Gina Aitken (born 17 November 1993) is a Scottish curler from Edinburgh. She is currently the alternate on Team Rebecca Morrison. She won a silver medal as skip of the Scottish women's team at the 2015 World Junior Curling Championships and has competed in the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship five times.
| Gina Aitken | |
|---|---|
 Aitken at the 2018 WCT Arctic Cup | |
| Born | 17 November 1993[1] |
| Team | |
| Curling club | Currie & Balerno Curling Club |
| Skip | Rebecca Morrison |
| Third | Jennifer Dodds |
| Second | Sophie Sinclair |
| Lead | Sophie Jackson |
| Alternate | Gina Aitken |
| Mixed doubles partner | Grant Hardie |
Curling career  | |
| Member Association |  Scotland |
| World Championship appearances | 3 (2022, 2023, 2024) |
| World Mixed Doubles Championship appearances | 5 (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) |
| European Championship appearances | 2 (2022, 2023) |
Medal record | |
Curling career edit
In back-to-back years, 2014 and 2015, Aitken skipped her team to victory at the Scottish Junior Championships, with teammates Naomi Brown, Rowena Kerr, and Rachel Hannen.[3] At the 2014 World Junior Curling Championships Aitken's team finished the round robin with a 3–6 record, missing the playoffs.[4] Returning to the World Juniors in 2015, they found much more success. Aitken and Team Scotland finished the round robin in second place with a 6–3 record. In the page playoffs, Team Scotland defeated the number one seeded Canada in the 1 vs. 2 game and Sweden in the semifinals, thus setting up a rematch with Team Canada in the final. In the final, Canada, skipped by Kelsey Rocque, got their revenge, defeating Scotland 8–2.[5] Earlier in the 2014–2015 season, Aitken and her juniors team also won bronze at the Scottish Women's Curling Championship, Aitken's best finish at that championship.[6]
Aitken has also competed in the Scottish Mixed Curling Championship, playing third for Bruce Mouat in 2015[7] and 2016. At the 2016 Championship they won the bronze medal.[8]
Aitken is also prolific in mixed doubles, where she has won the Scottish Mixed Doubles title five times. The first four championships, Aitken competed with her longtime teammate Bruce Mouat.[9][10] Each Scottish title earned Aitken the right to represent Scotland at the World Mixed Doubles Championship, with her best finish being 4th at the 2016 Championship where they lost to the United States team of Joe Polo and Tabitha Peterson in the bronze medal match.[11]
For the 2018–19 season, Aitken decided to focus on mixed doubles with her new teammate Scott Andrews.[12] Andrews became injured shortly before the Scottish Mixed Doubles Championship, but Duncan Menzies filled in for Andrews and together they won Aitken her fifth Championship.[13] Andrews was healed in time for the 2019 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, where they finished tied for 9th place, losing to Team Estonia in the first round of the playoffs.[14]
Personal life edit
Aitken started curling when she was only seven years old[15] and comes from a curling family: her father David won the 1986 World Juniors,[16] her mother Morna has competed at two World Senior Curling Championships,[17][18] her sister Karina was the alternate for Aitken's silver medal winning 2015 World Juniors team,[19] and her sister Tasha has also competed at World Juniors.[20]
Aitken graduated with a degree in Film and French from Glasgow University.[21] She currently works in marketing.[22]
Teams edit
Women's edit
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Gina Aitken | Katy Richardson | Rowena Kerr | Rachel Hannen | SWCC (8th) |
| 2012–13 | Gina Aitken | Katy Richardson | Rowena Kerr | Fiona Telfer | SWCC (7th) |
| 2013–14 | Gina Aitken | Naomi Brown | Rowena Kerr | Katy Richardson | SWCC (5th) |
| Gina Aitken | Naomi Brown | Rowena Kerr | Rachel Hannen | SJCC  WJCC (7th) | |
| 2014–15 | Gina Aitken | Naomi Brown | Rowena Kerr | Rachel Hannen | SWCC  SJCC WJCC 
|
| 2015–16 | Gina Aitken | Rowena Kerr | Laura Ritchie | Heather Morton | SWCC (7th) |
| 2016–17 | Gina Aitken | Rowena Kerr | Rachael Halliday | Rachel Hannen | W. Univ. (5th) SWCC (5th) |
| 2017–18 | Claire Hamilton | Gina Aitken | Rachael Halliday | Rachel Hannen | SWCC (SF) |
| 2018–19 | Rebecca Morrison (Fourth) | Gina Aitken (Skip) | Mili Smith | Sophie Sinclair | |
| 2019–20 | Rebecca Morrison (Fourth) | Gina Aitken (Skip) | Mili Smith | Sophie Sinclair | |
| 2020–21 | Rebecca Morrison (Fourth) | Gina Aitken (Skip) | Mili Smith | Sophie Sinclair | |
| 2021–22 | Rebecca Morrison | Gina Aitken | Sophie Sinclair | Sophie Jackson | SWCC |
| 2022–23 | Rebecca Morrison | Gina Aitken | Sophie Sinclair | Sophie Jackson | 2022 EuCC SWCC 2023 WWCC (12th) |
| 2023–24 | Rebecca Morrison | Jennifer Dodds | Gina Aitken / Sophie Sinclair | Sophie Jackson | 2023 EuCC (5th) 2024 WWCC |
Mixed edit
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | Mark Munro | Rachel Hannen | SMxCC (DNQ) |
| 2015–16 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | Mark Munro | Rachel Hannen | SMxCC
|
Mixed doubles edit
| Season | Male | Female | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | SMDCC WMDCC (7th) |
| 2013–14 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | SMDCC WMDCC (9th) |
| 2014–15 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | SMDCC (SF) |
| 2015–16 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | SMDCC WMDCC (4th) |
| 2016–17 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | SMDCC WMDCC (11th) |
| 2017–18 | Bruce Mouat | Gina Aitken | SMDCC (QF) |
| 2018–19 | Scott Andrews Duncan Menzies |
Gina Aitken | SMDCC WMDCC (9th) |
| 2019–20 | Scott Andrews | Gina Aitken | SMDCC
|
| 2020–21 | Ross Paterson | Gina Aitken | |
| 2021–22 | Euan Kyle | Gina Aitken | SMDCC (QF) |
| 2022–23 | Grant Hardie | Gina Aitken | SMDCC (SF) |
| 2023–24 | Grant Hardie | Gina Aitken |
References edit
- ^ "Gina Aitken". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Team Hamilton - Third". British Curling. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "SCOTTISH JUNIOR CHAMPIONS WOMEN". Scottish Curling. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "World Junior Curling Championships 2014". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "World Junior Curling Championships 2015". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "2015 Scottish Curling Championships". Scottish Curling. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "2015 Scottish Curling Mixed Championship". Scottish Curling. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "2016 Scottish Curling Mixed Championship". Scottish Curling. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "SCOTTISH MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS". Scottish Curling. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Scottish Mixed Doubles Success for Gina Aitken". Currie and Balerno CC. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2016". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ McNally, Ryan (14 January 2019). "World Curling Tour event at Regina Callie Curling Club attracts Scottish rinks". 620 CKRM The Source. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Gina Aitken wins her fifth Scottish Mixed Doubles curling title". Edinburgh Evening News. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2019". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Gina Aitken - Curling". Champions in Scotland. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "David Aitken". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Morna Aitken". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR THE AITKENS AT WORLD CHAMPS IN NORWAY". British Curling. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Karina Aitken". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Tasha Aitken". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ Gorrod, John (6 February 2017). "Gina Aitken Looking Forward to Continuing her Curling Success". Glasgow Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "2024 World Women's Curling Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
