After their Winter Paralympic bronze last year while representing Great Britain, the Scotland wheelchair curling team are ready to start on the road to Pyeongchang 2018.
The World Championship, which starts in Finland on Saturday, opens the qualification process for the Games.

"As soon as we stepped off the ice in Sochi, Pyeongchang was our next goal," skip Aileen Neilson told BBC Sport.

"We want to get qualification points as soon as possible."

Neilson, 43, who recently extended her career break as a school teacher, will be part of of the Scotland team along with fellow Sochi medallists Angie Malone, Gregor Ewan and Jim Gault.
Stranraer-based Hugh Nibloe completes the line-up for what will be his major competition debut in the team which will be coached by Tony Zummack.

GB's record at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship

2007: Bronze
2008: Seventh
2009: Eighth
2011: Silver
2012: Seventh
2013: Sixth
 
"In the last two Paralympic cycles, we won a medal the year after the Games and that gave us crucial qualifying points to help us get to the next Games," Neilson said.

"We want to accrue those points quickly so it is important for us to work hard and secure our place."
The team start their programme against Germany, Sweden, China, Russia, Norway, Canada, Slovakia, the United States and Finland before the knock-out phase starts on Thursday.

While the bronze medal, secured in a dramatic 7-3 play-off against China, helped raise the profile of the sport in Britain, Zummack knows his side need to continue to work hard to remain medal contenders on the world stage.

"The bar is being set high and we know we have to put in the same amount of work as the Sochi gold and silver medallists Canada and Russia to make sure we keep in touch with them and improve," he said.

"The bronze is great but it is already in the past and we need to evaluate where we go in the future.
"In Finland it will be about going in and being more consistent with what we do. If we win a medal, that would be great, but the play-offs is the aim so we can look at our technical execution and our tactical awareness and see how that develops."