Rhona Howie, MBE, better known under her married name, Rhona Martin, is a British curler most famous for skipping the British women's team at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where the team claimed the gold medal. She has also skipped for the Scotland curling team at both the World and European Championships.
Curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held in the town of Pinerolo, Italy from February 13 to February 24. It proved to be the sleeper hit in terms of television ratings in Italy. According to a CBC feature, curling at the 2006 Winter Games drew 5 million viewers, eclipsing ice hockey and figure skating. This, and the success of the Italian men's curling team created a surge of interest in curling within Italy, where there was no previous tradition of the sport and only a few hundred players.
The 2010 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships were held in Champéry, Switzerland from December 3–11, 2010. The Group C matches took place from September 24–28 at the Greenacres Ice Rink in Howwood, Scotland. The winners of the Group C matches advanced to the Group B playoffs in Monthey. The Group A round robin matches took place from December 4–11 at the Palladium de Champéry in Champéry, while the Group B matches took place at the Verney Arena in Monthey.
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's and women's versions of junior and senior championships. There is also a world championship for wheelchair curling. The men's championship started in 1959, while the women's started in 1979. The mixed doubles championship was started in 2008. Since 2005, the men's and women's championships have been held in different venues, with Canada hosting one of the two championships every year: the men's championship in odd years, and the women's championship in even years. Canada has dominated both the men's and women's championships since their inception, although Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Scotland, the United States, Norway and China have all won at least one championship.
The 2012 World Men's Curling Championship was held from March 31 to April 8, 2012 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. The 2012 World Men's Championship was one of the curling events that is a qualifier for the curling tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The 2012 World Junior Curling Championships was held from March 3 to 11 at the Z-Hallen in Östersund, Sweden. Östersund previously hosted the World Junior Curling Championships in 1999 and in 2008.
The 2012 European Curling Championships was held from December 7 to 15 at the Löfbergs Lila Arena and the Karlstad Curling Club in Karlstad, Sweden. The Group A competitions was held at the Löfbergs Lila Arena, while the Group B competitions was held at the Karlstad Curling Club. The 2012 European Curling Championships marked the fourth time that Sweden hosted the European Curling Championships. The Group C competitions were held from October 5 to 10 in Erzurum, Turkey.
The 2013 World Women's Curling Championship was held at the Volvo Sports Centre in Riga, Latvia from March 16 to 24. It marked the first time that Latvia has hosted the World Women's Championship. This event was also a qualifying event for the 2014 Winter Olympics, awarding points to countries based on performance at the worlds.
The men's tournament of the 2012 European Curling Championships was held at the Löfbergs Lila Arena and the Karlstad Curling Club in Karlstad, Sweden from December 7 to 15. The winners of the Group C tournament in Erzurum, Turkey moved on to the Group B tournament. The top eight men's teams at the 2012 European Curling Championships, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Switzerland, Scotland, and Finland, represented their respective nations at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship in Victoria, British Columbia.
The women's tournament of the 2012 European Curling Championships was held at the Löfbergs Lila Arena and the Karlstad Curling Club in Karlstad, Sweden from December 7 to 15. The winners of the Group C tournament in Erzurum, Turkey moved on to the Group B tournament. The top seven women's teams at the 2012 European Curling Championships, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and Germany, will represent their respective nations at the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship in Riga, Latvia.
Alina Pätz is a Swiss curler. She currently throws fourth stones on Team Silvana Tirinzoni. She is a five time world champion and was the alternate player for the Mirjam Ott rink which represented Switzerland at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Ross Paterson is a retired Scottish curler from Glasgow. During his career, he represented Scotland at four World Men's Curling Championships and four European Curling Championships, winning a bronze medal at both the 2018 World Men's Curling Championship and the 2019 European Curling Championships. He also won silver at the 2007 Winter Universiade and bronze at the 2005 World Junior Curling Championships in his junior career. In 2018, he skipped his team to victory at the 2018 National Grand Slam of Curling event. He is a two-time champion at the Scottish Men's Curling Championship, winning the title in both 2016 and 2022.
The 1992 European Curling Championships were held from 7 to 12 December at Dewars Rink in Perth, Scotland.
The 1988 World Junior Curling Championships were held from March 13 to 19 in Füssen, West Germany for the men's competition and from March 19 to 25 in Chamonix, France for the women's competition. While it was the 14th junior men's competition, this was the inaugural year for the junior women's competition. It has also been the only year that the men's and women's competitions were held separately.
The 1989 European Curling Championships were held from December 5 to 9 at the Sportzentrum Erlen arena in Engelberg, Switzerland.
The 1978 European Curling Championships were held from December 4 to 9 at the Aviemore Ice Rink in Aviemore, Scotland.
The 1979 European Curling Championships were held from November 18 to 24 at the Palaghiaccio arena in Varese, Italy.
The 1982 European Curling Championships were held from 6 to 11 December at the Kirkcaldy Ice Rink arena in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
The 1988 European Curling Championships were held from 6 to 10 December at the Perth Ice Rink arena in Perth, Scotland.
The 2022 Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships was held in May and November 2022, to qualify European curling teams for the 2023 World Curling Championships. The A and B division competitions were held from November 18 to 26 at the Östersund Arena in Östersund, Sweden. The C division competition was held from April 30 to May 5 at the Kaunas Ice Palace in Kaunas, Lithuania.
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