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Trouble. With ice.

Last night's practice ended sometime after 12:30 a.m., and we were fortunate that some teams that were supposed to be ahead of us didn't come at all, or came in late, and we jumped ahead in the standings. Clara and I checked the stones and made optimal pairs for the players. Talking with the icemaker, it turned out that the technical break in the middle of the men's round had its antecedents in the women's matches. Apparently the ice was already losing its quality there and the course was on the edge of regularity. Overall, the conditions can only be described as satisfactory. The ice speed varies from 15.2 to 13.3 and the ice spins a maximum of three feet, more like two and a half and on some lanes even less. A likely source of problems is the large groups of speed skaters that circle at regular intervals on the large oval that surrounds the four curling lanes. They create air eddies which are felt as temperature fluctuations. But the main problem is a fault in the cooling equipment, which has already had one major failure. The Czech women were up against the Germans in the morning, and Ežen's medical indisposition sent Klara onto the ice. We improvised a bit with the assignment of the players for the timed practice throws, but we managed it, even though the Germans got the advantage. A cautious start, after three ends we are one down with the advantage and Daniella Jentsch is committed to a big offensive play. She puts up two guards and tries to go for it. But we gradually pile up our stones in the rings and score five points with the final split. The Germans drop out and allow an extra three. The match is seemingly decided, but we're only halfway through and there could be many more ends to come. In the sixth and seventh, the Germans always correct with a one, but in the eighth they give up. After a very solid performance, we have our first win in the women's category.rn

At 2 p.m., the Czechs play a televised match against the home team. The special match starts better for the Dutch with a three in the second end. After a series of ones, the Czechs take the lead 4:3. The Dutch then turn the tide with two consecutive ones and in a nervous ending, the home team finally holds on to a two-point lead to record their second win. Our men have a record of two wins and two losses.

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Yesterday's women's game against the Latvians was scrappy from the start. We did take a two-all advantage in the first end, but that was it for a long time. The backstretch offered two feet of spin on one side and about three on the other. In the first half we were unable to take advantage of our opponent's mistakes and in the second half the Latvians made few, if any, errors. Nevertheless, we still fought back and created good opportunities at the very end. But it wasn't enough. The victory goes to the Latvians.

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photo: Czech women after the match against Germany