There’s something special about Scotland’s curling venues when the ice is full of curlers and so is the bar.
They are great places – as we’ll see again at the Dewars centre this weekend for the annual Perth Masters.
I’ve certainly spent more hours than I could ever count in them.
Curling is like golf with the spread of age groups who can take part – and it’s like golf from the social side of things as well.
2023 was a year when rinks came under threat, with Ayr’s closing in September despite 10,000 signing a petition and the community coming together to try and save it.
Hopefully it won’t be somewhere else in 2024.
That’s my biggest new year wish for curling.
There were over 500 curlers used Ayr’s facility and I’d hate to see any more going.
The good news is that right now, everything seems to be ticking along well at Dewars in Perth.
Catering is back, the bar has been open and it seems as if there’s been a lot more people through the door, which is great.
So I would say, on the whole, my concern level has gone down.
There’s not as much talk about it compared to this time last year, which is always a good sign.
Olympic points up for grabs
On the ice, this will be the year when the 2026 Winter Olympics start to feel real for curlers who hope to make it to Milan-Cortina.
Qualification points are awarded in the World Championships.
Although a home Olympics will never be far away from their minds, the Italian men will want to claim a major championships gold having missed out in the Europeans in Aberdeen.
There are a few fascinating national sub-plots developing.
The Canadian championships will be as competitive and hard to predict as ever but there’s been a definite power shift over the last couple of years and I’d say about three-quarters of Grand Slam fields comprise European and Asian teams these days.
There hasn’t been a Canada gold in the men’s since 2017 and in the women’s since 2018.
That’s a long time for a country that used to dominate the sport.
Team Mouat v Team Whyte in Scotland is a genuinely world class domestic rivalry.
On fire!🔥 https://t.co/5DfhvvH42w
— Team Whyte (@Team_Whyte) December 17, 2023
They’ll be up against each other this weekend in Perth then it’s the Scottish Championships at Dumfries after that.
We’re lucky to have the reigning World and European champs and a team pushing them who were in the final of the last Slam.
It could be a very interesting selection meeting for the team that goes to the Worlds!
Over in Sweden, will this be the year Team Hasselborg re-establish their authority over Team Wrana?
Best till last last
Maybe the highlight of the curling calendar will be right at the end when our own Kelly Schafer, who emigrated to Canada, returns to Scotland to compete with a Maple Leaf on her back in the World Mixed.
What are the chances of getting the Canadian Mixed in her new home town and the World Mixed 40 minutes up the road from Montrose, her old home town!
That’s definitely a date I’ve got in my diary.
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