{"id":41272,"date":"2026-04-07T18:47:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/?p=41272"},"modified":"2026-04-13T18:48:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:48:53","slug":"missing-arenas-the-invisible-work-of-officials-and-fair-play-a-look-behind-the-scenes-of-czech-curling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/missing-arenas-the-invisible-work-of-officials-and-fair-play-a-look-behind-the-scenes-of-czech-curling\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing arenas, the invisible work of officials, and fair play. A look behind the scenes of Czech curling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quiet before the storm, gleaming ice, and a unique community that stands firmly together. The final tournament of the Czech Women\u2019s Curling Championship in Prague\u2013Roztyly shows that this unconventional sport is about much more than delivering stones with precision. It is about the invisible work of officials behind the scenes, the significant personal sacrifices of the players, and the transformation of a sport that is rapidly professionalizing and raising the bar for athletes. Join us as we look behind the scenes, where the tournament begins long before the first shot is played.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I arrive at the curling hall in Prague\u2013Roztyly on Thursday, March 26th, just a few minutes before 3 PM. According to the schedule, the first training session is set to begin momentarily. At first glance, it seems as though nothing is happening\u2014the unused ice gleams under the lights, the stands are silent, and only a few people are moving around the sheets. But the calm doesn’t last long. Within minutes, the space that appeared empty begins to fill with voices, movement, and the rhythm that will dictate the rest of the afternoon.<\/p>\n

This is where, over the next several days, the final tournament of the Czech Women\u2019s Curling Championship will take place, alongside junior and senior competitions. The best women’s teams in the country meet here, young players at the start of their careers, and experienced curlers who have stayed with the sport for decades. Thursday\u2019s program is dedicated mainly to training sessions and the opening women\u2019s matches, but even within the first moments, it’s clear that the tournament doesn\u2019t begin with the first stone\u2014it starts much earlier.<\/p>\n

Training follows a strict structure. Thirty minutes for two teams, no delays. On sheets two and three, Dion XX and Kolibris 7 take turns, followed by Liboc 3 and Savona H. There is practically no break between the slots\u2014just a quick sheet swap, and the next group steps on. One of the officials calls out regularly through the hall: \u201cOne minute left, one minute to start.\u201d Meanwhile on the ice, the same sequences repeat, accompanied by coaches\u2019 instructions: \u201cSix hits there, six back.\u201d Everything has its rhythm and precision.<\/p>\n

At first glance, the training sessions look relaxed. The players laugh, stretch, chat with each other. Everyone here knows everyone else; they\u2019re on first\u2011name terms, greeting one another with hugs. The atmosphere feels more like a community gathering than a top-level sporting event. But once the series of throws starts, everything settles. Only concentration remains\u2014focused communication and the numbers calling out the speed of each throw: \u201cNine, ten.\u201d In those thirty minutes, players fine-tune the details that will later decide the evening matches.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On one of the sheets, the players automatically clean the bottoms of the stones after each throw, while a coach next to them replaces a broom head after the session. These are the details spectators never see\u2014but they are vital for performance. Young players slip into the back room between training blocks to quickly deal with school assignments during the short break, while just a few meters away another team is already fine\u2011tuning its last shots.<\/p>\n

The tournament begins long before the first shot<\/strong><\/p>\n

While training is underway on the ice, completely different things are being handled backstage. Referees arrive from various parts of the country\u2014some even travelling from Brno\u2014to ensure they are on-site in time. Several of them arrive before the training sessions begin and jump straight into work. They check team rosters, manage the timing system, assign sheets, and prepare the structure of each match. Sometimes, they deal even with basic matters that elsewhere might be taken for granted. \u201cThere won\u2019t be a timing system on sheet two,\u201d someone notes during preparations\u2014an apparent triviality, yet one that can significantly affect the course of a game.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually there are two of us here. The job is always easier that way. When you\u2019re alone, that\u2019s too much work,\u201d one of the referees says, describing the demands of the role. He explains that their job isn’t only about watching the game. \u201cThe most common tasks we handle here are monitoring the timing system and measuring stones in the house,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These details\u2014almost invisible during the match\u2014are what ensure the fairness and integrity of the entire tournament. In one of the rooms, the trophy is already waiting, polished and ready. Elsewhere, officials are addressing equipment or small issues, such as the timing device for a specific sheet. A tournament does not begin with the first stone\u2014it begins long before that.<\/p>\n

The ideal age to start? The sport has dramatically gotten younger<\/strong><\/p>\n

Curling in the Czech Republic is not a sport with a clear or straightforward entry path. Most players discover it more or less by accident. \u201cI got into curling through my sister, who saw it during the Olympics,\u201d says Michaela Baudy\u0161ov\u00e1 from team Liboc 3. She started around the age of fifteen, and only a few years later she was already part of the national team. \u201cI think you can reach a really high level even if you start at eighteen,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

This rather optimistic view is challenged by Petr Hor\u00e1k, coach of the rival team Dion XX. According to him, curling has shifted and become significantly younger on a global scale. \u201cBack then, starting at twenty was fine, but it was a completely different league. Now the level is so high that the ideal starting age is between eight and twelve,\u201d Hor\u00e1k explains. He points out that while the world\u2019s top teams used to be dominated by players in their forties, today world championships are won by athletes around twenty\u2011two years old. Trying to catch up on missing technique at a later age, he says, has become extremely difficult.<\/p>\n

\n

This creates a unique blend of stories all meeting on the same tournament stage. Juniors, elite female athletes, and men over fifty \u2014 each with different experiences, different beginnings, and different motivations, yet all sharing the same sheets of ice. In this sense, curling feels different from most other sports. But the same rule applies: if you want to succeed, you must devote a substantial part of your life to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

From work straight to the ice \u2014 and the challenge of missing infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Behind the relatively calm image on the ice lies an everyday routine that is far from comfortable. Evening practices, work during the day, and almost no free time. \u201cI get up at 6:30, go to work, then I go for a run, and from seven to nine I\u2019m at curling,\u201d says Baudy\u0161ov\u00e1, describing her usual day. Balancing the sport with a full\u2011time job is, according to her, extremely demanding. \u201cIt\u2019s really tough\u2026 every season I think about quitting,\u201d she admits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On top of that comes the reality of the conditions under which curling is played in the Czech Republic. Number of facilities is limited, and the sport is played in only a handful of cities \u2014 in some places even on modified hockey rinks. According to coach Petr Hor\u00e1k, infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges. \u201cIf you want to compete at a good level, you have to sacrifice both time and money,\u201d he explains. Curling may not be as expensive as some other winter sports, but it is impossible to progress without personal commitment.<\/p>\n

Despite all of this, curling has one distinctive feature that sets it apart: the atmosphere. Disputed situations are resolved directly by the players, without the need for a referee\u2019s intervention. \u201cMost of the time, the teams manage to agree on their own,\u201d says one of the officials. \u201cIt should always follow the spirit of fair play.\u201d Even between matches, the environment remains relaxed. Players move to the on\u2011site restaurant, watch the other teams practice, and chat with one another. Teams even buy drinks for each other. Equipment for the public lies next to the sheets, showing an effort to open the sport to a wider audience.<\/p>\n

Shortly after five o\u2019clock, the matches begin. Two games run simultaneously, the clock is ticking. What had previously unfolded at a calm pace suddenly takes on a clear competitive frame. Yet the feeling remains that most of the important things have already happened\u2014during the training sessions, in the preparations, and behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

When the lights go out shortly after 7:30 p.m., the ice is left empty. Silence returns just as quickly as it disappeared a few hours earlier. What the spectator sees during a match is only a fraction of the full story. The rest takes place away from the cameras \u2014 in the players\u2019 daily routines, in the work of the referees, and even in the improvisation that holds the entire tournament together. Curling in the Czech Republic is not just a sport; it is above all a community of people who keep it alive.<\/p>\n

\n

Author: Patrik Hlav\u00e1\u010d. Translated from original text in Czech<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Quiet before the storm, gleaming ice, and a unique community that stands firmly together. The final tournament of the Czech Women\u2019s Curling Championship in Prague\u2013Roztyly shows that this unconventional sport is about much more than delivering stones with precision. It is about the invisible work of officials behind the scenes, the significant personal sacrifices of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":41100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41272"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41279,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41272\/revisions\/41279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}