After starting every new year since 2018 with a tournament win at the Perth Masters, World number one ranked Team Mouat have changed their traditional schedule and are kicking off 2025 with a trip to Canada to contest the Astec Safety Challenge in Alberta (January 8-11).
Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan played in the event, which is taking place at the Lloydminster Curling Club, a year ago, but that was only after they had claimed their fourth successive title in Perth. 
This time around, thought, they have chosen to make a slightly later start having also had to fit in mixed doubles commitments over the festive period and as they look to build on an extraordinary first half of the season that has seen them win all three Grand Slam events played in Canada this season.
“Last year the Astec Safety Challenge was a lot of fun to play in with an amazing field and an amazing committee with some really good games,” explained skip Bruce Mouat.
“The boys and I have taken a bit of a break from training with each other just with the mixed doubles going on so we were busy in December.
“It was nice being back on the ice with them the last couple of days, though and training back as a four, so we are looking forward to seeing if we can continue the form that we have found at the start of this season and hopefully it can continue into 2025.”
The quality of the field, containing nine of the world’s top 10 teams, makes it the ideal preparation for the following week’s WFG Masters, the fourth of this season’s Grand Slams which is the next major target for the team. 
“It was a shame that we missed the Perth Masters, but we decided to come over here earlier and get some training in to allow us to settle in with quite a big time difference from back home and we are looking forward to getting off to a good start here,” said Mouat.
“We’re looking forward to this event and obviously the Slam next week.
“We have had a lot of fun at the Slams this season and we are looking to continue that form and improve our spot at the top of the world rankings.”
They have been joined in making the trip by compatriots Team Whyte, who are looking to build on their burgeoning reputation in Canada and improve their current world ranking of number eight.
“It’s a little different starting the year out here in Canada instead of Scotland,” their skip Ross Whyte admitted.
“It is always nice to play the event in Perth in front of home crowds with friends and family around, but it will be good this year to go out and experience the Lloydminster event with some great teams in it and hopefully we can start off the new year in a really positive way.” 
They had contrasting experiences over Christmas and New Year, with vice skip Robin Brydone and second Duncan McFadzean battling it out with one another in the mixed doubles arena, while Whyte and lead Euan Kyle engaged in some technical work.
“Duncan was out in Sweden for the mixed doubles and we had some great success in the Scottish Mixed Doubles just before that break with Robin winning it with his partner Sophie (Sinclair) and Duncan finishing second (with Sophie Jackson) which is great to build on and shows that they are getting better and better as players.
“Euan and I had more time to work hard on technique and make ourselves better players at home which was good, so we had a good training block which led us in nicely into the festive period.”
They consequently feel ready to take on the world’s best over the next two weeks.
“It will certainly be a very tough field this week and we will be looking forward to it because we always enjoy playing the best teams in the world.
“That’s why we come to these events, to challenge ourselves, so it will be a good starting point to the year to play in Lloydminster and then follow that with the Slam and hopefully get two really good results.”
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