scottish Curling Teams Aim for Gold at European Championship Following Near Misses
LOHJA, Finland – Scotland’s men’s and women’s curling teams begin their quest for European Championship titles saturday in Lohja, Finland, seeking to improve upon last year’s results and sharpen their form ahead of the Winter Olympics. Both teams return to the site of the 2023 championship, where Team Mouat secured silver and Team Morrison claimed bronze.
Last November, Team Mouat, the top seed, fell to Germany in the final, while Team Morrison edged out Italy for the bronze medal. This year,both Scottish rinks are steadfast to reach the top of the podium,viewing the European Championship as crucial planning for the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina in February.
“I felt like we settled for the minimum last year because we’d had such a fantastic week,” said Rebecca Morrison, lead for the women’s team. “This year, we’re really excited because we no we’re capable and we’d love to go in and win it.”
The men’s team shares that ambition, still motivated by their near miss in 2023. “We had a really dominant week and came up short in the final, so we’d like to put that right,” explained Grant Hardie, third for Team Mouat.
The European Championship’s format – a round-robin followed by semi-finals and a final – closely mirrors the Olympic structure, providing valuable competitive experience. The event also offers a key possibility to assess their standing against many of their Olympic rivals.
“It is a sort of final tune-up in that environment and a real good test of where we’re at before february,” Hardie added. “We’ve been on a really hot run and we don’t want to let our opponents see any kind of weaknesses by slipping up. We want to remind them that we are hopefully going to be the team to beat come February.”
Team Mouat enters the Olympic Games as strong contenders, having won silver at the 2022 Games, while Team Morrison also aims for a podium finish in Milan-Cortina.
