Team Whyte have completed a three-week tour of Canada having achieved both short and long-term goals in claiming a first senior tour title and reaching the knockout stages of all three events contested as they enhanced their reputation in world class company.
Defeat in the final of the ATB Okotoks Classic represented a slightly disappointing end to their trip, but it was suffered at the hands of former world champion Kevin Koe and was the Scottish youngsters’ only defeat of the event in the meeting of the two teams that had come through the A route in the triple knockout event. 
“We have had a great three weeks out here in Canada and continued our good form from the Euro Super Series,” said their skip Ross Whyte.
“Making the final this week was a target this week and we managed to achieve that. We played a good final however a few key shots from Koe made it a tough game.”
Whyte and teammates Robin Brydone, Duncan McFadzean and Euan Kyle served notice of their readiness to return to international competition when they kicked off their season by out-performing both of last season’s World Championship finalists Team Edin from Sweden and fellow Scots Team Mouat, in reaching the final of the Euro Super Series on home ice at the National Curling Academy (NCA) in Stirling.
They followed that up by reaching the quarter-finals at the prestigious Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in Oakville, before heading across Ontario to Kitchener-Waterloo where they claimed that breakthrough senior win in an all-Scottish final against Team Paterson at the KW Fall Classic ahead of that run to the final in Okotoks.
Having already earned an invitation to this season’s first Grand Slam event in Canada, The Masters which takes place back in Oakville next month, their principal objective had been to climb the world rankings in order to secure places at more of those prestigious Grand Slam competitions which boast the biggest prize purses in the world game.
“We came over to Canada trying to get enough points to make the second slam and hopefully we have done enough for that to be the case which makes this trip very successful for us,” said their skip.
“Playing against some of the top teams that will be in the slam in the last 3 weeks sets us up nicely to get an idea of where we are at and what we need to improve to try and compete and do well at the slam.”
Their performances have meanwhile ensured that British Curling’s men’s squad have matched their women in getting a team into the final of every senior international event they have contested this season, reinforcing confidence in the quality of pre-season work undertaken at the NCA ahead of a vital campaign in which they are targeting success at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Whyte said he and his colleagues are consequently looking forward to further physical and technical work in the gym and on the ice back in Stirling ahead of their next trip overseas, to the Swiss Cup, one of the continent’s biggest annual contests.
“We look to take our time at home now and make a good week of training before heading out to Basel,” he said.
“Going back and refining our technique will help us for the next set of competitions.”
