The third stop on the Grand Slam of Curling tour is the Canadian Open, which started yesterday right here in Yorkton, SK, and boasts 32 of the world鈥檚 top curling teams; 16 female and 16 male.
And while every team will be trying to conquer the new triple knockout format and become Canadian Open champions, two teams in particular, hailing from the wee country of Scotland, will be looking to not only make some noise throughout the competition but to rebound from a somewhat disastrous 2014 Masters.
Both the David Murdoch rink out of Aberdeen, Scotland, and the Eve Muirhead rink from the Dunkeld Curling Club in Pitlochry, Scotland, had identical 1-3 records to kick off the Grand Slam of Curling tour at The Masters in Selkirk and because of their 1-3 records, both teams failed to advance past round-robin play. 鈥淵eah we didn鈥檛 have such a great week there (Selkirk),鈥� mentioned Muirhead, who skipped Team Great Britain to Olympic bronze in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to put it into perspective, though. You can鈥檛 expect to be fighting at the top all the time. You have to be realistic out there and it鈥檚 tough.
鈥淲hen you come to Canada you鈥檙e playing the best teams in the world and we鈥檙e delighted with how we鈥檝e done these last couple of weeks.鈥�
Murdoch, too, acknowledged the fact that when they come to Canada that means they鈥檙e playing the best of the best on their own land and that victories are sometimes hard to come by.
Add in the fact that it is part of the Grand Slam tour and that makes the competition even tougher. 鈥淲hen you play the Slams you need to bring a lot of energy to ever y game because everyone is that much better,鈥� offered Murdoch, himself a 2014 Olympic medalist taking home silver medal honours in Sochi. 鈥淵ou do that and you鈥檝e got a chance at winning. You don鈥檛 and you鈥檙e behind the eight ball most of the week.鈥�
Luckily for both Murdoch and Muirhead, however, the 2014 Canadian Open will see the Grand Slam debut of the triple knockout format; something that both of the Scottish rinks are very familiar with. 鈥淲e鈥檝e experienced that (triple knockout) a lot at home because a lot of the European events are triple knockout,鈥� suggested Muirhead. 鈥淚t鈥檚 new, obviously, for a Grand Slam to be triple knockout but we鈥檝e experienced it a lot and it happens at a lot at tournaments we go to.鈥�
Momentum
They might not be Irn-Bru fueled (Irn-Bru is a Scottish carbonated soft drink), but the two Scottish rinks will be riding a wave of momentum heading into the 2014 Canadian Open this week after both had success in tournaments following The Masters in Selkirk.
Muirhead and company first won the Colonial Square Ladies Curling Classic in Saskatoon before winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in Champ茅ry, Switzerland, while team Murdoch made it all the way to the White鈥檚 Drug Store Classic in Swan River before losing 8-2 to Jeff Stoughton. 鈥淲e had such a great win in Saskatoon after the Masters,鈥� mentioned Muirhead of her team鈥檚 5-4 win over the Sherry Middaugh rink in Saskatoon that netted the Scottish lasses 12-grand in prize money. 鈥淭hen we had a good European Championship finishing with a win in the bronze medal game to move in to this tournament.鈥�
Murdoch, too, is bringing some momentum into the tournament off of his finals appearance in Swan River, however he and his team are also coming into the Canadian Open fresh and with lots of energy after a rejuvenating training week in 麻豆传媒AV Korea. 鈥淎fter the Masters in Selkirk we went up to Swan River and we were in the final there against Jeff Stoughton and lost the final and then went home for a week then out to Korea,鈥� said the Scottish skip. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e inviting a lot of teams over there to try and get the teams up to speed and we decided to go for a training week.
鈥淚t was just a different experience and we thought we鈥檇 try it. It was a spare week and we really enjoyed it.鈥�
But while Murdoch enjoyed practicing in Korea, he did mention that there is one thing that will be far more enjoyable. 鈥淭he Saskatchewan fans are always great and it鈥檚 really enjoyable to play in front of them,鈥� offered Murdoch. 鈥淚鈥檝e been in the province a few times and it鈥檚 always nice. There are always good crowds here and they鈥檙e very appreciative and that鈥檚 we like to see.鈥�
Muirhead, too, feels that Saskatchewan fans are some of the top fans in the world and that playing in front of Saskatchewan curling fans is one of the best things about the Grand Slam. 鈥淭here are so many curling fans here. Everyone is so nice,鈥� commended Muirhead. 鈥淵ou come here to the clubs and you get great ice, great facilities and everyone鈥檚 just so friendly and we love it out here.
鈥淭here is a lot at stake and you get fantastic fans coming out so we definitely want to put together a good performance.鈥�
The 2014 Canadian Open began yesterday and will continue until Sunday, December 14.
