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Lohja again.

Not much time has passed and the Czech teams are once again heading to the "centre" of European curling action, the small Finnish town of Lohja, or rather to the Kisakallio sports complex. The European curling championship is held here, specifically the top ten national teams in the men's and women's categories will play their European championships here. The elite group has broken away from the rest of the starting field, which, under the name "Group B", will play its section in nearby Lahti, specifically at the Pajulahti Sports Centre. Lahti is about three times the size of Lohja and is billed as the gateway to the lake area, with the town's name itself referring to another water attraction, namely its proximity to the bay - lahti in Finnish.

rn

The Czech teams arrived in Lohja yesterday afternoon and, after the necessary accommodation procedures, had dinner and introductory meetings. Both men and women are playing in the elite group this year. Last year the men defended it and the women won it, so the organisation of the expedition involved simplified logistics. Still, the preparation for the Czech national team's departure was not without hiccups, such as last-minute jerseys delivered with minor and major errors, rather substandard quality of the accommodation booked, and general confusion in communication. However, most of the confusions and difficulties were solved on the spot, and the teams were able to complete the pre-tournament procedures, including an hour-long training session to test not only the quality of the ice, but also the new electronic discard control system. Mark Callan is the head of the icemakers. During the practice session, the ice was kept at around 14.5 seconds (hog - hog) with a swing of around four feet. We expect that there will still be a slight correction in these values and we will have to "finish" the ice reading during pre-game practice.

rn

There has been a significant tightening of the inspection of brooms and their components. Teams are even required to change covers before every game at positions one, two and three. A number of foam fillers have not passed the stringent inspection and had to be replaced immediately with new ones. The serial numbers of each manufacturer have been carefully checked and the combination of components from different manufacturers is unacceptable from the WCF's point of view and teams must rectify the discrepancies before training begins. The same strict approach was applied to checking sponsor logos on clothing and the uniformity of the clothing of the implementation teams. Even millimetres play a role.