Katie McMillan celebrated International Women’s Day in style as she claimed her second national title on successive weekends after she and Angus Bryce went unbeaten through the Scottish Mixed Doubles Curling Championship at Curl Aberdeen.
The 25-year-old was part of Fay Henderson’s team that claimed a third successive Scottish Women’s Championship title just eight days earlier and had carried that excellent form into her partnership with 23-year-old Bryce as they topped their pool with four wins. 
As an established combination, who had won a mixed doubles title together as juniors, so have carried that into the senior game, they then got the better of two pairings of their regular women’s and men’s teammates in the play-offs, beating Laura Watt and Kyle Waddell 11-2 in the semi-finals ahead of the final where they scored a three at the final end to beat Lisa Davie and Mark Watt 9-6.
“The field was very strong so it feels great to clinch the national title undefeated,” said McMillan.
“Mark and Lisa played very well in the final and we went 3-0 down after the first end, so we did a great job to get a three straight back in the second end and we managed to control the game thereafter.”
Hot on the heels of the performances of Team GB’s men’s, women’s and mixed doubles which drew huge attention to the sport at last month’s Winter Olympics in a sport which offers equal opportunities for male and female athletes and in which Britain’s only Olympic gold medals of the modern era have been won by women, McMillan acknowledged the significance of the timing of this win.
“It’s great to have these opportunities as a female athlete on International Women’s Day,” she said.
“I hope I can be a role model for other young athletes to come.”
The win came on the eve of McMillan’s departure with Henderson, Davie, Watt and Hailey Duff for the Women’s World Championships in Calgary (14-22 March) and she is hopeful that the manner of this victory with Bryce has made a powerful case for another World Championship bid, saying: “Selection hasn’t been made yet for the World Mixed Doubles, but it would be great to go to two World Championships this year.”
Please click here for more information about the BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, Calgary, AB (14-22 March).
Images: McMillan/Bryce
