The return of curling, and any other sport that matter, still seems like a long way off in the distance but decisions are being taken in the background.
And disappointingly, Scottish Curling have made a very contentious one.
Out of the blue, they have announced that next season’s Scottish Championships are being switched to Dumfries Curling Club.
The event has been held at the Dewars Centre in Perth for as long as I can remember.
That doesn’t mean that things have to be set in stone forever but if you are going to take it away from Perth, it has to be to a venue that is better, or at least just as good. Somewhere that has proven to produce championship ice that is fit for purpose and gives teams the best possible build- up to the World Championships.
The quality of the ice at Perth and the ability of the people there to run a week-long tournament (and all the preparation that goes with it) are beyond doubt.
Basically, it’s the best set-up in the country.
Scottish Curling are taking a huge and unnecessary gamble to take it away.
And it’s a gamble at arguably the worst possible time.
With the World Championships having been cancelled, qualifying Britain for the Olympics is going to come down to what happens next season.
That makes the Scottish more important than ever.
Whoever wins will have to finish in the top six at the Worlds.
So you want the best team to become Scottish champions and you want the best conditions to get close to what can be expected at the Worlds a few weeks later.
To put it bluntly, that can’t be guaranteed at Dumfries but it can at Perth.
The lack of consultation has been worrying. If the right people had been spoken to – the athletes who will be taking part, high performance coaches and ice technicians – the decision would have been different, I feel.
Scottish Curling are taking a huge leap into the dark and have put a blindfold on for good measure.
More than ever, curling in Scotland needs to be united and coordinated on all fronts. But what isn’t known is who has made this decision and do they have the knowledge required?
It doesn’t need spelling out how challenging the next few months and years are going to be for our sport.
This really hasn’t been a good start.
The Scottish Championship is the premier event on the curling calendar. It’s an event I’ve been proud to win a few times and it has always provided the sort of preparation the champions need to give themselves the best chance of bringing medals home for our country.
There is a real danger that it is about to be devalued and made unfit for purpose.
You wouldn’t take The Open or The Masters to a local nine-holer and the Scottish curling champs deserve the best conditions they can get as well.
Hopefully common sense will prevail.
* It’s been great to see the public responding to the lockdown guidelines and use common sense when they’ve been out taking their exercise.
What hasn’t been so good, though, are the pictures of a few people not showing respect on golf courses.
Life is hard enough for golf – and will probably get even harder – without folk kicking balls about on greens. That shouldn’t really need to be said.
