It goes without saying that I’m over the moon to have been selected to represent Scotland at the European Championships next month.
I would never take it for granted, even in normal times, but as anyone who has followed this column will know, this has been no normal season.
The squad system has been stressful and pressurised but it has brought out the best in us and, for me, it has produced the result I was hoping for.
To be able to call ourselves Team Muirhead again does feel great.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/6s29JUXqTU
— Team Muirhead (@Team_Muirhead) October 26, 2021
Yes, the chopping and changing of line-ups was for a purpose and there were some great tournaments for everyone involved, but being able to build a tight group again will be brilliant.
We know who the five girls and our coach are now and hopefully this will be us all the way through to Beijing.
I know that the curling world has been intrigued by GB Curling’s approach.
We’re the first of the top level curling nations to go down this route.
Who knows, it might give us an advantage.
To have Mili Smith, another girl whose home rink is Perth, is great as well.
Our brothers were together in the last men’s Olympic team and it’s nice to be able to continue a Perthshire curling tradition.
The 100 days to go landmark for the Olympics has been low-key for me this week.
I’ve not been paying the same attention to those sort of things this time around for obvious reasons.
We’re not guaranteed to be there and I just want to focus on the hard work we need to put in to get there.
That’s not to say I’m blocking it out completely.
The disabled curlers are currently competing in what will be the Olympic curling arena.
It’s been converted from the swimming pool where Michael Phelps did his thing in the summer Games.
Beijing will be the first city to do ‘the double’ and because 2008 is still fresh in our minds, there are a lot of iconic venues.
When you see that only 57 athletes are expected to be part of Team GB, that brings it home how special it would be to be part of another one as well.
The beauty of a Winter Olympics is it’s so intimate.
Everybody in the British squad gets to know each other on first-name terms.
And, with medals being quite rare, you all share in the buzz of a Brit getting on the podium.
Fingers crossed I’ll be paying a lot closer attention to the 30 days to go milestone!
Big congratulations to Team Mouat.
For a team from Scotland to win three Grand Slams in a row is an incredible achievement.
It really is.
They’re clearly a very talented group of curlers but I’ve seen how hard they work as well.
Phenomenal hat-trick for @TeamMouat as they win 3⃣rd #GSOC event in a row and 4⃣th straight win on Canadian ice at The Masters. #MastersGSOC #curling #roadtobeijing https://t.co/X3WSb6FEC2
— British Curling (@BritishCurling) October 24, 2021
You need both to get to the level they’re at.
This season is all about peaking for the Olympics in a few months, so I would expect the likes of reigning champs Team Edin to time their run for then.
But if the Games were starting next week, you’d have to say our guys would be favourites for gold.
