Cortina finalists Team Mouat may be absent from the line-up, but there will still be two Olympic silver medallists skipping teams currently ranked in the world’s top 10 on show in the men’s event at this week’s Hardie Engineering Scottish Curling Championships (Feb 24-28) in Dumfries.
For Ross Whyte, who was on the bench throughout the last campaign in Beijing in 2022, it was a very different Olympic experience, staying at home this time around to ensure that he and teammates Robin Brydone, Craig Waddell and Euan Kyle literally leave no stone unturned in their bid for a third successive national title. 
However, as part of a close-knit British Curling set-up, he still felt the pride and the pain as World Champions and world number one ranked Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan once again came up just short in their bid for the sport’s ultimate prize.
“It was very different watching the boys from home and supporting,” Whyte admitted.
“It was certainly a devastating finish and we know how much they wanted that gold medal, so to see some of your best mates try and achieve their goals and unfortunately just come up short after a valiant four years really where they fully deserved to get it was tough to watch.
“You could see in their post match interviews, how much it meant, but the boys spoke brilliantly and really showed that not only are they amazing athletes but they are human as well.
“I think they left everyone with a great impression of our sport and how we carry ourselves as curlers.
“It shows what great ambassadors they are and also what good people they are.”
His focus now shifts, however, to what could be the biggest playing opportunity of his and his teammates’ career as the men currently ranked fourth in the world aim to demonstrate their readiness for a first ever trip to the World Championships by coming out on top in the five team field at the nationals, where they can also take a step towards making history.
“We are looking forward to the Scottish this week and we will certainly try and go out there and win for a third year in a row,” said Whyte.
“No matter how many teams there are in the line-up it is an event that always means a lot to us and being crowned Scottish Champions again would be great if we can get over the line this year. 
“We are certainly hoping that is the case and I believe it has never been won four years in a row so this would be a step towards that if we manage this week the way we want to.
“We hope a good week would lead to selection at the Worlds and if we got that opportunity it would be really amazing to be able to represent Scotland on the world stage and we would really look forward to that.
“We have shown that we are one of the top teams in the world and we feel like we have challenged Team Mouat really well throughout this cycle, so to see them perform so well on the World, European and Olympic stage really gives us the belief that we can go out there and put in a really good performance.
“We just want that opportunity and we would be one of the higher ranked teams if we got that chance.”
With the Scottish Championships being live streamed, Whyte also believes this represents an opportunity to build on the massive interest in the sport generated at the Winter Olympics.
“There are many good teams heading to Dumfries this week with two men’s teams in the world top 10 so I hope we can keep people watching,” he added.
The third of those Scottish teams currently ranked in the world’s top 10 are led by Kyle Waddell, who supported Team Mouat at the Olympics as their fifth player this time around.
A member of the Team GB men’s line-up at the 2018 Games in Korea, his Olympic experience was very different this time around, but like Whyte he is keen to help his sport maximise the benefit of the exposure it has had.
“Eight years on from PyeongChang feels a long time ago to be honest and I’m not sure your first Olympics compares to anything, but I have enjoyed being part of this team’s journey,” said Waddell
“They are a great group of boys and even though we had mixed emotions, I was proud to be standing alongside them on that podium.
“The last couple of weeks have been great on the whole and obviously there was immense disappointment after losing the final, but that shows the intent and goals this team had. 
“I think curling as a whole has boomed yet again at an Olympics and I am very hopeful that in Scotland and in the UK we can grow the sport and provide more opportunities for people to watch more curling and try it themselves.”
His own team’s achievements this season have been extraordinary as, partnered by Mark Watt, Angus Bryce and Blair Haswell for the first time, they have steadily climbed the world rankings to that current top 10 slot, which was all the more impressive after they brushed off the potential disruption of Waddell’s brother Craig making a late switch to join Team Whyte when their regular second Duncan McFadzean suffered a knee injury.
“Our team obviously got a bit more interest due to the line-up change, but I am happy with how the season has gone since then,” said Waddell.
“We have put a lot of work in throughout the season to work towards building the team we want to be.
“One of our goals this season was to break into the top 12 and we currently sit inside that.
“We have one more goal to tick off the list this season and we will be working hard to do that this week.
“In terms of medium to long term, I’m not sure exactly what its going to look like and I think after this season we will sit down and discuss things and go from there, but for now, I just want to focus on winning a Scottish title.”
As well as Team Mouat, the Championship will also take place without Scottish Junior Champions Team Carson who are taking part in the World Men’s Junior Championships which take place in Denmark this week.
However it remains a strong field which includes two more Olympians, Waddell’s 2018 teammates Glen and Thomas Muirhead.
Waddell’s men open their account against an Aberdeen line-up skipped by 2024 Winter Olympic gold medallist Ethan Brewster, while Whyte’s start against Perth’s Team Thomson.
Please click here for the draw
Images: Kyle Waddell – Team GB and Team Waddell and Team Whyte images – Anil Mungal/TCG
