World medal is stuff of dreams
Representing Scotland on the world stage went down as an unforgettable and special experience.
But returning home with a bronze medal was the stuff of dreams for Auchterarder curler Mark Watt.
The 20-year-old has been reflecting on clinching third at the World Junior Curling Championships with Team Craik in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk.
A former Community School of Auchterarder student, Mark teamed up with skip James Craik, Blair Haswell, Angus Bryce and Niall Ryder.
The Scots’ competition did not get off to the best of starts with back-to-back group stage defeats against Italy and hosts Russia.
But a stunning comeback secured a semifinal place and, while Switzerland came out victorious, Mark and Co were far from done.
They returned for the bronze medal match against Germany and showed great composure to record a 6-5 win.
“We got off to a bad start, losing the first two games,” Mark admitted. “But we managed to turn that around and raise our game to a higher level to get some wins against some great teams from around the world.”
On the bronze medal match, Mark continued: “It was great to be involved in. To be there on the last day of competition, fighting for a medal in front of the world, was just an awesome feeling.
“I don’t think the team felt any added pressure because we all supported each other and stuck to our processes.
“We knew the only way to get that medal was to play at our best, which is what we did.
“To represent Scotland at the world juniors was an unforgettable experience. Walking out on the first day as Team Scotland was just amazing.
“And to come home with a medal at the end of it all just rewarded us for the amount of hard work we put in all season.”
Team Craik, whose world spot was secured after a win at the Scottish Junior Championships, have gone from strength to strength this season.
“This season for the team has been great,” said Mark. “To achieve most of our goals in our first season together is just unbelievable.
“We have gained a massive amount of experience from being at the world juniors that we will take with us into next season. We only have one competition left as a team and then some of us are playing some mixed doubles events.
“Obviously confidence is high right now but we still have plenty of training and hard work to put in before the end of this season.
“And also before the start of next season to achieve more success.”
Skip of Team Craik, James Craik, was proud of the bronze medal triumph and heaped praise on his mates.
“It’s amazing to win bronze,” he said. “As soon as we made the playoffs we had our hearts set on a medal and to walk away with one is unbelievable.”