St. Gallen - juniors.
After six years, I am back in St. Gallen. This time with the junior national team at the EJCT tournament. In 2017, the Czech women performed a brave performance here and advanced from Group A directly to the World Championships, which took place a few months later in North Bay, Canada. The result was sixth place, the best ever placing for women in the world competition. The junior national teams will be looking to return to the world elite in December, after a lean nine years of hardship and futile knocking on the door of the world's ten-man elite club. Over that long period, several talented players have tried to break through, but success has not been forthcoming. September's tournament, traditionally staffed by Brigitta Brunner, held in the city known as the gateway to the Appenzell Alps, marks the start of the competitive season for the national U21 players. This includes the Czech ones. There are three Czech teams, two men's and one women's. The national junior men's team, led by captain Vít Chabičovský, played their first match against the German team of Sebastian Heim, led by experienced coach Gesa Angricková. Despite the significant difference in the quality of the ice, if we compare St. Gallen and the Roztyl hall in Prague, the Czech men successfully, albeit narrowly, managed the opening duel and outplayed the Germans with a three in the last end. This earned them the first three points in the group table. David Škácha, Kryštof Žďárský, Ondřej Bodlák and Vít Chabičovský will play four more matches in the group and the final table will determine the qualifiers for the extra stage. In the afternoon Jan Matějíček's team playing in the second group lost to the Scots (skip Ross Craik). Tomorrow morning the Czech women (skip Veronika Vašáková) will play against the Swiss (skip Zoe Schwallerová).
rn
photo: clean, bright and fragrant curling hall in St. Gallen