A Few Days After the Third Curling Event of the Season: Relief, Fatigue – and Joy. “When I see people at the event who are happy, that’s a huge thank-you back to me,” says Lenka Hronová, who stands behind the organization of tournaments from the World Curling Tour series – EJCT, CJCT, and WCT in Prague. What awaits her this season, and what is she working on outside of curling? She answered in an interview.
You’ve already had three events this season. How do you feel the day after the third one ended?
Right now, the day after the third event, it’s mainly relief. And fatigue. And joy – when I see people at the event who are happy, that’s a huge thank-you back to me.
Was there anything that surprised you about organizing curling events?
Every time you do a new type of event with a specific target group and in a new environment, it’s at least a little bit tense – wondering if everything will fit together nicely and turn out well. I think it worked. The teams were satisfied, and we always find something that can be improved.
I was pleasantly surprised by the interest in EJCT (European Junior Curling Tour Event) as well as the men’s WCT – both tournaments were so full that we had to turn applicants away. I believe that next year we’ll run all events at full capacity.
You and EJCT – that has quite a long history, doesn’t it?
Yes. I was there at the very beginning of EJCT, when preparations were led by Karolína. Later, Norika took over the event, and I photographed it for a few years before being asked this year to take it under my wing.
Four years ago, I also connected with clubs from Germany, Poland, and Austria, and in the meantime CJCT was created – a series of tournaments for beginner players, which continues and keeps growing.
My very first curling event, though, was EJCC 2012 (European Junior Curling Challenge), where I helped out – and that’s when I realized how much I enjoy this field.
How many events have you actually done so far?
For the past three years, I’ve been working full-time in event production. If I count even the smaller events, it’s hundreds per year where I at least play a supporting role.
It started back in university, when we organized various events in the student club at Jaderka – from board games to the faculty ball, all the way to bigger student events. Eventually, this joy carried me from science to human rights, to founding a slam poetry festival in Mladá Boleslav, preparing TEDx conferences, and other projects.
The biggest event I’ve done so far was this year’s Prague Pride Parade – for 45 000 people.
How are curling events different from others?
Every event is different – and that’s the great thing about it. Even with an event that might look “simple,” you can still refine it and take it further.
With curling tournaments, it’s specific in that even though it might seem like they can be “arranged in a month,” in reality you need to plan well in advance – teams have to book hotels and flights. Most of the work is done already in August, then there’s a calmer period, and right before the tournament it all escalates again.
For me, it’s also beautiful that I’ve been around curling since I was eight years old. I’ve known many of the people who come to tournaments for a long time, and having the chance to organize an event for them and meet again is simply a joy.
Would you say you still enjoy organizing?
Absolutely true. Doing events for people I know and seeing that they’re happy is just great. That’s what brought me to organizing events – and I think it will probably keep me here forever.
What’s next for you?
Within the season, we still have CJCT ahead of us, followed by WCT mixed doubles.
At the same time, I’m really looking forward to playing again with my own team after all that watching of matches! 😃
And then I just hope I’ll have the chance to organize WCT events again next year.
