The first game in the championship, which the women’s team started with the right to the last shot in the first end. This end is reset, but in the next one the Turks are forced to take only one point. In the third, our team made it difficult for the opponents to shoot, which resulted in a stolen point (2:0). Aggressive play in the performance of our national team continues in the fourth end as well, not allowing the opponents to score more than 1:2. Before going into the big break, a difficult, but accurate, last shot secured two points for Latvia, taking a 4-1 lead.
After the long break, errors in the last two shots of the sixth end allow the Turks to draw 4:4. Before the ninth end, Latvia was in the lead with 6:5, but in the ninth, the last stone was thrown against the opponent’s five in the house, which turned out to be too strong, as the Turks stole five points (10:6). The last-end attempt to make up for the loss ended in failure, admitting the superiority of the opponents with 10:6.
The men’s team started the match against Hungary with one point scores in the first and third ends, taking a 2-1 lead. A perfectly played fourth end allows us to steal four points, and in the fifth one point, increasing the advantage to +6 (7:1).
Hungarians get two points after the long break, reducing the result difference to -4 (3:7), but after the eighth end to -3 (5:8). However, this did not scare our team, taking four points in the ninth and ending the game with a 12-5 victory.
Latvian national team coach Kārļis Smilga’s comment after the match with Hungary:
“We took into account yesterday’s lesson and, when changing the track, paid more attention to the peculiarities of the side track. We won the right of the last stone in the first end and started the game cautiously, provoking the opponent to play aggressively, which paid off. We played the second part of the game to keep the score.
The team is keeping up the spirit and we are preparing for the next games!”
In the women’s competition, after the round-robin tournament, the best four continue the fight in the semi-finals – the 1st place will compete with the 4th place and the 2nd place with the 3rd place. The winners of the semifinals will determine the 2022 European champions in the final match on November 26. In the men’s competition, the top three from each group will qualify for the play-off round. The first place winners of both groups will automatically go to the semi-final match, but A2 vs B3 and A3 vs B2 teams will determine the other two semi-finalists, who will continue the fight for entry into the A division.
A division games, including also all our women’s national team matches, live will be able to watch on the World Curling Federation’s live broadcast platform – “Recast” on “The Curling Channel”.
Latvian women’s national team: Santa Blumberga-Bērziņa (skip), Ieva Rudzīte, Katrīna Gaidule, Tīna Siliņa, Betija Gulbe, coach Ritvars Gulbis.
Latvian men’s national team: Mārtiņš Trukšāns (skip), Jānis Klīve, Arnis Veidemanis, Sandris Buholcs, Aivars Avotiņš, coach Kārlis Smilga.
Women’s national team match schedule (Latvian time) and results:
2:10 – Switzerland
4:7 – Scotland
9:11 – Sweden
5:8 – Italy
3:10 – Norway
6:10 – Turkey
/22.11./ 15:00 – Germany
/23.11./ 10:00 – Denmark
/23.11./ 20:00 – Hungary
Overall rating in the women’s competition
| Country | Games | Victory | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Italy | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Norway | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Scotland | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Germany | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Sweden | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Turkey | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Latvia | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Hungary | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Schedule of men’s national team matches in subgroup B (Latvian time):
10:8 – Portugal
7:6 – The Netherlands
4:6 (EE) – France
12:5 – Hungary
/22.11./ 20:00 – Belgium
/23.11./ 21:00 – Austria
/24.11./ 14:30 – Slovenia
Overall rating in men’s competition in subgroup B
| Country | Games | Victory | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| In France | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Latvia | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| The Netherlands | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Austria | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Hungary | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Portugal | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Slovenia | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Belgium | 4 | 0 | 4 |
The participation of the Latvian teams in the European Championship is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Latvian Team Sports Games Association.
Online results for the women’s national team: https://worldcurling.org/events/ecc…
Online results for the men’s team: https://worldcurling.org/events/ecc…
Live streams for women’s national team matches: https://watch.recast.tv/invited?ref…
