 Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni (photo by Jeffrey Au) is the surprise addition to the Adelboden International, playing this weekend; will face Yannick Schwaller in the opener on the live stream. "I look forward to that," Tirinzoni said of the opportunity to fill in the final spot for this weekend's tour event in Adelboden. "It's been a while since we've competed in a men's competition. Back in the days, it was normal in Switzerland; every tournament was open." "We've played a few friendly games, usually in the summer, against men's teams but not in a competition, so I'm curious how that's going to work." Tirinzoni joins Peter De Cruz, Yannick Schwaller, Andrin Schnider and Jan Hess to lead a strong Swiss contingent, while Jaap van Dorp of the Netherlands, Joel Retornaz of Italy, Sixten Totzek of Germany and Sweden's Daniel Magnusson highlight the International entries. Tirinzoni has been back on the ice already, finishing second at the Scaszer Cup, held in Baden three weeks ago. "We were glad we're able to play again, and not just train," added Tirinzoni. "And also compete, even though it was a little special [event] condition." For the Swiss teams, it has been a somewhat typical summer for training, their preparation taking place at the club in Baden where ice has been reserved for the competitive teams. "We can practice whenever we want, we have to book, though, we cannot just go like we are used to," said Tirinzoni. "We are quite lucky, actually." "Other curlers, like recreational curlers they can't play. All the summer ice was for the elite players, and for us it was almost like normal." While getting back on the ice has been more as expected, finding ways to stay motivated with the mounting cancellations has been difficult for Tirinzoni. "I'm not going to lie; it's hard to find the same motivation as in normal years." "So for me, it's important to stay warm and be ready for when the competition starts again." "You can't ask the athletes to train and be in the same state of mind. It is special for everybody, and I have to accept I don't feel the same way I usually do." "We are welcoming that we can compete this weekend against great teams." The Adelboden International competition is a new tournament added to the Tour schedule for this season, created to create more competitive opportunities for more teams. The pandemic has increased the general need for events and the committee of Martin Stucki, Stefan Mathrilleda Hari and Simon Gempeler put a lot of work in to ensure they could host many of Europe's best teams this week. "It was quite a challenge for the whole organizing committee to get this event going. But now we are really happy to have some world-class teams in our club," said Gempeler in talking about helping bring the event together. "And of course, we are excited and curious about the participation of team Tirinzoni. The addition of events like Adelboden to the schedule will make it easier for the growing nations in Europe to develop while and allowing the next generation of Swiss curlers the chance to find more competition close to home. "We hope to be able to run this event for many more years and allow the teams to compete early in the season." For Tirinzoni, her focus is getting on the ice and finding ways to continue training in a competitive mindset. "I decided to play Mixed Doubles this year with Benoit Schwarz, something new for me and just another chance to be on the ice and play and not just train." "I decided to do that and see how far we can go." With so many unknowns, the chance to just get out and experience the game again can be a little bit of comfort through the chaos of everything going on today. WATCH: Tirinzoni vs. Schwaller from Adelboden International: (Friday: 8am Swiss Time, 2am ET) |
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Matt Dunstone (Photo: Curling Canada) and his Winnipeg-based squad begin play at the CO-OP Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alta.
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