Newly formed Team Morrison will head to Canada this week aiming to make an immediate impact on the international stage.
The trip, which will see them play in the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic and then the Vesta Energy Red Deer Classic, represents a new start, but there is also a sense of familiarity since skip Rebecca Morrison has played previously with all three of her teammates, Gina Aitken, Sophie Sinclair and Elidh Yeats, who is travelling as their guest lead.
Morrison, Aitken and Sinclair were all involved in the nine-player squad system introduced by British Curling for the first part of the current season and can all take confidence in having been involved in a series of successful campaigns. 
They were also part of the same team last season when they were confined to playing in domestic events due to the restrictions caused by the COVID pandemic, so are now looking forward to testing themselves further afield.
“We are excited to move on from the nine-player squad to what now feels like a sturdy team and our aim is to climb the world rankings and this is a really good first opportunity to do that in Canada,” said Morrison.
“What we missed last year was international competition and testing out our team on Tour and we had good domestic rivals at the NCA events, but you cannot replicate completely what you get from facing different international rivals so this will be a good test which we can build on.
“I think we all feel much more resilient to be sure having gone through this squad process and we have developed strong bonds from that experience and the girls I know will be totally supportive of me in the skip role.”
Morrison played skip stones last season for what was then Team Aitken, with Gina Aitken calling the shots and she is embracing the prospect of taking on full leadership responsibilities.
“It is quite a daunting prospect not just throwing skip stones but calling the game as well but I am excited about this opportunity and we are looking forward to it,” she said.
“Hopefully we can build on the lots of good work we have been doing within the squad and that has shown us our versatility and strengths having played in different positions and having gone through numerous rotations and I personally feel as though I have picked up a lot from the more experienced girls that were in the squad and I hope to put that to good use in the coming days and weeks.
“There are lots of learnings that we can apply to this new team and we are very happy with our unit.”
She is confident that the team dynamics will work well from the outset.
“Gina and I work well together in the head so we are happy that we are still together and with Sophie as we feel we had a good last season together that we can build on,” said Morrison.
“It is nice to have that stability and we want to improve together.
“We are really grateful that Eilidh is able to join us for this trip. I have played with her before and it is exciting to have her in our line-up and it will be great to get going now and get some good results at international competitions now we are able to travel again. It is going to be exciting to see what we can do with this opportunity. “
Team Morrison:
Rebecca Morrison
Gina Aitken
Sophie Sinclair
Eilidh Yeats (guest lead)
Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic (11-14 November) Results
