Perth has been chosen to play a role in preparing the UK’s elite Olympians for next year’s winter games.
Thanks to a £500,000 investment, the Dewars Centre will be the key Scottish base for the 2014 winter Olympic Team GB.
The team will train weekly with their coaches and will be given exclusive use of ice that has been prepped and conditioned to Olympic standard.
The investment in the ice plant at Dewars was funded in part by sportscotland and played a key part in selecting Perth as a centre of excellence.
Current ladies world champion Eve Muirhead and her team have now been announced as members of Team GB for Sochi in Russia next year.
The new partnership between Dewars Centre and British Curling means that Eve will be able to train under the eye of her coaching team of Rhona Howie and Dave Hay at her home rink in Perth.
Mr Hay described Dewars as the “best facility in the country bar none” and likened the quality of the ice to other rinks as “like putting on the greens of the Old Course or a ploughed field”.
Courier-sponsored Eve was also confident the Perth venue would give the team a competitive edge in Russia.
Targeted with producing an “elite performance level” in top curling athletes, British Curling works with centres that can assist them in delivering Olympic standard training conditions.
As well as the support from British Curling, Scottish-based curlers have the backing of the sportscotland Institute of Sport.
As part of the partnership agreement with Live Active this is being extended to include a “talented athletes” pass allowing them access to Live Active Leisure’s wide range of strength and conditioning training, gyms and pools.
Dave Crosbee, performance director at British and Scottish Curling, highlighted the importance of the ice conditions in Perth to the Olympic preparations saying it was “a significant boost”.
Gary Watson of Live Active Leisure added: “It is a huge privilege for Dewars Centre to be selected to as a partner for the Olympic Teams.
“We look forward to working with the athletes not only on the ice, but also throughout our facilities.”