 Mouat aims for Hat-Trick of Successive Slam Wins Bruce Mouat (photo: Graeme Adam, PPA) will be aiming to maintain an unprecedented run of success on Canadian ice this year when they form part of a three-pronged Scottish challenge at The Masters in Oakville this week. The quartet of Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Grant Hardie reached the World Championship final in the Calgary bubble earlier this year before winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the Humpty's Champions Cup and The Players Championship. They then continued that form on their only appearance so far this season in the country that is considered to be the hotbed of the sport when they reclaimed the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard last month in the same arena that will host The Masters this week, and they are naturally excited by the prospect of returning there to play in a 16-team event that features all of the world's leading players. "We're really looking forward to playing Slams again," said Mouat. "It's been a while since we were in the Calgary bubble in the spring, but we have very fond memories of that and we're hoping to keep our momentum going that we built in the bubble." He and his teammates received a huge boost last week when they were named as Team GB's representatives for the men's event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year. At the same time, Mouat will make history as the first British athlete to compete in two curling events at the same Olympics when he lines up in the mixed doubles with Jen Dodds, and he admitted that the news had provided welcome clarity. "With the Olympic selection having been made, it settles our feelings about this season being a bit of an unknown quantity," he said. "We can start focusing on it fully, with the prep towards that, and the Slams are probably the best places to do that because the ice is amazing, and you're playing against some of the best teams in the world.: While international competition has been extremely limited over the past 18 months, due to the COVID pandemic, Mouat has had to battle past the high-class domestic competition to earn that Olympic place, as demonstrated by the line-up for The Masters this week. Mouat is joined by Ross Paterson, who became the second Scottish team to win a Grand Slam title in 2018 when they beat Mouat's then defending champions in the first-ever all-Scottish final of a Slam. Also making the trip to Oakville is Ross Whyte, who became the most recent Scottish winner in Canada when they won the KW Fall Classic last month, beating Paterson in the final. "It's exciting that there are Scottish teams in the mix now," said Mouat. "Ross Paterson and Ross Whyte have both managed to get in as well, so it's great to have three Scottish teams in the top 16 in the world. "This is starting to show that the British Curling programme and the National Curling Academy are doing the right things to create a wider array of talent, rather than just having one team that's always up there." "We're in a good spot, and hopefully there can be some good results for all of our Scottish teams that are here." He believes that doing so will further confirm that they are on course to build on the successes they have enjoyed previously. "The Slams give you some confidence," said Mouat. "You're looking to show yourselves at these events to then figure out where you stand in the world. We've obviously had success in previous events at the Slams in the bubble, so if we're able to continue that, it really solidifies our spot as one of the best teams in the world."
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Team Joel Retornaz (Photo: Anil Mungal) had the crowd buzzing in Cortina after knocking off Sweden's Niklas Edin.
