Team GB's Olympic and Paralympic curling teams are opening the new National Curling Academy today (23 August), with the £3.15m (US$4m, €3.4m) facility the first dedicated year-round curling centre in Scotland.

Located in Stirling and jointly funded by SportScotland and the Stirling Council, the academy has been built on an extension to the Stirling Sports Village PEAK facilities.

The Olympic teams, captained by Eve Muirhead and Kyle Smith, will be joined at the event by minister for Public Health and Sport, Aileen Campbell, SportScotland’s performance director Mike Whittingham and Stirling Council leader Scott Farmer.

Scotland is the home of British curling, which in turn is one of the sports that provide Team GB's best opportunities to win medals at the Winter Olympics. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the UK picked up a silver medal in the men's curling and bronze in both the women's and wheelchair events.

"SportScotland and Stirling Council’s investment partnership has resulted in a world-class facility and home to curling in Scotland," said Mike Whittingham.

"The sport now has a terrific opportunity to attract new, grassroots curlers while, simultaneously, a dedicated hub for our performance athletes can help them continue to achieve excellent results on the world stage."

The ice at the National Curling Academy is being tested by the athletes and will be open to community clubs and the public from 4 September.

The 2018 Winter Olympics take place from 9-25 February in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with the Paralympic Games following on 9-18 March. The Paralympic team will be announced in December.