Petr Slavik.

"We haven't changed the rules since last time." A winged sentence of Petr Slavik, a friend, player, umpire, former official of the Czech Curling Federation. We always heard this sentence, uttered with a foxy smile, from him before a league round, when Petr was the head umpire. Peter died a few days ago, leaving us surprised and stunned. We knew each other well. He never failed to send a congratulatory message after any victory for my team. Even two hours after midnight. With Peter as a teammate I attended one senior championship in Lethbridge, Canada (see - photo), we played against each other a couple of times in the Czech Cup, but my main memories are related to his involvement in the Executive Committee of the Czech Curling Association during my presidency. During the difficult period of the construction of the Roztyl quadrangle, Petr took on the thankless role of Vice President of the CSC for the construction of the hall. With his discretion and calmness, he helped to keep the negotiations on a rational level in many moments and rightfully belongs among the "founding fathers" of the Prague curling hall. A great moment for him was a personal meeting with the President of the World Curling Federation Roy Sinclair in Prague in 2004 (see photo). He liked to talk about Czech figure skating, in which he was well versed and in general was an athlete in body and soul. Petr Slavik will be sorely missed in the Czech curling environment as a player and umpire and will also be missed by wheelchair skaters for whom he was an important official. With Petr's passing, the rules have changed.