Edinburgh Napier student Bruce Mouat leads Scottish rink into World Men’s Curling Championship
An Edinburgh Napier student is gearing up for international glory after defeating the Olympic curling team to win a place in the World Championships.
Bruce Mouat, a festival and events student based at the Business School in Craiglockhart, led his team to victory over Kyle Smith’s Olympic heroes earlier this month in a tense playoff with a place at the World Men’s Curling Championship up for grabs.
Now, the Scottish champions are off to Las Vegas to represent their country and face off against teams from across the world, including Olympic medallists from the USA, Sweden and Switzerland.
“The world championships have been something I have been aiming to reach for some years now,” said Mouat, who will take to the ice with team-mates Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie and Grant Hardie. “I didn't expect to achieve it this early in my career but I am so excited to get onto that ice and prove to the world what a great team we are. I struggle to put into words what it feels like but without a doubt, I think this will be the highlight of my curling career. It means everything to me to have my family and some close friends coming to watch as well.”
Mouat and his teammates won their right to represent Scotland at the world championships by taking the victory in the last match of their best-of-three decider, coming out on top against the British men fresh back from the Pyeongchang games.
“It was an amazing feeling to beat Team Smith who had just come back from and Olympics at the world play-off,” said Mouat. “They are a great team and I was very proud we were able to come away from the weekend holding our own against a team of their standard.”
Now, Team Mouat are heading stateside and the curlers are excited about the opportunity.
“I have never been to Vegas,” said Mouat. “In fact, I have never been to America. I have been to Canada a handful of times but I think America will be a different experience. It not often a curler gets to tell people that they will be curling in a desert. The schedule is very intense when we are there so we will not have a lot of time to do any sightseeing unfortunately.”
Between his flourishing curling career and his academic studies, Mouat admits it can sometimes be hard balancing between the two.
“It has always been a challenge to juggle curling and uni and with this five-week trip to North America it will not be easy,” he said. “I am currently in my fourth year, writing my dissertation and doing my last two modules. The University has been a great help letting me extend assessments and alter exam timing to graduate with my classmates in June. All going to plan I will be fully graduated this summer.”
After the championships, Mouat has his sights set on two goals – an Olympic gold, and putting his Edinburgh Napier degree to good use.
“My aim in curling has always to win an Olympic gold and that won't be changing any time soon,” he said. “However, career-wise after uni I am unsure what I want to do. I have had aspirations to own a business with my entrepreneurship classes here at Edinburgh Napier but I will really need to consider what my curling commitments are before starting anything like that.”