The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Olympic curlers begin preparations for PyeongChang on home ice
Curling: Top teams gather in Perth for ‘one of best events in Europe to compete in’
Perth Olympic curlers Team Smith begin their final preparations for PyeongChang next month, when the Mercure City of Perth Masters gets under way today.
Kyle Smith’s rink, ranked ninth in the world, can rely on plenty of local support as they take on the world-class field assembled at the Dewar’s Centre.
Smith, who skipped his team to a silver medal at the recent European Championships and finished third at the Karuizawa International at the end of last year, is keen to get back to international-standard competition ice.
He said: “We can’t wait to get started at Perth. It’s a rink the team all thoroughly enjoy playing in, and one of the best events in Europe to compete in.
“Paul (Martin, the venue’s ice-maker) always makes a good job of the ice, so we know what to expect when we start.
“It will be good to get going again after time off for Christmas and the new year to recharge the batteries, and we are hoping to find some of the form we had in our last two competitions of 2017 at the Europeans and the Karuizawa International where we performed and worked well together.”
One of a magnificent seven Olympic teams in the line-up, Smith will also be challenged for the title by a number of domestic rivals from the British Curling elite programme.
Team Mouat, who entered the record books as the first Scottish men’s team to claim a Grand Slam title and have shot up to 16th in the world rankings in their first season together, are also ready to test recent good form which has seen them claim three titles in Canada this season, as well as finishing their year on a high after they won the Dumfries Challenger Series.
British Curling’s Team Bryce as well as Team Drummond skipped by Sochi silver medallist Greg Drummond, of Angus, will also be competing in Perth, along with fellow Olympic silver medallist Tom Brewster who will hope to skip his team to a successful title defence with a different team this year.
“I am looking forward to returning to the Perth Masters to defend last year’s victory. It’s always an event I enjoy and I have had great success at it over the years and I’m proud to have the most title wins at this event.
“The field is always strong and a good test for any team,” said Brewster.
In a field which also includes seven of the world’s top-20 ranked teams, other notable participants include Sweden’s European champions Team Edin (world ranked 2), Switzerland’s Team De Cruz (7), Norway’s Team Ulsrud (10) and Team Walstad (20) and Canada’s Team Simmons (17), as well as former Scottish champion Ewan MacDonald, a multiple world and European champion.
Admission to the Perth Masters is free, and the World Curling Federation will be webcasting some of the games over the four days of competition.
The field is always strong and a good test for any team. TOM BREWSTER