Team Kinnear to take on the best
It’s an ice rink he feels comfortable competing in and Callum Kinnear hopes that plays to his advantage at Dewars Centre this week.
The Mercure City of Perth Masters swept into life on Thursday afternoon with teams from across the globe all hunting for the top prize of more than £7000.
Olympic bronze medallists Team de Cruz, from Switzerland, and Norway’s former world champions Team Ulsrud are among the high-profile field of entries.
But local rink Team Kinnear - skip Callum, Luke Carson, Ryan McCormack and fellow Perth player Matthew McKenzie - are out to throw a spanner in the works.
Callum is aware of the size of the task and said: “This will be the first time we have played in this event as a team so I’m looking forward to it.
“I have played in previous years in different line-ups but going in as a junior team will be a good experience.
“And it give us a chance to play against some of the best teams in Scotland and from across the world.
“The Perth Masters always has a strong field of teams so there’s no doubt that we are going to have some tough opposition but we just need to play our game and see how it all goes.
“For me and Matthew it is our home ice rink so being able to compete in an event of this standard on home ice is brilliant. I wouldn’t say we have any more advantage on the ice as it’s the same for both teams, but I would say we feel more comfortable and maybe that makes the difference. If we are to make it to the later stages that would be great as we will have to play some good curling to get there.”
It’s been a productive season for Team Kinnear so far which has included winning the Inverness under-21 slam back in November.
“From starting out as a new line-up this season we have had a great start to the season, winning our fair share of under 21 events and men’s events,” Callum said.
“Having this great success is always good but you can’t win all of the time and we have struggled from time to time. Form can come and go but as a whole it’s been going great.
“We are looking forward to getting stuck in to the second half of the season with the Perth Masters just around the corner.” Callum has grown up playing the sport at Dewars Centre