OLYMPIAN and former world champion Hammy McMillan and his Scottish teammates are heading to the upcoming World Senior Curling Championships.
Hammy’s honours include representing Great Britain at three Winter Olympics, a world championship title and five European gold medals.
He is gunning for World Senior glory in Sweden next month after being coaxed out of retirement.
He will skip the team alongside fellow Stranraer residents Gerald Baillie, Murray McWilliam and John Agnew.
They are to play against The Philippines, New Zealand, Germany, Poland, Estonia and Ireland in the group stages.
The national team is being supported in its pursuit of world glory by H&H InsuranceBrokers (HHIB), which operates across South West Scotland.
The support is in the form of a sponsorship package which will contribute towards the team’s travel and accommodation.
In return for its sponsorship, HHIB’s logo will appear on the knee of the official Scotland kit – known as the ‘money shot’ in the spot because of its prominence during TV coverage.
The world championships will be livestreamed on YouTube by World Curling across the globe.
Hammy’s son, Hammy Jr, is following in his father’s prestigious footsteps as current world champion.
Hammy said: “I was very fortunate for 30 years to play at the highest level in the Olympics, World and European championships.
“But I made a decision to step back eight years ago as all the training and the like was becoming too much.
“But I’d never lost the bug and still travelled the world supporting my son, and after the lads pestered me all summer, I put the shoes back on and got on the ice again.
“We did extremely well in the qualifiers and we hope we can continue that winning form in Sweden.
“The support we have received from local people has been amazing, and we’re so grateful to H&H Insurance Brokers for their sponsorship to help Scotland compete against the best teams in the world.”
Gerald, who is lead in the team, is a member of Stranraer’s Leswalt Curling Club and is a clubmate of David Murchie, an account executive at HHIB covering South West Scotland.
Gerald said: “The sponsorship from H&H Insurance Brokers is unbelievable and we’re delighted that the company is showing such strong support.
“The funding we receive from Scottish Curling doesn’t cover our expenses so we rely on support from the community, and this sponsorship is so huge to the team.
“I know David Murchie from the club and he is still a very competent curler who is highly regarded.
“We’re so thankful to him and H&H Insurance Brokers for their key role in allowing Scotland to travel to one of the biggest curling tournaments in the entire world.”
HHIB is an independent insurance brokers which specialises in rural and business insurance, and works across the South of Scotland, the North of England and Wales.
David grew up on his family’s farm in Stranraer and has been a member of Leswalt Curling Club for the past 30 years.
He said: “As a passionate curler and somebody who has grown up in the area, it fills me with pride that H&H Insurance Brokers is supporting a group from Stranraer.
“Community is at the heart of all H&H Insurance Brokers does and it is great that we are able to give back to the areas which continue to support us.
“I’m looking forward to tuning in and seeing the H&H Insurance Brokers logo on the Scotland kit as they play knowing millions of people will view the same images.”
The World Senior Curling Championships will take place between April 18-28, with Scotland’s first game against The Philippines on April 20.
