THE Olympic and Paralympic veterans have done what was required of them and it now falls to a couple of youngsters to ensure that Team GB has a full complement of curlers in Pyeonchang next year.
Not that 23-year-old Gina Aitken and 22-year-old Bruce Mouat lack experience of what confronts them in the Canadian town of Lethbridge this weekend because it is the fourth time in five years that the Edinburgh-based pair have represented Scotland at the World Mixed Doubles Championships which start today.
This time, though, with the teams skipped by Dave Murdoch, who won silver at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Eve Muirhead, who claimed bronze there and Aileen Neilson, who picked up another bronze at the ensuing Winter Paralympics, having already earned the points required to ensure British involvement in their disciplines, Aitken and Mouat have the added pressure of seeking to make sure their country is involved when mixed doubles makes its first appearance on the Olympic stage.
A fourth-placed finish 12 months ago earned valuable qualifying points, but with Korea guaranteed their place as hosts, only seven teams can qualify and, with a total of 39 countries vying for places over the next week, there is considerable work to be done.
“Being in fourth right now isn’t a guarantee so it’s not comfortable, but we know what we need to do and we’re confident we can do it,” said Mouat.
Few have proven themselves better at coping with such pressure in recent times, however, than the lad who has skipped teams to gold medals at last year’s World Junior Championships and this season’s World University Games, as well as out-performing established full-time curlers at the recent Scottish Championships where they met Murdoch’s rink in the final.
“There’s been a lot of really good moments,” Mouat acknowledged.
“Reflecting on what’s happened over the past year, starting with a new team after winning the World Juniors last year, going to the World University Games, winning a gold medal there was the reward for all the hard work we put into forming the relationship we wanted.”
That academic background has done Mouat since he and Aitken have been involved in a great deal of mental calculation as they take on a new challenge in the sport since mixed doubles is not only new to the Olympics, but to the sport as a whole, its world championships having been instituted little more than a decade ago.
A shorter, sharper version of curling it has the potential to be its equivalent of T20 cricket or seven-a-side rugby, making it more accessible to both players and spectators, but the tactics are still evolving.
“We’ve seen a huge change,” said Mouat. “Gina and I have known each other since we were eight and I think this is our sixth year playing together and we just started having a bit of fun playing a new format. We loved the sport so much we just thought it was something else to try.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here