Reigning Scottish champion skips Rebecca Morrison and Kyle Waddell will finalise their competitive preparations for the defences of their titles in Switzerland after travelling there this week.
Morrison is accompanied by Gina Aitken, Sophie Sinclair and Sophie Jackson, the same line-up which won the Scottish title last year on a trip which will begin with the St Galler Elite Challenge in St Gallen (20-23 January) before they then head to the Bernese Ladies competition next week.
Compatriots Team Farmer will also compete in both of those events, while another Scottish quartet, Team Blair, is in the St Gallen field this weekend, so Morrison is keen to put down a marker.
“This will be our last trip before we play in the Scottish Championships in February and it is a great opportunity for us to fine tune some things and make sure we are on top of our game going into the Scottish Champs,” she said.
She and her teammates gave themselves a major lift when they claimed a bronze medal on their first visit together to the European Championships earlier this season and are consequently looking forward to another visit to the Continent.
“What we achieved in November at the European Championships proved to ourselves and to others what we are capable of,” said the 26-year-old skip. 
“I think that has put a new target on our backs that we haven’t had before but that achievement just shows us what we are capable of on Tour and it does give us a lot of confidence going into these Swiss competitions.
“We will have a re-match of our bronze medal game when we meet Team Constantini in St Gallen and I am sure that will be a great game.”
Their principal aim now is to earn the right to pull on Scotland shirts again at this year’s World Championships.
“It’s crazy that we are coming to the end of the season it feels like this one has passed so quickly,” said Morrison.
“Now that we are at the business end we just really want to finish the season off in style.”
For Kyle Waddell this week’s trip to compete in the men’s event at St Gallen provides the last competitive chance to hone the new line-up he has been working with this season and it is a city the 2018 Olympian enjoys playing in.
“Looking forward to going to St Gallen this weekend,” said Waddell.
“We were there last year at the same event and I’ve got some good memories from that place as the old European Masters used to be held there too which I was fortunate enough to win and I also played in the European Championships there when we won silver, so I always look forward to going back there.”
Waddell believes the benefit of making the trip is increased by the growing strength of curling on this side of the Atlantic, as evidenced by the presence of eight European teams in the top 15 in the current world rankings. 
“It was one of the reasons I was quite keen to put this event in our schedule,” he said.
“Over the last 6 or 7 years the European teams have got stronger and stronger.
“Since 2016 you have seen the increase in the success of the European teams in the Slams on the men’s and women’s side so it’s obviously good to see.
“That only helps to develop the depth in Europe and you see that in the smaller events that we play in now and these teams are just getting better and better every season.
“It has been evidenced all over. You are seeing Joel Retornaz’s team and how much they have come on in the last two seasons, they are a top team in the world now and it is only going to have a positive impact on the rest of the European teams which is great.”
Younger brother Craig is the only other member of the line-up that won last season’s Scottish Championships and Waddell reckons that they are beginning to see the benefits of the hard work they have been putting in with new recruits Mark Taylor and Gavin Barr.
“We played pretty well in Perth and managed to qualify and then got beaten in the quarters by Bruce (Mouat) and I think by just carrying on from what we did well there, trying to get into a groove and get a bit of a flow, I think that throughout the team we are throwing a lot closer than we were a few months ago and that we also know each other a bit better,” he said.
“It has taken a few months to develop that but I think that we are in a pretty good place now and just hope we can put some good performances together in St Gallen this weekend and that will give us another wee bit more confidence for the Scottish which we are looking forward to.” 
They are accompanied in the men’s draw by Team Ross Craik whose line-up is supplemented this week by Ross Paterson, Waddell’s former skip. Paterson retired from the elite game at the end of last season, but is now coach of Team Farmer and is consequently combining that role with covering the absence of Jack Carrick, who is at the World University Games playing in the Great Britain team skipped by Craik’s older brother James.
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Images: WCF/Ansis Ventins, PPA/Graeme Hart.
