Euro Mixed 2009

The European Mixed Curling Championship 2009 is nearing its climax in beautiful Prague, Czech Republic.

Some four years old now, the event is the second-largest competition on the ECF (European Curling Federation) calendar, after December’s men’s and women’s Le Gruyère European Championships.

After nearly a week of competition, the host nation has made it through one tiebreaker (beating Russia) and faces defending champions Germany in a bid to battle Scotland in Saturday’s semifinals.

The other semi will see England face off against Denmark. The Danes won the title two years ago.

Countries from the United Kingdom seem to do well in traditional Mixed discipline. Last year’s champions hailed from... Wales!

The website is a typical example of Czech enthusiasm for curling. Attractive in design and functionality, it includes some wonderfully atypical photographs, above and here and here (courtesy of Mr. Volfik) as well as a daily video for your enjoyment (courtesy of Josef Podrabsky).

World Curling Federation summer camps and courses

The Fed – the World Curling Federation – has announced its lineup of 2009 summer curling camps and courses, and online registration is now underway.

Click here to see the essential info on each of the five symposiums which are on tap, and to register online.

And move fast, because these weeks and weekends fill up pretty quickly.

There is serious curling tech stuff – the Ice Technicians Course, an Umpire Course/Rules Seminar, plus a Level 1 Technical Instructor Course.

And then there is the wildly popular stuff for kids of all ages.

The Füssen Junior Curling Camp is now in its 11th year, and some 120 kids from around the world will gather in Germany along with 18 instructors for a week of curling mayhem.

The photo above shows the “Green” team at the Füssen Junior Camp in 2006. Yippee!

And don’t get us started on the Adult Curling Camp, which will host its third edition in gorgeous Prague, in the Czech Republic. And you thought only the kids can have fun?

64 participants mix with hardcore curling coaches and real-life curling superstars, and the result is, along with all the camps and courses, a serious upward bell curve in curling skills, comprehension and motivation for the 2010 Olympic season. At any and all levels of play, of course.

Plus great food and wine. But we’re just guessing about that.

There’s a pile of Canadians involved in these seminars, of course. From ice maestro Hans Wuthrich (the Ice Tech course) to coaching wizards Dick Henderson, Scott Arnold and Brian Chick – to competitive throwers like former Sherry Middaugh second Kate Hamer – there’s a little bit of Canuckism in every event category.

Prague Adult Curling Camp

Have you heard about Prague? Not only is the stunning Czech capital (above) one of the world’s top travel destinations, it is also host to Europe’s only Adult Curling Camp.

This year’s camp, a second-year collaboration between the World Curling Federation and the Czech Curling Association, takes place May 31 to June 3 and features hands-on coaching from four top Canadian coaches and four additional high-performance curlers.

There are only a few spots left, so book your travel and your spot in the camp right away.

Some other stuff ...


• Alberta’s Fort Saskatchewan club wants a 50K loan ...

• The Potomac just got Waymarked (TM) ...

• Texas Dan was at the big Texas Open bonspiel in Dallas ...

• And finally, here’s a lengthy report on the Canadian Legion championship, hosted in Dauphin, Manitoba back in February, which was marred by events such as a train derailment ...