Shot of gin for local curlers’ Olympic bid

Stirling company backTeam Murdoch’s campaign

The creators of Stirling Gin have teamed up with Scotland’s top curlers as they launch their bid for Olympic gold.

June and Cameron McCann are sponsoring Stirling-based Team Murdoch as they compete for selection to represent Great Britain at the next Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The team – skip David Murdoch, Michael Goodfellow, Greg Drummond, and Scott Andrews – won Olympic silver at the Sochi Games two years ago.

They hope to go one better in Pyeongchang in 2018 and have been backed by Stirling Gin as main sponsors on that journey.

June said: “Gin and ice has always been a good combination so when Team Murdoch got in touch to see if we wanted to get involved we thought why not?

“We’re both local enterprises with our roots firmly in Stirling and like Team Murdoch, the team behind Stirling Gin are aiming for the top.

“The curlers travel and compete all over the world so it’s a great way for us to get the word about Stirling Gin out there while at the same time helping them achieve their goals.”

On Sunday, Team Murdoch - who train at the PEAK - flew to Canada for the start of a gruelling competition schedule leading up to the Scottish and World Curling Championships next year.

But before they left, the four men surprised drinkers with a visit to the third Stirling Gin Festival at the city’s Highland Hotel where they chatted to local people and showed off their Olympic medals.

Stirling-born Michael Goodfellow said: “We’re delighted to have the support of Stirling Gin behind us and it’s great to be involved with an innovative local company.

“Cameron and June are a lovely couple and they’re so supportive always texting to see how our competitions are going and showing a real interest in the sport.”

Team Murdoch will spend the next two weeks in Canada before travelling to Japan and then back to Canada for a series of curling competitions.

Michael added: “We’ve got a busy few months coming up and then selection for the Winter Olympics will be made around May next year.

“Since Sochi, we’ve been training and competing together, gaining experience and confidence with the ultimate aim of being selected for South Korea.

“Getting silver at the last Olympics was a great experience and we’re all keen to get back there and win a medal again.

“And, of course, we really want the gold this time.”