New sponsorship will help Team Craik member to elite level

Hailey Duff and Vicky Wright have recently returned from the Winter Olympics where they were part of the British rink returning with top honours.

Ryder, 19, currently represents Team Craik, based in Forfar, who recently won the Asham Under 21 Slam Lockerbie Junior Invitation gents’ final.

The teenager is being backed in his ambitions by his employer, the Portpatrick Hotel in Galloway.

Sponsorship from the hotel will help develop vital skills which may see him one day represent the senior Team GB men’s team.

Ryder works as a waiter at the Portpatrick Hotel, which is part of the Coast & Country Hotel Collection.

He first took to the ice aged 10, following a sporting initiative called Curling’s Cool — a Scottish Curling development programme delivered at ice rinks throughout Scotland to primary school pupils.

Since then, his skills have gone from strength to strength — winning multiple junior championships at a regional and national level.

Ryder said: “I’m extremely grateful to have the backing of the Coast & Country Hotel Collection and the flexibility of my job at the Portpatrick has allowed me to pursue my dream of one day representing team GB. Watching the team compete at this year's games inspires me to work extra hard in the hope that’ll be me on the TV in the not too distant future.”

Team Craik’s next outing will see them represent Scotland at the World Junior Championships in Sweden.”