Curling: Eve Muirhead backs calls to cut major events to eight ends
- Published
Eve Muirhead has won Scottish, European and World titles
Three-time Olympian Eve Muirhead is backing calls to shorten curling's major events from 10 ends to eight.
Those pushing for fewer ends believe it will introduce more upsets and make the sport more attractive to younger players, audiences and broadcasters.
Muirhead, who has won Scottish, European and world titles, is in favour of the move.
"I'm very keen for the sport to turn to eight ends. I think 10 ends is a little too long," she told BBC Scotland.
"In all regular Tour play and Grand Slams, we always play eight ends and then you get to the Europeans, the World Championships, the Olympic Games and it's 10.
"We'd like to support it changing. It gets a little bit long. It's needing changes like that."
Speaking to Fair Play: The Women in Sport podcast, Muirhead, 30, pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic had already brought about a rule change in Canadian curling. Now there can be only one sweeper so that two players' heads are not in close proximity.
The reduction in playing ends was described by World Curling Federation's head of competitions Eeva Roethlisberger as "a vital discussion" in last year's annual report.
The World Curling Federation will hold a virtual World Curling Congress on 6 September, having had to cancel the event in St Petersburg.
Fair Play: The Women in Sport podcast will be available on Thursday on BBC Sounds