Play Better Golf

With Niall McGill

Competing alongside the country’s best is proving massively beneficial for the development of Beth Farmer.

The Kinross curler has been able to lead her team into numerous British Curling supported events amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Held at the National Curling Academy in Stirling, Scotland’s top talent have met for a range of tournaments to maintain competitive action.

This week’s NCA Elite Finals is the latest test on the ice and one that fills the gap of the cancelled national championships.

Farmer (20) said: “The Scottish would have been this week. It’s good that we’re still getting this amazing opportunity to keep playing the best teams.

“When the first competition was announced it was great to put some practice into play.

“It was something to look forward to.

“There have been different ideas and the second competition was played as a set of 10. We played some of the boys’ teams.

“Given everything that is going on, a lot of hard work has been put in to make these events happen.

“The teams we’re playing just now are the best in Scotland.

“We’re playing the best of the best at the moment.

“A lot of the teams we are playing would usually be away playing Grand Slams. That’s quite surreal for us.”

Farmer, alongside teammates Kirstin Bousie, Katie McMillan and Nicola Joiner, are part of the British Curling performance programme.

“We’ve been together for four years now,” Farmer said. “We know each other inside out.

“If we weren’t involved with British Curling we probably wouldn’t have stepped foot on ice this season.

“I can see the changes in the team starting to happen and all the wee technical things.

“It’s a lot of commitment but all worth it.

“We’ve been doing a lot of technical work. The first few competitions were a wee bit ropey trying to find our feet.

“We were getting used to changes as well as thinking about game-plan and shotmaking. It’s coming together now.”

This week Farmer and her team have again come up against Olympian Eve Muirhead, a curler who they admired growing up.

“I was seven when I started curling and never really had a thought of how far I would go,” Farmer told the PA.

“I kept putting in work and ice time. It’s amazing how far you can go if you try.

“Early teens I remember always seeing Eve Muirhead and you think: ‘Maybe one day.’

“We’ve only ever played Eve once outwith these recent events. It was at the Scottish ladies last year.

“It wasn’t too bad for us and this year we have been there or thereabouts. It keeps you pushing on to think you are not too far behind.”

It remains difficult to plan for the future due to the pandemic but Farmer is remaining completely focused.

“This year we would’ve been trying to win the Scottish Juniors again,” she added. “It’s our last year in the juniors.

“It took a bit of getting over when that was all cancelled.

“It feels like an off-season right now.

“But we’re taking advantage of all the extra training and gym time we’re getting.

“We’re still setting goals that we can try to achieve. Even if it’s in the gym, we’re still setting goals and looking to smash them.

“For next season, I think planning will start once these events are out of the way and the ladies’ and men’s worlds are done.

“Hopefully we’ll get abroad to play at some point and get back to the competitions.”

This week’s event started on Monday and runs through until Saturday. Finals take place at 1.30pm.