Perthshire’s Mili Smith has enjoyed further British Curling success with Team Aitken.
Smith, from Guildtown, joined forces with skip Gina Aitken, Rebecca Morrison and Sophie Sinclair to win the NCA Elite Finals on Saturday.
They recorded a hard-fought 9-7 victory in the showdown match against Team Muirhead at the National Curling Academy in Stirling.
A three at the seventh end proved crucial, which was then backed up with another steal at the next.
Team Aitken previously won the September Shoot-out and former Perth Academy student Smith is looking ahead with positivity.
“We had some good performances through the week and it was enjoyable playing some close and tough games,” Smith said.
“Beth Farmer’s team is improving quickly. I really enjoyed playing against them and also Holly Wilkie-Milne of Team Henderson.
“The final was super close. We always knew it would be if everyone was playing well.
“The seventh end definitely settled the nerves a little, but we still had to play well and make shots against a team like Muirhead.
“The final end was comfortable and Sophie helped that by making two lovely ticks. I didn’t play my best but it was enough thankfully.”
British Curling has laid on a number of events for elite athletes in order to keep the competitive juices flowing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Smith told the PA: “We have been so lucky to have competitions in the NCA during such a strange time.
“The events have each been great for their own reasons and the facility has improved so much since it opened.”
Moving forward, Smith harbours hopes of one day competing at the Winter Olympics. Brothers Cammy and Kyle pulled on the GB colours at Pyeongchang 2018, while dad Dave is also an Olympian.
Beijing hosts the next Games in 2022 but that is likely to come too soon, Smith revealed.
“As a new team we needed a normal season to really show what we were capable of and to improve at the rate we needed,” said Smith, who would usually be travelling across the continent to compete, if not for the pandemic.
“We have still had a great season and developed so much, but it’s probably not comparable to Muirhead’s previous season results and experience sadly.
“I have always looked up to my brothers and loved playing in events where they were on the men’s side. I miss seeing them around the ice rink. I’d love to follow in their footsteps, but in some ways I am already very proud of what I’ve achieved.”
