An11-4 win over British Curling colleagues England helped get Scotland’s Charlotte McKenna and Hugh Nibloe off to the ideal start as they began a World Wheelchair Curling Mixed Doubles Championship campaign on home ice that will also decide whether ParalympicsGB is represented in Italy next year.
With Scotland nominated as the country that, over three World Championships, picks up the qualifying points, McKenna and Nibloe headed into the event fully aware that they need a strong finish to improve the overall position from what is currently ninth place among the nations competing for the seven available slots alongside the hosts at those Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. 
For all that the final result of that opening match looked convincing, they were tested early on by England’s Karen Aspey and Stewart Pimblett who had won the pre-match draw shot challenger and with it last stone advantage at the opening end, which they took advantage of to score a two.
However, after levelling the match at the second end, two superb draws from McKenna, with her opening stone at the third end and her final one at the fourth, took the Scots into the break 7-2 up after steals of three and two.
They went on to extend that advantage in the second half and for McKenna in particular, the only one of the quartet who had not taken part in the four player team competition the previous week, it was good to get a potentially awkward encounter out of the way.
“It is always tricky playing your team mates and in the first game too, so it was good to get started and get the nerves settled, but when you are out there they are like any other opposition so you have to do what you have trained to do, but it was good to get that done with,” she said.
“I’ve had 10 days watching the guys competing so I feel fresh and ready for this week, but watching them has meant I have been getting both excited and nervous, so it has been a bit of a rollercoaster and it’s good to finally be here and to start competing.
“I was quite nervous in the first end but after that I settled in and it was a nice win to get.”
Having skipped Scotland through a run which took them tantalisingly close to the play-offs in the team event, Nibloe meanwhile reflected on the change of mindset required for the different discipline.
“Never in mixed doubles do I think the game is done until you are shaking hands,” he said.
“I was looking at other sheets and Poland had been 8-2 down, yet when I came off the ice they were 9-8 up, so it is nerve wracking.
“In the team game you often feel in more control, in mixed doubles you have to be switched on the whole time and can’t let anything go, so even when we were up I couldn’t relax and I guess that is what makes it exciting.
“We managed to see it out and it was good to have a strong performance here to start off our week.
“Charlotte is going to make me look good all week as her shot making really made a difference, she is really strong at drawing, so we need to keep that up and keep it going all week.”
Nibloe acknowledged the scale of the task they are facing, but said that he is relishing it and determined to do everything possible to secure a second qualification for ParalympicsGB for Milan-Cortina, after Scotland got that job done in the team event.
“We are in that difficult situation at the start of the week needing a good finish here to get those qualifying points but it is a challenge and one we are endeavouring to take on,” he said.
”We know what we need to do, so it is a case of doing the best we can all week and hopefully that will take us to the play-offs and get that place for a mixed doubles team in Cortina.
“We love a challenge which is why we are competitors and why we want to fight for wins out there.
“You don’t want things handed to you. We are both looking forward to the challenge and I think having a week of reading the ice last week has given me an advantage, but we need to keep on top of that.
“It’s the start of another competition for me and I feel really up for this week having recharged the batteries after last week and I am good to go.
“I have trained for this all season and we are well supported with the backroom staff here, keeping me feeling fresh and we are so grateful to our lottery funding that gives us that support.”
The Scots subsequently went on to beat Turkiye 9-2 in their second match of the day and now face Korea in their only match of the second day.
For England the Auld Enemy clash was their only match on day one, while they now take on Slovakia and Turkiye on day two, hoping to have made the most of some additional recovery time.
“It’s been a long week and to be honest I felt a little bit tired out there today and we went out there and really tried but when we used our powerplay the shots didn’t come off as we had hoped,” said Aspey.
“I think having just one game today will help us to come back tomorrow, though and really get going.
“We are here to do our best and we would love to make the play offs by the end of the week.”
World Curling Mixed Doubles Championships (March 11-16)
Day One -Tuesday 11 March
Session 2
Scotland – England 11-4
Session 4
Scotland – Turkiye 9-2
Day Two – Wednesday 12 March
Session 5 – 09.30
England – Slovakia
Session 7 – 16.30
England – Turkiye
Session 8 – 20.00
Scotland – Korea
Day Three – Thursday 13 March
Session 10 – 13.00
Scotland - Hungary
Session 12 – 20.00
Scotland – Slovakia
England – ESP
Day Four – Friday 14 March
Session 13 – 09.30
England – Hungary
Session 16 – 20.00
England - Korea
Scotland – ESP
Day Five – Saturday 15 March
Quarter Finals – 10.00
Semi Finals – 17.00
Day Six – Sunday 16 March
Bronze medal match – 10.00
Gold medal match – 16.00
Please click here for results
Watch LIVE streamed games on Curling Stadium Europe and The Curling Channel
Scotland Mixed Doubles Team
Hugh Nibloe (skip)
Charlotte McKenna
Coaches:
Head Coach: Sheila Swan
Team Coach: Niall Ryder
England Mixed Doubles Team
Stewart Pimblett (skip)
Karen Aspey
Coaches:
Head Coach: Tony Lenton
Coach: Rosemary Lenton
Coach: Luke Carson
For more information on our Paralympic Pathway Programme and opportunities please email: Cheryl.lappin@britishcurling.org.uk
Images: World Curling
