Third straight Scottish title for Dumfries’ own Ross and Fay

DUMFRIES curlers Ross Whyte and Fay Henderson were big winners at the Scottish Championships on home soil. Team Whyte topped Team Kyle Waddell 8-6 in an incredible men’s final which went to an extra end, whilst Team Henderson beat Team Callie Soutar 7-4 in a close women’s finale at Dumfries Ice Bowl. And Henderson created some history on the way to victory by becoming the youngest skip to claim three successive national titles. Henderson, alongside teammates Hailey Duff, Katie McMillan, Lisa Davie and Laura Watt, were perfect all week and the skip said: “To win three successive Scottish Championship titles in a row isn’t something you see happen very often on the women’s side and I believe it’s only Eve Muirhead and Kelly Wood that have done that in the past. “We have had a really good week going undefeated on our way to winning the title for the third time for myself, Hailey and Katie; and it was a special one for Laura as this was her first. But every Scottish title that we can earn is very special. “For us to have so much time in our careers and so many more opportunities to do this when we feel like this is just the beginning is a really exciting opportunity for myself and the team. “I think that just shows how much potential we have, not only on the national stage but on the international stage.” Just hours after Henderson had completed a similar achievement in the women’s event, fellow Dumfries local Whyte was thrilled to join the select group of skips to have won three Scottish titles in a row. [caption id="attachment_66763" align="alignnone" width="680"]

HAT-TRICK . . . Team Whyte[/caption] Whyte, Robin Brydone and Euan Kyle claimed the trophy again, along with this season’s newcomer to their ranks Craig Waddell. After the final, a delighted Whyte said: “We’re very pleased to have won our third title in a row and it means a lot to us. “When you are growing up you are desperate to become a Scottish champion and to go out and do it three times is really special, so we are extremely pleased with how we have played this week. “It felt like we had a great opportunity to win that final and finally it went our way in the end, but Team Waddell obviously played amazing, as they always do, and they were always going to make it a really tough battle.” With the decision having already been made that Team Mouat’s Olympians will not be going to this year’s World Championships, the result strengthened the case for Team Whyte, who are currently ranked fourth in the world to be selected for their first appearance at that level and they are champing at the bit for the opportunity. Whyte added: “We are having a great 2026 so far and we would love to be selected to represent Scotland at the World Championships. “It would mean the world to us to have Scotland on our backs again, which I have not done since I was fifth for Mouat and my guys haven’t done that for a long while now, probably since juniors, so it feels amazing to be in this position. “We will just wait for that positive phone call in the next couple of days.”