Smith reflects on a successful season
Kyle finishes in style with a European Masters win
It’s back to the farm work for Perthshire curling star Kyle Smith.
But the 24-year-old is reflecting on a season which has witnessed his squad become one of the world’s elite.
Team Smith rounded off their activity on the ice at the weekend with a European Masters triumph, defeating Swedes Team Edin 5-4 in the Swiss city of St Gallen.
The Perthshire rink’s performance across the past year has hoisted them up the rankings and into the world’s top 15.
For former Perth Academy pupil Kyle - whose team includes brother Cammy, Thomas Muirhead and Kyle Waddell the brush and stones will temporarily be replaced by dairy and potatoes.
“The plan now is to help out at home,” said the Guildtown-based farmer. “There is a lot of work to do with the dairy and especially the potato side of the family business.
“It was the perfect ending to the season for us to win the European Masters. We have qualified to play in the event the last three years now, which shows the consistency we have had on the tour.
“And to beat Niklas Edin in the final, whose team has been the best on the tour this season, made it even better.
“We have played Niklas’ team a lot this season and they are very tough to beat.
“They have beaten us in quite a few big games before, so it was a great feeling to beat them in a big final.
“We have been pushing hard to rise up the rankings and things have really come together this season.
“We have performed well at some really big events which is hopefully a stepping stone for us to go into bigger things.
“On the year to date rankings we are actually ranked number eight in the world which is huge for us.”
If further evidence was needed for Team Smith’s stature on the world scene, you only need to look back a couple of weeks.
A semi-final appearance at the prestigious Players’ Championships, which was this year held in Toronto, proved how dangerous the Scottish quartet can be.
“The Players Championship was fantastic,” Kyle told the Perthshire Advertiser. “That’s the first time we have qualified for that event and it really was a brilliant experience.
“Only the top 12 teams in the world qualify for that event and we were the
Kyle Smith guided his rink to the European Masters title only Scottish men’s team to qualify.
“The ice was great and we managed to play quite well and on reflection we’re very pleased with our semi final performance.”
It’s a waiting game for Team Smith in the next couple of weeks before finding out what the script is for the 2018 Winter Olympic team selection.
Kyle explained: “In terms of curling we are kind of left in limbo just now as we are waiting for May 5. That’s when the British curling selection panel decides who they will choose for the Olympic team.
“No one really knows what’s going to happen. Either they are going to choose a team - Murdoch, Brewster or ourselves.
“Or alternatively they are going to choose a play-off between the teams. So only time will tell what happens there.”