Two major curling events have just finished.
The first is the 2025 European curling Championships. Swedish teams, both women's and men's, are the European champions. The women (Hasselborg) won their third title in six years. The men also won their eighth European title after six years, but in the person of team skip Niklas Edin. Silver in the women's event goes to the Scots (Morrison) and in the men's to the Swiss. Especially in the men's final, it was evident that the ice parameters combined with the condition of the stones were not at the required highest level, especially the lack of the so-called "late finish" effect, which resulted in a slight suppression of the offensive style of play. Nevertheless, all participants of the final matches showed great performances and deserved their placements. They proved that top curling is evolving and it is impossible to win without taking advantage of current trends. The choice of the venue, i.e. the Finnish town of Lohja, and the set level of organisation are a resignation to the pursuit of a positive impact of the championship on the sporting and general public. The number of spectators in the improvised grandstand could be estimated to be in the low teens at most, as documented by the footage of the sometimes clueless cameramen. The inadequately equipped and in some respects undignified space for coaches and trainers contrasted with the need to approve the colour of coaches' trousers (dark, no writing!?) and the emphasis on uniform caps. The complete absence of partner booths or merchandising sales is also a clear signal. The overall impression could not be saved even by the return of the electronic hog-line discard control system after a number of years. We are basically back to where we were about eight years ago (replacing handles when batteries fail, unclear instructions on glove use when activating, etc.). At a time when other sports are using the latest technology, curling is stuck with paint handles and magnetic strips in the ice. What's more, at the plastic triangle when checking the placement of the stone on the center line. The controlled process leading to the marginalisation of the European Championships seems to be well underway and nothing will stop it.
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The Canadian "Trials" is a once-every-four-years tournament of exceptional quality that offers top Canadian curling in the most attractive package. Now on Saturday, the champions who will take the maple leaf to the Olympics were crowned. Team Jacobs in the men's division and Team Homan in the women's division. These are not surprising names. Both winning lineups put in very solid performances and the highlights included a few stones that almost defy normal human ability to plan and execute. Again, there were critical voices on the quality of the ice, which had their justification, for example in one of the Homan - Black duels when a track clearly didn't work. However, even here both winning teams deserved their medals as they were the best in their eights. Canadian Trials can be an inspiration for WCF how to deal with the quality of organization of its own events in the future.
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photo: team Jacobs, team Homan, team Edin and team Hasselborg
