Dodds and Eve Muirhead’s Scotland missed out on the top six at the World Championships in the spring, meaning their fate rests on the outcome of the Olympic Qualification Event.
The equation is simple - the three remaining places in the field of ten nations for Beijing 2022 are on the line in Leeuwarden, Netherlands from December 11.
No pressure, then? Less than you’d think, according to Dodds.
“Naturally, you probably will tighten up a bit because of what’s at stake,” said the
30-year-old.“It's what we've been striving towards for more than four years, but we have to just keep going out and keep doing what we're doing.
“We need to continue having fun and enjoying it because that is when we play our best. There’s no point in changing that.
“We’re quite good at identifying when we’re getting uptight and we can quickly settle into the game a bit more. That’s going to be a crucial part of continuing what we did at the Europeans.”
What they did at the Europeans was take gold in emphatic fashion - Muirhead’s third continental title and a first major honour for Dodds, Vicky Wright and Hailey Duff.
It marked a resounding return to form for Team Muirhead, for whom the last six months has been one long leap into the unknown.
After the disappointment of April’s eighth-placed finish at the World Championships, British Curling coaches took the decision to throw all nine full-time female athletes into a ‘squad system.’
It meant they had to compete against each other and no-one’s spot was safe heading into Olympic season.
Having to earn her place at the top table all over again certainly sharpened Dodds’ mind.
“It was daunting, it was like entering into the unknown,” said Dodds.
“Not qualifying a spot for Team GB at the Worlds was so disappointing. But I think the system we used was a great thing for us. It got us all pushing each other to make those spots.
“You really had to hone your communication skills because you’re switching roles and you had to support each other through it and adapt.
‘People did have to get disappointed and thankfully, I was one of the lucky ones. Since then we’ve been on a roll.”
In Lillehammer, Scotland claimed morale-boosting victories over a number of nations also vying for one of the final three Olympic spots, including Germany, Czech Republic, Estonia and Turkey.
They will be one of the favourites to book a place in Beijing - after all, Great Britain have never failed to qualify both men’s and women’s teams since the sport was reintroduced into the Olympic programme in 1998.
“It’s really good to get to play some of our rivals quite close to the competition,” said Dodds. “There will be confidence we get from beating them.
“It’s going to be tough - South Korea and Japan are both there and they’re really strong teams. But if we keep playing the way we are, we’re going to be up there.”
Sportsbeat 2021
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