counter. There was silence in the building but Brian was not affected by the pressure nailing the hack-weight take-out to pick up the two, the game, and with it the Maxwell Trophy 2022/23.
Skips Brian Ferguson, John Davie and Lee McCleary get their hands on the Maxwell Trophy 
Stirling’s captain, Gavin Fleming, collected the impressive Maxwell Trophy on behalf of his team. Gavin thanked all players and spectators and explained that this is the first time that Stirling has won the Maxwell in its 75 year history, making the win particularly special.
Full details on the Scottish Curling Website.
- Falling short in Forfar
Stirling Ice Rink teams needed two points to qualify for the next round of the Maxwell Trophy and only achieved a single point thanks to a very close game by Team Ferguson that came down to the last stone to win overall by one shot but unfortunately a very difficult shot had to be achieved but ended up millimeters out to give a single to Forfar and a draw. The other two teams were eventually edged out over the eight ends. Last minute call offs and a scramble for replacements didn’t help nor an injured skip.