THE performance director of Scottish & British Curling has made a robust defence of his organisation's selection policies after it emerged that Eve Muirhead and her World Championship-winning rink will not be permitted to defend their title in Canada next year.

As part of a review carried out by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club two years ago, the decision was taken to "strongly recommend" that any athletes chosen to represent Great Britain at the Winter Olympics were prevented from competing at the World Championships in the same year. That policy was reviewed last month but, after fresh deliberations by the performance committee, it was decided that the rationale behind it – namely that it enables those selected to focus on the Olympics and those not the opportunity to compete in international events – still stands.

While the motion in itself would not strictly debar the Perthshire skip and her team – who are almost certain to be selected for Sochi next January – from defending their crown, the fact the Games overlap with the Scottish Championships does, given that the winners automatically earn a place at the world event and that the RCCC are unwilling or unable to reschedule. Likewise, the expected inclusion of David Murdoch's rink as the men's representatives in Sochi will preclude them from attempting to improve on their world bronze.

Muirhead, and colleagues Anna Sloan, Claire Hamilton and Vicky Adams, are understood to be dismayed by the situation, particularly given that they are Scotland's only full-time female rink. However, while David Crosbee, British & Scottish Curling's performance director, empathises, he has insisted that curling cannot allow short-termism to compromise the development of the sport.

"It's fair to say the reaction has not been great and I can understand their position and I'd be worried it they didn't feel that way," he told Herald Sport. "It might be bold but what is the alternative? To do nothing? My job is to build towards the Olympics in 2018 and try and build strength in depth so it would make less sense to do nothing

"This decision has not been taken blithely; we've looked at other sports, such as cycling and rowing, who have identified their key competition, focused their energies on that, and taken the opportunity to blood talent in the other ones. We will not be able to gauge the success of that for a few years yet but what I would say is that Eve's rink, with Anna as skip, went to the World Championships in 2011 and finished ninth and that experience was all part of the process to get them to where they are now."

With a Scottish girls' rink led by Hannah Fleming earning silver at this year's World Junior Championships – and the boys' team under the command of Kyle Smith taking gold – there are others emerging from the system. Crosbee's concern is that, by repeatedly exposing the same handful of athletes to every major international event, the continued development of the youngsters will be compromised.

"This was decided in 2011 but all of a sudden it has become an issue," he said. "But the thing is, at what point are we supposed to blood talented young players in a championship environment? I would never want to downplay a World Championship but the Olympics are more important and that's where our top teams will be in January."