Team Fleming are ice cool ahead of Canada challenge
Scotland’s Team Fleming start their World Championship campaign in Canada today.
Hannah Fleming’s rink of Jennifer Dodds, Vicki Wright, Alice Spence and alternate Sophie Jackson earned the right to represent their country by winning their first Scottish title and then defeating Olympians Team Muirhead in the first-ever World Play-off event earlier this month.
Ahead of their first match against Russia’s Team Moiseeva at North Bay’s Memorial Garden, Fleming said: “This has been a two-year project in the making since we got together as a team.
“Our main goal was to develop into a top team in the world that could compete at a World Championship and on the World Tour.”
The team has a strong south west of Scotland representation, with Fleming and Jackson from Dumfries and Dodds and Wright originally from Stranraer, along with coach Nancy Smith also hailing from that area.
The players all juggle their time on ice with working commitments. Fleming is an estate agent, while Dodds is a receptionist, Wright is a nurse and Spence is a lab technician.
Fleming added: “In between our matches we were watching the Olympics. It was great how our sport was projected into the limelight and competing at a major event after the Games is a great opportunity for us and we hope that more people get hooked on curling.“
The strong team dynamic and subsequent performances at the Scottish and World Play-offs has prepared them well for the forthcoming challenge, according to Fleming.
She added: “There was a lot of thought and effort into how to be ready for both events. We built on every performance and brought our A game to the table when it mattered. More importantly we have prided ourselves on being more robust and having a strong dynamic to deal with big occasions and it has been a personal dream for us to represent our country at the Worlds.”
This year’s Wold Championships has a much bigger field and a different play-off format but Fleming feels ready to face rivals including the recent Olympic gold and silver medallists – Sweden and Korea.
“We know the majority of the teams and have played many of them this year so we feel confident we know what to expect and how to play them,” she added. “There are 13 teams and also a new six-team playoff format, so we know the journey is a long affair.”
The top six teams will progress to the play-offs after the round-robin stage (compared to four previously). The first and second ranked teams go into the semi-finals, while the third and sixth and fourth and fifth ranked teams will face each in another qualification game. The medal matches are on Sunday 25 March.