The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Perth curler desperate to pull off scottish hat-trick
Smith targets Japan victory as Muirhead relishes return to Asia
Perth curler Kyle Smith is seeking to pull off a Scottish hat-trick at the Karuizawa International in Japan this week.
It marks a first trip to Asia for the majority of the team as they seek to follow in the footsteps of previous winners, Sochi silver medallists Tom Brewster and David Murdoch.
The competition is also one of the last tournaments for Team GB standardbearers ahead of the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea next year.
Smith, who will be making his debut in the Games next year, noted that travelling east will provide the perfect opportunity to test out preparations for PyeongChang.
He said: “We are really looking forward to this tournament as it is our first time in Asia except for Glen (Muirhead – part of Team Brewster who won the title last year).
“There will be a lot of new experiences for us, a different culture, food and time zone and it is a great time to experience all of this before February.
“It is very important for us to get a good feel for this before we head back to this part of the world so we are comfortable when we enter the holding camp.
“We will have seen it all before and we are grateful to have been given this opportunity.
“There was great feedback from other British Curling teams who have been here previously and obviously like them we want to have success here too.
“Our approach this week will be slightly different given we want to absorb as much as possible because of what it is ahead of us.”
The rest of the team comprises Thomas Muirhead, Kyle Waddell and Cammy Smith.
Eve Muirhead’s newly-crowned European Championship-winning side is also at the event in what is a strong women’s field.
The Sochi bronze medallists also relished the prospect of competing in Japan having taken part in the event last year.
Courier columnist Muirhead said: “It’s been a pretty intense period leading up to and including the Europeans, so it is really nice to be in Japan to round off 2017.
“We had a great welcome at this event last year. We loved the people, their culture and really loved the food.
“We also know how useful this will be for our Olympic preparations, making sure we get all our processes right for the change in time zones.
“It has been a great year and we have an amazing Olympic year to look forward to and I can’t think of a better place to be at this stage of our preparations.”
The competition gets under way today.