It is with great sadness that the Welsh Curling Association announces the death of Hugh Meikle, one of the Founders of the Association, and a pillar of its function over the years. Hugh was 75 and passed away after a short but courageous battle with leukaemia. He was born in Birkenhead on 25th December 1940, son of Hugh and Elsie. He qualified as a Chemical Engineer and met and married Elizabeth (Liz) in 1964. They moved to Toronto, Canada in 1967 where his love of curling began. When he returned to the UK in 1973, he started Curling at Deeside with Don Cowan, Alan Battle and John Stone, and - with great support from the Royal Caledonian Curling Club - the Welsh Curling Association was born. At the time Hugh was Ice Rink Manager, and ensured as good ice as possible, although he had to struggle with a tricky ice pad with negative fall that some of us older members recall with more interest than fondness. He later became Ice Rink manager at Aviemore, and also spent time working in Libya before becoming a landlord in the North Wales area and owning a catering company with Liz. Latterly he enjoyed and thrived in his work at Asda. Throughout this time, he continued to influence the WCA positively. He was a co-founder of the Four (then Three) Nations Curling Tournament and also represented Wales in the European Mens Curling Championship on 7 occasions, the World Senior Curling Championships on 7 occasions, and (the highlight of his on-ice career) at the World Championships in Brandon, Manitoba in 1995, where the Welsh team beat both Eigel Ramsfjell’s Norwegian team and Peja Lindholm’s Swedish team. He was the most senior and hard working of all our coaches. His infinite patience, his kindness and his great depth of curling knowledge made him an ideal coach and he helped and supported many of the current Welsh curlers of all levels, from the elite Mens team to beginners and “Try Curling “ visitors. Outside curling, he enjoyed golf (single figure handicap) and watching Rugby League. He was wonderful friend, both on and off the ice, whether you were playing with him, against him or learning from him. Hugh was a great raconteur, he had a lively sense of humour and fun, and a tireless work ethic. He was certainly one of lifes’ true gentlemen, respected by curlers from all over the world as well as his many friends and his recent work colleagues at Asda., as is evident from the many generous tributes which have poured in since his passing. Hugh leaves behind his wife Liz, his sons, Adrian and Jamie, his granddaughters Danielle and Charlotte and his sisters Margaret and Ann His funeral will be held at Chester Crematorium in Blacon CH1 5BB on 1st March at 12:00