Second Half of Our Four-Week Canada Tour

The second half of our four-week journey through Canada is now behind us.

After flying to Calgary, we competed in the Autumn Gold Curling Classic, played in a Triple Knock-Out format. Our first game was against Team Reese-Hansen, who played very well, and we had to accept a loss. In the second game, we faced Team Sluchinski and delivered a stronger performance to claim the win. Later that same day, we played against the strong Korean Team Kang. Unfortunately, too many mistakes on our side cost us the game, which dropped us into the C-Event – meaning one more loss would have meant elimination.

To keep our chances for the quarterfinals alive, we had to win three consecutive games on Sunday. The breaks between matches were so short that we even ran into one of our opponent teams at Tim Hortons – both teams trying to grab a quick bite before the next game. Time was so tight that we even did the toss right there in the Tim Hortons to decide who would have first and second practice.

Despite the exhaustion, we managed to win all three games and secured our spot in the Monday morning quarterfinals late on Sunday night. The night was short, though, and we lost the quarterfinal once again to Team Kang.

That same day, we drove about three hours from Calgary to Nisku for the final event of our four-week Canadian tour. In the evening – right after the quarterfinal in Calgary – we already had official practice at the beautiful Silent Ice Center.

On Tuesday, the second Grand Slam of the season got underway. Once again, we managed to win all our round-robin games:

• Game 1: 9:4 win against Team Skrlik

• Game 2: 9:2 win against Team Ha

• Game 3: 7:3 win against Team Tabata

• Game 4: 8:3 win against Team Fujisawa

We continued our strong form through the quarterfinal and semifinal, winning both with solid performances and reaching the Grand Slam final for the second time this season – once again against Team Homan. Unfortunately, Team Homan played with fewer mistakes and more consistency, so we had to settle for second place once again.

Even though it’s tough to lose a final, the positives clearly outweigh the disappointment. It was a strong week, we made great progress, and we now return to Switzerland feeling confident and motivated for the upcoming challenges.