Curling: Scots aim for Euro gold but worlds entry is priority

THE 2011 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships get under way in Moscow today and both Scots teams have travelled with real medal hopes.

At last year’s Europeans, Scottish skip Eve Muirhead had to settle for silver, and this year with her new line-up of lead Claire Hamilton, second Vicki Adams, third Anna Sloan and alternate Kay Adams, with Muirhead’s father Gordon as team coach, she is looking to go one better.

Two-times world champion David Murdoch skips the Scottish men’s team of lead Richard Woods, second Ross Paterson, third Glen Muirhead, alternate David Edwards, coached by David Ramsay, and he too is looking to add to the three European titles he already holds.

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The European Championships acts as a qualifying event for the following world championships, and the Scots are clear on their priorities. Murdoch speaks for both skips when he says, “the target, as always, is to get Scotland qualified. The we’ll take it from there”.

While both teams are aware of the qualification pressure, both skips are experienced enough to deal with it. Muirhead says, “This year we’re going to play hard to get to the final again. The Europeans is a great event, and I’m looking forward to it.”

The women are first on the ice, with two round-robin games today against Norway, then Denmark. In between, the men open their campaign against Italy. The competition format sees ten teams in a round-robin, with medal games taking place on Friday and next Saturday.