ALTHOUGH eight of the 10 skips at the Bell's Islander Scottish Curling

Championship finals have international experience, most who follow the

sport expect the final will be contested by the world champion side of

David Smith, from Perth, and former European champion Hammy McMillan

with his Stranraer team.

The favourites played together when the prize was a place at the

Olympics. That was in Calgary in 1988, when the Scots team had a

disastrous competition. Smith, with McMillan at third and Mike Hay and

Peter Smith as the front end, did not win a game, an experience which

led directly to the parting of the ways for skip and third.

Both men have since achieved much on the ice, Smith winning world

golds last year and McMillan the European championship in '89.

Smith, with Graeme Connal, Peter Smith, and David Hay, and McMillan,

with Norman Brown, Gordon Muirhead, and Roger McIntyre, both would be

well equipped to be Great Britain's representatives in Pralognan for the

1992 Olympic demonstration next month. The winners also will represent

Scotland at the 'Worlds' in Garmisch in March.

Eight other teams will line-up at the Dewar's rinks in Perth this

week. Five have realistic chances of reaching the semi-finals. Colin

Hamilton, champion in 1981 and '82, is having a good season and should

not be far away.

Douglas Dryburgh's Aviemore team, with his brothers James and Stewart,

and Ewen Brown at lead, already have beaten Smith's men this season.

Dryburgh has been away from the mainstream for two seasons but the

absence may have rekindled his desire to win.

Ken Horton, Scottish champion as skip in 1977 and as third for Graeme

Adam in '83 and '89, also should be challenging for one of the top-four

places if his team play to form. But business commitments mean that

Horton is in America this week and he is not due home until today.

The Forest Hills side have their three toughest games tomorrow against

Dryburgh, Smith, and McMillan. If they survive this they should be in

the hunt on Sunday.

Billy Howat (Ayr) was champion in 1985 and a semi-finalist last year.

He has brought David Ramsay into the team at lead to join Simon Hartley

and Iain Watt.

Grant McPherson, the '87 winner, teamed up with Mike Hay this season,

and with the Perth curler in the head, the Galleon team did well to come

through the Aviemore play-down after a disappointing start to the

season.

Lindsay Scotland (Border), George McConnell (Greenacres), and Ian

Drysdale (Kirkcaldy) make up the draw. No-one expects these three teams

to be there for Sunday's play-offs but they should not be taken lightly.

It remains only to hope that the Perth ice will remain as good as it

has been so far this season to allow the country's best players to

demonstrate their skill. The ''free guard zone rule'' will be in force.

First games get under way tonight at 7 o'clock. The top-four teams after

the round-robin will contest semi-finals and final on Sunday.

First-round matches:

L Scotland (Border) v K Horton (Forest Hills), C Hamilton (Gogar Park)

v H McMillan (Stranraer), D Dryburgh (Aviemore) v G McPherson (Galleon),

D Smith (Perth) v B Howat (Ayr), G McConnell (Greenacres) v I Drysdale

(Kirkcaldy).