Déjà vu. The results of the 2016 and 2017 European Championships are quite similar.

The hat and its removal is an expression of respect and admiration. European Curling Championships 2017. The women retained the elite group for the next European Championships and qualified the Czech Republic for the 2018 World Championships. The men finish third in Group B, that is to say, medal-winning but just below the threshold of success. Among the women, the Finns and Latvians move up to the A group, replacing the Turks and Hungarians. In the men, the Finns and Poles go up at the expense of the Austrians and Slovaks. The women are happy and the men are disappointed. The men's championship in Group B is actually a one-match competition for the high performance teams, namely the semi-final match. There is a tipping point for success and disappointment. Playing Group B is tricky. The teams are quality, ambitious and many of them can only surprise. Luck also plays a part. Group A is mentally a lot easier, but levels are a different story. In general, three wins are enough to stay in the group and sometimes only five wins are needed for the play-offs, but the opponents are Europe's top teams and not easy to beat. Czech curling may have improved overall in the last ten years, but European and world curling has improved by at least the same amount. All the teams that placed ahead of the Czech women at the European Championships (except the Germans) have implementation teams including psychologists, physiotherapists, fitness coaches, national coaches, video analysts, team leaders, plus assistants, treasurers and more. When comparing the number of preparatory matches played overseas, again everyone, this time including the Germans (excluding the Italians), have played many more. It will probably take more money, more time, a wider implementation team, more detailed study of new trends, more travel, more statistics and team meetings. Improve a few percent to win more games. But even without that, it's admirable what Czech curling has accomplished in its 27 years of existence. Hats off to all those who have contributed and are contributing.