A seemingly free day at the European Championship.
There are a number of routine tasks to be carried out just before the start of the 2019 European Curling Championships. The point is to make sure that everything is in place, that things are working, that everyone is healthy after a tough trip. But also that we know where the changing rooms are, how far away the toilets are, what the temperature is in the hall. Knowing bus departure times, knowing who makes the ice, where they cook well and from what time to what time, and so on. We started the day with a fabulous breakfast with a variety of healthy ingredients and a disclaimer that since we are in Greta Thunberg country, the breakfast service is completely plastic-free. O.K. We walked to the lobby. On the way we passed the beautiful Olympia ice rink and found a slightly squat hockey practice double hall behind it. One section would be the B's. Not too many spectators can fit in there. And the other arena is the A's arena, and there's a little bit of a crowd there. The ice looked good at first glance, but everything was still in the preliminary stage. Stefan Lund, the head of the Swedish curlers, came to greet us and, as always, was very insightful about all the hardships the organisers had to go through. In the afternoon we had lunch, had a massive team meeting and in the evening we went for a walk first together and then individually. And we followed the guidelines.
rnphoto: Czech women in the hall