Author’s view from coaching benchby Brian Chick
GSTAAD, Switzerland – The Swiss Championships wrapped up yesterday and judging from the hangover, Team Tirinzoni either did very poorly or very well.
On the men’s side, Sven Michel’s team from Adelboden continued their dominant week. The surprising thing about their final was that their opponents weren’t Team Peter De Cruz. After losing the 1-2 game, De Cruz struggled in the semi against Bernhard Werthemann of Bern. Werthemann kept the final fairly close, but it was clear Team Michel was in control the whole time.
With the victory, Michel not only advances to the world championship in Victoria, B.C., but he also essentially locks up the spot for Swiss Olympic representation a year from now. The Swiss men’s team, however, are not yet qualified for Sochi 2014, and would have to win a play-in qualifier.
On the women’s side, Silvana Tirinzoni beat Ott in the Page playoff 1 vs 2 game, then waited for them to play Manuela Seigrist in the semifinal. Ott had to draw the button with her last shot to avoid an extra end, and moved on to a rematch with Tirinzoni in the final, their fourth matchup of the week.
Trailing 2-1 in the third end, Tirinzoni made an in-off for two, then stole one in the following end. After that, the teams traded deuces until Tirinzoni made an angle-raise hit for three in the eighth end. Ott, the defending world champion, took two back in the ninth but came up short with her last draw in the final end, giving Team Tirinzoni the Swiss Championship and a trip to the women’s worlds in Riga, Latvia.
Heavy metal, Swiss curling-styleThe finalists were piped on to the ice for the awards ceremony and presented with their medals. Yes, even in Switzerland, a kilted pipe-band is still part of the festivities.
A few observations:
• After my first event post here at The Curling News Blog, the number of high-fives seemed to decline. I’m not sure if teams were self-conscious or if they just lacked enthusiasm for this late in the week. We tried to introduce some into Team Tirinzoni’s routine but that was a catastrophe, so in the future we’ll stick with our standard fist-bumps.
• The event itself was managed brilliantly. The players were well taken care of, the ice was fantastic, the draws and standings were updated and posted frequently. The only complaint I heard was from Canadian fans trying to figure out the Swiss Curling Association website... which oddly, doesn’t feature any English.
• Laola1.tv offered live streaming of the three playoff draws, as they've done for many of the big European tournaments. Mike Harris, who was in the area for his Champéry coaching gig, offered commentary for the first two playoff games, while Armin Harder provided analysis for the last two draws.
• The Latvian women’s team attended the final. They are schedule to work with Harris this week in Champéry in preparation for the women’s worlds being hosted in their capital city of Riga.
[Photos by Brian Chick – click on images to increase viewing size]