11 March 2025
Henderson & Munro: Scotland’s rising curling duo with big dreams
After speaking to Fay Henderson and Robyn Munro for a few minutes, you can tell they are quite the double act. They bounce off each other well; chiming in throughout the interview without abrupt interruption, like two well-trained podcast hosts.
In their home nation, they, like many duos, could be likened to Jack and Victor – two pensioners from the Scottish sitcom Still Game. However, Henderson and Munro still have quite a few decades to go before they can put their feet up and retire.
Having freshly turned 23 and 21, they play at the back end of one of the most exciting rinks in international curling. Skipped by Henderson with Munro as the vice-skip, they play alongside 28-year-old Beijing 2022 Olympic gold medallist Hailey Duff and Katie McMillan, who has just turned 24. Ready to jump in if needed, is 24-year-old alternate Lisa Davie. It’s a squad still far from their apex.
Breakthrough season
In fact, Team Henderson has had a breakout season — climbing from 45th to, at the time of writing, 25th in the world rankings. The Scots have challenged some of the best in the world, with most playing junior curling not so long ago.
Henderson and Munro won the World Junior title together just two years ago and the month before that, finished fourth at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games, where they were against much older opposition.
Scottish Women’s Championships
Fast forward, and Team Henderson — missing Munro as part of their lineup — claimed gold at the 2024 Scottish Women’s Curling Championship, beating Rebecca Morrison’s rink in the final. They repeated that feat with Munro inserted into the rink in 2025, giving selectors a headache as to who would represent Scotland at the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship 2025.
Ultimately, with a stronger world ranking of 17th and a bronze medal at the European Curling Championships earlier this season — for which Henderson was the alternate for Team Morrison — the selectors chose Morrison. With Scotland currently in the final eighth automatic qualification spot for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, it was a decision not taken lightly with such high stakes on the line.
Using the selection as motivation
Disappointment was apparent with the decision made, but it has not broken them. Henderson’s rise has been likened to one of her heroes, Eve Muirhead — although she is quick to note that she is “much older” than the 2022 Olympic champion was when she competed at her first Games, at the age of 19. The skip added that the sport “isn’t really age-dependent” and that experience comes with exposure, rather than age.
“If you can tick off the team above you by getting a few good wins against them, I think that’s just enough confidence to keep chasing that,” said Henderson, taking time before training to speak in a coffee shop.
“Our goal and Team [Ross] Whyte’s goal going into the Scottish Championships was to try and make the selection decision as difficult as possible to prove that we deserve to be there.
“We knew we had to win to be within a chance of selection, we just used that pressure as a motivator.
“Arguably they had more to lose, but we had more to gain.
“We just took that as a motivator and obviously used it to our advantage.”
Points for Milano Cortina on the line
“We are the second team, so we have to assume that Team Morrison are going to go to the Worlds and are going to qualify for the Olympics,” said Munro, who chose to take the lead to senior competition full-time this season, relinquishing her last eligible year as a junior.
“Then it’s up to the selectors to make the decision on that team.
“Our motivators come from everything else that we can achieve in the sport.
“Our goals are to try and get ourselves into the Grand Slams, keep having strong performances on tour and set ourselves up for success in other ways.
“Obviously, it would be amazing to go to the Olympics next year, but I think Fay and I always knew that 2030 was probably where we were aiming for.”
The flip side to an upcoming Olympic year
Henderson added that selection will always be “outwith our control” aside from performing to the best of their ability. If that does not go in their favour, there is a consolation — the Scottish selection criteria during an Olympic season means if Great Britain go to the Olympic Games, another team will represent Scotland at the World Women’s Curling Championship.
“If we’re not selected as the Olympic team, we want to have a good enough season to show that we can be the team to go to the World Championship next year,” said Henderson.
“We’ve also spoken a lot with our coach about if we do go to that Worlds, we don’t want to just go to that Worlds just because we’re not the Olympic team.
“We want to go to that Worlds because we know we can perform well enough to get on that podium.”
While the 2024-2025 season has seen the quartet suffer heavy defeats to the likes of Silvana Tirinzoni, Isabella Wranaa and Fujisawa Satsuki, they have surprised established teams such as those skipped by Denmark’s Madeleine Dupont and Olympic mixed doubles champion Stefania Constantini, defeating the latter to win their season opening tournament, the Euro Super Series.
Runs to the semi-finals of the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic and the International Bernese Ladies Cup showed promise heading into the rest of the year and moving into the Olympic season next autumn.
“Being a junior and joining a new team, sometimes you have to keep your expectations realistic,” said Munro.
“We understand that we don’t hit the numbers that Tirinzoni hit normally, but it’s about finding your edge and we’ve really worked on things that we can really get the edge on these teams.
“That got us a win against Constantini at the beginning of the season, but there’s been some other really close games in there.”
“And those wins against the top teams will start to come once we iron out some things,” added Henderson.
“And I think that’s the exciting part, is that we’re not there yet and the potential is unlimited right now.”
Part of that stability comes with day-to-day life too. Munro is still studying politics and international relations at Strathclyde University, while earning some income in a coffee shop. Henderson, who recently graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in geography, works in Stirling for a British supermarket, aptly named Morrisons.
“It keeps the extra bit of money and it keeps me dealing with the public,” said the skip.
“It’s also good to just have something else outside of curling.
“Even if it’s not our team, it’s the same coaches, it’s the same other players, other athletes in the programme — so it’s good to get some other chat.”
The front end of the team
While the two youngest members of the team are going through transitional stages, Munro jokes that Duff is at “such a different part of her life”, having bought a house in Perth with her partner, while raising her two dogs who she calls “her kids”. McMillan, who like Munro was raised in Stranraer, moved near Stirling when she was added to the Olympic programme.
They seem to have cooked up the perfect storm with their line-up, with Munro praising the experience of Duff, who played lead on Muirhead’s final rink.
“She obviously won the Olympics in 2022 so that was quite intimidating for me,” said Munro, when she joined the rink.
“She’s achieved a lot. You’re her new teammate and you just want to prove that you’re also able to do that.
“So I think Hailey brings a lot of experience to the team and also just such a calm presence in nature, which definitely cancels me out.”
Henderson adds that Duff’s organisational skills off the ice keep the rest of them in check, admitting that keeping a diary together is not her strongest attribute as a skip.
The pair praise McMillan’s talent with the broom calling her a “powerful sweeper”, and a machine in the gym.
“In the gym she’s always there trying to push an extra repetition or she’s always there cheering for you,” said Munro.
“She has really helped me with sweeping and the same with Lisa, she’s also a really powerful front end sweeper and they bring a lot to the team.
“Lisa’s peel weight is always something that all of us want to challenge as well because that’s a bit of a weapon that she has.”
Even a sports psychologist’s analysis of the rink revealed they are all task-focused individuals which the vice-skip says is “such a weapon”.
“We found that we’re really good at dealing with the task at hand, grinding out the win,” added Henderson.
“If there’s something that needs to be spoken about later, we’re very good at coming into that and not blurring the lines between the two.”
Life on the road
This season has been one of learning for the duo, who travelled together on the World Curling Tour for the first time. While playing elite teams regularly was a new experience, it also allowed a lot of time for bonding together, changing up who shares hotel rooms together and always having dinner together. The rink even started a book club.
“We all like to read, apart from Fay,” added Munro, while also mentioning their love for shopping when in Canada.
“That’s where Hailey isn’t as disciplined as she normally is off the ice.”
While the team seem to be bonding better by the day, the partnership Henderson and Munro have is hard to come by in the sport. Henderson said there is a “competitive edge” when the two are training in the gym, trying to one-up each other on repetitions.
“I think the balance is almost between mine and Robyn’s personality, because a lot of the time I can be a little bit more aggressive sometimes when taking risks,” said Henderson.
“I think that’s something that Fay and I enjoyed the first year we played together,” added Munro.
“What I missed when we didn’t play together is we do really balance each other out and there’s times when I’m really up for taking a risk and I have to convince Fay to come on board or need her to level me off.
“I guess we just complement each other and the rest of the team are very good at doing that as well.
“Making sure either we don’t get too ahead of ourselves or we seize the opportunity when it’s there to punish them.”
Despite some low points, it has been a season to fondly remember. Aside from the quartet’s success, Munro — who was once described as a “Duracell Bunny” by a coach due to her energy — even won the mixed doubles tournament with Orrin Carson at this year’s FISU World University Games.
This hardy attitude to grind out games and the confidence from this season’s victories puts them in good stead, with the Olympics less than a year away. It may be an uphill battle, but they relish the opportunity and hope to replicate the achievements of Team Muirhead.
“It’s a big challenge and we just use that as a motivator,” said Munro.
“If you’re talking about Eve as well, it’s great to see what’s come before you and see what can be achieved and what’s possible.
“It’s just an extra motivator to prove that you want it to be your name and your team that are achieving those things.”
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