Team GB curlers were greeted to a heroes’ welcome at Dumfries Ice Bowl on Friday.
Team Muirhead and Team Mouat visited the Ice Bowl to share their Winter Olympic experience with pupils from New Abbey Primary.
The Stranraer duo of Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan Jnr were in attendance as well as Dumfries-born Vicky Wright.
The visit took place as school kids enjoyed the Scottish and English Curling Championships which were taking place at the Ice Bowl.
It was one of many events the Team GB athletes have attended since their return from Beijing and it had the athletes thinking about a legacy from the recent Games.
Gold medallist Vicky said: “It’s overwhelming. We were in a bubble over there so we didn’t fully appreciate what was going on over here.
“We weren’t seeing the full effect it was having on Great Britain.
“When we got off the plane the reception we got was like ‘wow’ and then getting off the plane in Edinburgh and seeing family was a lot. The legacy we’d like to leave after this is that we want to get juniors into curling and make it something they want to play and enjoy.
“We got into it at a young age because we enjoyed the social side of it.
“I came through school with Bobby Lammie, known Hammy most of my life and we’ve been such good friends.
“Being away at the Olympics having Grant, Hammy and Bobby there was like having your best friends away. It was nice to have that support there.”
Team GB’s silver medallist men were also discussing the impact their medal win might have on the sport.
Hammy McMillan Jnr said: “We saw some of the videos from the North West Castle Hotel and the fan zone down there but I don’t think we grasped the real impact we were having as curlers from Dumfries and Galloway on the rest of the UK.
“Something like 3.4 million tuned into our final which is crazy. If we’ve inspired a handful of people to try curling then we’ve done our job out there.”
Bobby Lammie said: “If we can get a couple of people into curling it’s a job well done.
“If we can inspire people that’s quite an honour to be honest and hopefully we can make that happen.”
