Team Muirhead back in action for 2017

The four-day event begins on Thursday and sees Team Muirhead continue their build up to February's Scottish Championships, in which they will hope to qualify for the World Championships the following month.

Team Muirhead made a habit of third-place finishes in late 2016, picking up bronze in the European Championships – losing in their semi-final after winning all their round robin matches – and finishing third at the Karuizawa International in Japan.

They did make the finals of the HDF Insurance Shoot Out and the Colonial Square Ladies Classic in Canada, though, so will be hoping to take that form into their latest event.

And while Muirhead, who plays with Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams, Lauren Gray and Kelly Schafer, may have enjoyed her Christmas break, she cannot wait to get back to competition.

"During the festive period we've had some great family time, rest and recovery but now we're ready and itching for competition again," she said.

"Between Christmas and New Year we had some well-planned ice sessions at Braehead with constant communication back and forth from our ice support team, Glenn (Howard) and Tony (Zummack).

"These few days were very beneficial leading into our first competition of the year – Berne.

"The field is once again strong. All the games will be tough but we enjoy the challenge.

"It's getting towards the business part of the season and we've planned our training and competition very carefully to make sure there are no stones left unturned."

Sportsbeat 2017