Matthew Moffatt

 

Scotland have been crowned Curling European Champions after beating defending champions Sweden in a tense repeat of last years final.

Scotland triumphed after capturing a steal of three when Sweden captain Edin’s last stone to tie the match was wide of the target. Scotland’s victory ended Sweden’s 10 match unbeaten streak.

Speaking after the final, captain Bruce Mouat said “It’s pretty insane. Obviously we wanted to come here and perform at our best and we said we wanted to win a medal. We wanted gold but we didn’t want to jinx it.” Mouat continued, “We worked hard all week and had a bit of a blip against Russia, but apart from that we have been solid, so I am really proud of the guys for playing so well and digging in deep for that final.”                                                                                      Credit- British Curling

British Curling National coach David Murdoch commented after the final “It is a special moment for us all and the guys came out and played the game we hoped they would, up against one of the best teams in the world right now, it was a great result.” Murdoch continued “We have been seeing some good things from the team for some time now and they showed again they have the right attitude.”

Scotland/Team Gb have enjoyed a very successful year. Last November they made history, the first British men’s team to win a Grand Slam after winning the Boost National. Throughout the year they claimed a number of Tour titles before winning a bronze medal at the World Championship.

Both the Men’s and Women’s Curling teams are among the best in the world with the women’s team sitting 3rd in the World rankings and the men 5th. Both teams have also been successful in winning silverware. The Women’s team claiming a Bronze medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics as well as winning the 2013 World Championships and the European Championship twice, in 2011 and 2017. The Men’s team have also won two World Championships in 2006 and 2009, and their latest triumph their third European Championship since 2006.

Since 2002 UK Curling has seen a significant increase in funding. For the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, UK Curling only received £95,873 in funding. This is a stark contrast to the £6.35 million they are set to receive for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Below is a chart documenting the increase in funding.

 

The chart shows the increase of funding that UK curling has received over a 20 year period. Over this time, UK Curling has been very successful and continues to get better and better. There is clearly a direct link between the increase in funding and the success of UK Curling.

 

Although not the only reason for UK Curling’s recent success, the increase in funding is a major factor. With the funding set to increase again for 2022 in Beijing, both the Men and Women teams should be in the hunt for a medal.