Ice queen Amy nails career-long curling ambition

She has been a consistent performer in recent years, picking up wins in many tournaments throughout Scotland, as well as representing Team GB at the Winter Youth Olympic Games for Team GB in Lillehammer, Norway, in February 2016.

But her dream was always to emulate her older brother, Cameron, and win the ultimate prize of the Scottish Junior Championship finals (U-21) before ageing out.

The Border curler just failed at the final hurdle, coming runner-up in both 2018 and 2019.

However, in late January, and in her final year as a junior curler, competing with a new, very young team up at Curl Aberdeen, Amy reached the pinnacle to secure the top prize with a truly stunning display of controlled curling.

Following the round robin stages of the tournament, Team Bryce managed to finish in third position, with a five win and two loss ratio, meaning they would only have one chance to reach the final .

The top two ranked teams who both defeated Amy’s rink in the round robin stages, Team Farmer (Kinross) and Team Davie (Stirling, and current junior champions, defeating Amy in the 2019 final) played off in the one versus two, with the loser playing Team Bryce in the Sunday morning semi-final.

It turned out to be Team Davie who lost out, so it was on to a nail-biting semi-final, where the game ebbed and flowed and single steals in ends five and six gave the advantage to Team Bryce.

Back came Davie with a three in end seven, giving them the upper hand. However, needing two shots in the final end, Amy held her composure to lift a double and secure the deuce needed to make the final later on in the day.

With a packed viewing area for both the junior men and ladies’ finals, spectators were treated to some fantastic shot making by all teams on display.

Team Farmer started off by blanking the first end, then taking a two in the second to gain the upper hand. But Amy came straight back with two in the third, before a steal of one in the fourth started to ask questions.

Things were getting very tense and, when Farmer took their two in the seventh to go 6-4 up, Amy and her team knew they had to come up with something special with time running out.

After having to blank the eighth end, Amy played a pinpoint precision in-turn tap back on one of the opposition stones in the ninth end, moving it just enough while keeping her own counter to score a two, therefore levelling the game at 6-6, playing the 10th and final end.

Without last stone advantage, this end would be very tough to steal but she had done it once before in the final and, after doing all they could by playing the perfect end, guarding up their shot stone, it came down to Team Farmer’s last stone.

It looked perfect but seemed to run on, giving Amy the opportunity to seize her chance and sweep beyond her own shot stone, therefore stealing the one shot needed to finally realise her dream of winning the title and sparking emotional scenes in the viewing area, as well as

on the ice. Third time lucky!

It so happened her younger sibling, Angus, was playing on the neighbouring sheet for Team Gallacher but they narrowly lost out to Team Craik, again with the last stone.

When she came off the ice, both Amy’s brothers, Cameron and Angus, were first to congratulate her, although Angus, naturally delighted for Amy, was gutted that his team had come up just short.

Naturally, Amy’s parents were also delighted for her and it’s worth noting there has been a Bryce sibling in either men’s or ladies’ final for the

past five years – no mean feat.

Angus’ disappointment was short-lived, however – he was asked to join Team Craik as their alternate and participate in the World Junior Championships for Team Scotland in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, which began on Friday (February 14) – a great honour.

Unfortunately, because last year’s Scotland’s Junior Ladies team was relegated to the ‘B’ Division, Amy and her team missed out on a trip to the World Juniors in Russia.

Both Amy and Angus have extended their thanks to Live Borders, the Rowans Trust and their generous team sponsors for their valued financial support.