N-ice start as curling team go international
Fresh from winning their opening event of the season at the 2019 Braehead Open, Olympians Team Glen Muirhead get their first chance to test themselves at international level this week.
The team, led by Perthshire’s Glen Muirhead, won The High Road competition by beating Team Carson 5-4 at the Braehead Curling Rink in Glasgow on Sunday.
Skipper Glen and his team mates are now in Basel to compete in the Swiss Cup over the weekend with the initial stages getting underway yesterday (October 3).
Speaking before the tournament, Glen hailed the team’s positive start to the season.
He said: “Braehead was a great start.
“It was good to get some competitive games under our belts and it worked out quite well for us, implementing our practice into game-plans.
“But this will be our first chance to test ourselves against the top European teams since last year and we are really looking forward to it.”
Glen skipped brother Thomas, Cammy Smith and Craig Waddell, the stand-in in for Kyle Smith in their season opener.
However, this weekend Muirhead is joined by his full team at the Swiss Cup and he feels the inaugural domestic event and early success has prepared them well.
“Hopefully we can carry some momentum from last weekend in Braehead and be in better shape for Basel, as we really want to make the most of our trips abroad this year,” he said.
“We are aiming to build on the intensity and focus we achieved last season, which was about us settling into our new positions and getting results on tour.
“We need to keep building on those foundations and not take anything for granted.
“We are all very competitive by nature, so that should not be a problem for us.”
The Swiss Cup is a 32-team triple knockout tournament and takes place from October 3-6.
The winning side will walk away with prize money of around £10,000.
Following the Swiss Cup, Team Muirhead will take part in the playoffs nest week to represent Scotland at the forthcoming European Championships, with Team Mouat and Grand Slam champions Team Paterson, also part of the highquality field.