FOR older Glaswegians, as the book, Played in Glasgow, observes, mention of Crossmyloof ice-rink “always elicits a response of one kind or another, some recalling it fondly as a place where couples met and fun was to be had, others shivering at the memory of how cold and draughty it became”.
The rink, writes Ged O’Brien, was opened in 1907, with an ice pad large enough for six curling rinks to be in play at once despite the “one design flaw” – the presence, in the middle of the rink, of a line of columns that supported the main roof trusses.
This may not have been a problem for curlers but their presence cannot have made life easy for the players in the inaugural Scotland-England ice hockey international, in 1909.
The rink was substantially redeveloped in 1928-29, with the columns banished from the ice and with seating for more than 1,300 spectators. In time, the ice rink was extended to 223ft in length, and the seating capacity was hoisted to almost 2,000. An extra ice pad was added in the mid-1930s, accommodating another four curling rinks.
The Herald picture archives contain images of many tournaments that were staged at Crossmyloof. Above is a scene from a match in January 1950 between the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and a team of Canadian curlers; the latter had just begun a month’s tour of Scotland and this was their opening fixture. The main image is from the 1956 ladies’ world curling championship.
The Crossmyloof rink continued to operate until its closure in February 1986, “hardly mourned”, says O’Brien, “partly because it was replaced by a rink at the newly-opened Summit Centre in Finnieston”.
* Ged O’Brien: Played in Glasgow: Charting the heritage of a city at play (2010)
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