SCOTLAND TEAMS MISS PLAY-OFFS AT WORLD JUNIORS 2024
Scotland were being represented by Team Munro and Team O Carson at the World Junior Curling Championships 2024, hosted from 17 to 24 February in Lohja, Finland.
As defending champions, Scotland’s women’s team of Robyn Munro, Laura Watt, Holly Wilkie-Milne, Amy Mitchell, and Hannah Farries came into the tournament with pedigree and high hopes. However, their campaign got off to a difficult start with defeats to Germany and Japan on the opening day.
They bounced back with a comfortable win over Türkiye and carried on the momentum to edge out Canada by a single point in the morning of Day 3. It was all square after nine ends in their next game, but a spectacular 10th from Sweden saw them earn four points for the win and another defeat for Scotland followed when Switzerland took control with two steals.
The next fixture versus China went all the way to an extra end, Scotland coming out on the wrong side of it. Again, Scotland just missed out in the following game when Norway found an edge with a steal of two in the eighth end. The competition came to a somewhat conciliatory conclusion with a well-managed win over Korea in the Scots’ final match.
Sitting on a three in six record, Scotland were tied with China and Korea, but an inferior DSC of 71.00cm saw the Scots finish ninth overall.
Having won bronze last season, Scotland’s men’s team of Orrin Carson, Logan Carson, Archie Hyslop, Charlie Gibb, and Hamish Gallacher were keen to emulate the success this time round and started their campaign strongly with a win over Canada.
However, tough defeats to Italy and USA followed on Day 2. There was no bouncing back either on Day 3 when Germany took the lead with a score of three and a steal of one in the first half and brought it home for a 7-5 win.
Things started to look brighter again on Day when Scotland opened proceedings with a comfortable 9-2 win over New Zealand and came out shooting sharp in the evening to see off Switzerland 11-2 after just six ends. The momentum carried into the next fixture where the Scots beat China to go four in three. There wasn’t much in it in the penultimate round robin game, but Denmark gradually built an advantage by forcing singles to clinch the win. Chasing a top six finish to remain in the A-division, Scotland played an excellent final round robin game versus table toppers Norway where they had the stronger start and held their nerve to bring victory home.
With that latest win, the Scots finished the tournament on a five in four record, tied with Germany on numbers but losing out on head-to-head. Nevertheless, it was enough to secure a top six finish and a spot at next season’s World Juniors.
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Scotland Team: Robyn Munro, Laura Watt, Holly Wilkie-Milne, Amy Mitchell, Hannah Farries (coach: Alan Hannah, national coach: Nancy Smith)
Fixtures:
Sat 17 Feb, 7am: Scotland 4 – 6 Germany
Sat 17 Feb, 5.30pm: Scotland 5 – 8 Japan
Sun 18 Feb, 12pm: Türkiye 5 – 10 Scotland
Mon 19 Feb, 7am: Canada 6 – 7 Scotland
Mon 19 Feb, 5pm: Scotland 6 – 10 Sweden
Tue 20 Feb, 12pm: Scotland 4 – 6 Switzerland
Wed 21 Feb, 7am: Scotland 8 – 10 China
Wed 21 Feb, 5pm: Norway 7 – 4 Scotland
Thu 22 Feb, 12pm: Korea 5 – 7 Scotland
Scotland finish ninth in the standings on a three in six record, tied with China and Korea but on an inferior DSC of 71.00cm, and are relegated to the B-division.
MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Scotland Team: Orrin Carson, Logan Carson, Archie Hyslop, Charlie Gibb, Hamish Gallacher (coach: Ryan Carson, national coach: Nancy Smith)
Fixtures:
Sat 17 Feb, 12pm: Canada 4 – 9 Scotland
Sun 18 Feb, 7am: Scotland 6 – 10 Italy
Sun 18 Feb, 5pm: Scotland 6 – 10 USA
Mon 19 Feb, 12pm: Scotland 5 – 7 Germany
Tue 20 Feb, 7am: New Zealand 2 – 9 Scotland
Tue 20 Feb, 5pm: Switzerland 2 – 11 Scotland
Wed 21 Feb, 12pm: China 4 – 6 Scotland
Thu 22 Feb, 7am: Scotland 7 – 9 Denmark
Thu 22 Feb, 5pm: Norway 5 – 7 Scotland
Scotland finish sixth in the standings on a five in four record, tied with Germany but losing out on head-to-head, and remain in the A-division.
