The regular season is over.
The playoffs have been decided. In both competitions, the young teams (Ledolamky and Dion Young Boys) faltered and lost their last games against weaker opponents. The wins would have been enough for them to complete the foursome that will be vying for national shirts. This year's experiment let last year's champions, teams Liboc and Brno, directly into the extra league, and the participants had two fewer games in three weekends than in previous years. The only newcomer in the top eight (four men's and four women's teams) is the Zbraslav OH team, led by Karel Klíma. The competition model itself is apparently fine. The CSC Competition Committee will certainly evaluate the past year, name the pros and cons of the new model and provide information to the membership base. However, it is evident that we are facing some technical problems that are not communicated to the players and coaches at all. And they should. There is certainly no difficulty in dealing with the circumstance of a timekeeper not turning up because he is ill. But to do it in a way that doesn't set up different conditions for each lane already requires changing the delegation of some rights to the head umpire of the day. Similarly, a team that plays two matches on the same track on the same day has an undeniable advantage. Any three of the four lanes are used for the game! The really strange thing is the absolute non-spin of the ice. Yesterday, one experienced player, former national champion, commented: "If it will be like this in the mixed doubles final, I feel really sorry for Tomáš and Zuzka." On some lanes it has gotten so far that the swing is less than two feet and it leaves "marks" on the game expression of the Czech top teams. The current men's extraliga winner also paid the price in his last league match when the last stone, although well thrown, didn't qualify due to a completely flat trajectory. It's a shame, because it doesn't allow Czech teams that travel to foreign tournaments to prepare for standard conditions. It is not clear what the problem is, but this circumstance deserves a debate. Let's wish that the best players win the final battles.