Dutch and Austrian.
This year's November chalenger is very international for us. We have five different national teams in our group and we start today's pair of games against the opponents we met at the last European Championships - the Netherlands. On the bench is experienced Italian coach Violetta Caldart. The usual question about how Anna is doing and my usual answer is that she is well, at home with her son. The Dutch women use a one-way communication system, so the implementation team knows exactly how the players are getting along during the game, which helps with any time-outs afterwards. Personally, I find the use of this technology problematic, but the situation in curling is changing overall and it is reflected in the rules, so maybe it will become standard in the future. We are leading, but we make things a bit more difficult in the sixth end and only with a bit of luck in the seventh end and some precise play in the eighth end do we lead the duel to our win. It's getting dark outside, we have three hours off and then a night match against the Austrians. At 21.30 we start training and confirm our excellent form for the last stone draw. Again we have an advantage, but we "capitalize" only in the fourth end, when we tie the game at one-one. We change tactics and then manage to score points thanks to pressure and better creativity in the rings. The spicy moment comes at the end of the game when we take a time-out, but when I go downstairs I find that the night porter has locked the connecting door from the outside and I have no way to get to the ice. It all gets sorted out after a while and the meeting with the team finally takes place, even though I run up and down the stairs, back and forth. No sooner do I land than my opponent takes a time-out. I just wave my hand in resignation. I don't go anywhere and just wave from behind the glass to the girls that everything is fine and they have it under control. The win is sealed shortly after midnight and we are back in our rooms around 12:30. Seven hours until the next game.