A CURLING volunteer from Troon has vowed that she has ‘no plans’ to retire despite being recognised by the Queen for her work to the sport.

Kirsty Letton, who has been volunteering for over 40 years in curling and has been the driving force behind Ayr Curling Club, is set to meet the Queen in November to receive an MBE for her services to the sport.

The 78-year-old is determined to help others to continue and enjoy curling.

She said: “It’s a wonderful sport, the very first game I played was the first time I had spent two or three hours totally absorbed. I came off and thought ‘this is for me’. I would miss it a lot if I was to give it up. I have no plans to stop at all, as long as I’m fit and able I’ll keep going.”

Kirsty was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Volunteering award at the sportscotland Coach, Officiating and Volunteering Awards and since 2014, she has been behind the Try Curling, Beginners, Improvers and Curling’s Cool programmes in Ayr, which have seen the number of active coaches delivering sessions increase dramatically.

Kirsty’s approach has motivated hundreds of South Ayrshire primary school pupils to have fun on the ice at curling taster sessions.

Since winning the Lifetime Achievement Award, Ayr Curling Club have been boosted by the arrival of Olympic silver-medallist Scott Andrews as a development officer.

She added: “We are delighted to have Scott, to have someone with that kind of experience has been great for the club and curling in the area. We’ve had such a good response from the schools Scott goes out to that I’m not quite sure how we’ll cope with it all. To be honest after so many years in the sport it is still brilliant to see such enthusiasm for it from the next generation.”

Stewart Harris, sportscotland Chief Executive, commented: “Kirsty has dedicated her life to curling in Scotland, inspiring many to take up the sport and help the nation perform on the world stage.

“In her incredible 40 years as a volunteer she has helped make curling more accessible for hundreds of youngsters and encouraged people of all ages to be the best players they can be. Kirsty is a credit to the sport and volunteering.”