‘All credit’ to City of Perth Masters team
The Mercure City of Perth Masters has been hailed as a resounding success by athletes who competed in the event.
Won by Sweden’s Team Edin, the four-day event drew in crowds to watch top-class curlers compete ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics.
And yet again, praise has been heaped on organisers as curlers have expressed their feelings on the event.
Semi-finalist Thomas Ulsrud, skip of Norway’s Team Ulsrud, was delighted to take part.
The 46-year-old told the PA:“It’s always good to start the new year off with the City of Perth Masters. It’s a great competition with the best ice, and all credit goes to the organisers.”
Ulsrud, whose team was knocked out in the penultimate round by eventual winners Team Edin, used the opportunity to run the rule over teams he will be facing at February’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
“We maybe didn’t get the best result, but it was the perfect opportunity before the Olympics to play in the teams we will be facing.
“After our semi-final against Sweden, our talk in the locker room was that this was a wake-up call.”
The praise was echoed by Japanese ace Kosuke Morozumi of Team Morozumi, who explained that the chance to play in Scotland was one his team couldn’t turn down.
He said:“It means a lot for us to get the chance to play Olympic teams so close to the Olympics. The timing couldn’t be better. We won one match and lost two, so the result wasn’t great but the Masters helps us a lot.
“There isn’t much chance for us to play teams like this and on ice this good in Japan, so it is really good for us to get as many games overseas as we can.”
Thomas Ulsrud, skip of Norway’s Team Ulsrud, commended the organisers