The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Olympians ready for Worlds play-off
From PyeongChang to Perth, Smith and Muirhead in Dewar’s Centre battle
The first ever play-off between Britain’s curling Olympians and Scottish champions takes place at Perth this weekend to determine who goes to the World Championships.
It is a quick turnaround for Teams Smith and Muirhead, who only returned from PyeongChang at the start of the week after narrowly missing out on medals.
Kyle Smith’s rink face Team Mouat and Eve Muirhead’s play Team Fleming.
The best-of-three event is at the Dewar’s Centre today and tomorrow, with the women’s World Championship being staged in North Bay, Canada, and the men’s in Las Vegas.
Muirhead, who won the Worlds back in 2013 and is the current European champion, says her team are ready for the head to head with the team that has consisently pushed them hardest domestically.
“To get the chance to represent your country is very special and after winning the Europeans and finishing fourth at the Olympics, we would love to finish our season with a really good result,” she said.
“As a team we fight for places at major championships year in and year out, so this is no different to that. This will be similar to the final of the Scottish Championships in that it is a do-or-die situation.
“Hannah (Fleming) and her team thoroughly deserved to win that title and we now have to go out and compete for that place at the Worlds.
“The Olympics is like being in a bubble which brings huge media interest to our sport and I hope that continues in Perth this weekend. It will be special to go and compete on a rink where I started my curling career on the back of a Games and we will make the most of the home support there.”
Team Mouat started the season with two wins across the Atlantic at the Oakville Classic and Stu Sells before becoming the first British men’s rink to win a Grand Slam.
In doing so, Mouat became the youngest skip ever to win a slam when he claimed that title at the Boost National.
Smith said: “We are really looking forward to the first ever world play-off. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to still have the chance to represent Scotland at the World Championships, so we are very grateful to be in this position.
“We have had a few days to try and get back into normal sleeping patterns and we are hoping after the Olympics there is increased interest from the public in this event and hoping there is a bit of a buzz about the rink.”