Rocking the Ice: CU student Alžběta Baudyšová ****************************************************************************************** * Rocking the Ice: CU student Alžběta Baudyšová ****************************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************************** * on curling in the Czech Republic ****************************************************************************************** The Czech Women’s Curling team ranks 10th in the world rankings and last year finished six Championship. The Faculty of Sciences’ Alžběta Baudyšová – who is completing her degree an to teach and work as a trainer one day – for now she also is totally focussed on getting t in a cool sport referred to as “Chess on Ice”. How long have you been active in curling and when did you first get into the sport? “I’ve been doing sports all of my life: I started with athletics and gymnastics and canoe certain point, I had a moment of crisis and decided I wanted to continue in a sport where better results. At the same time, it had to be a sport I could take up at the age of 15, w late. I was watching the winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and they were talking about a G who started curling at 14 – and that helped me decide. It also helped that my dad had a co Slovakia who had been on a team and introduced me to a trainer. That settled it and I star How popular is the sport in the Czech Republic? “We have three different leagues including the top flight and first division. The problem enough quality competition which is why we also compete in Canada. They have so many great can be sure that whoever is leading in the standings is playing at their best. It is expen there but necessary to be successful down the line.” My apologies, but isn’t curling incredibly boring for viewers? “I get it. People kind of fit into two camps: the first include strategists who enjoy watc preparations and preamble ahead of the competition and don’t mind waiting and crunching in the teams, and the second, larger group is those who find the sport strange. Those are in Maybe because they never tried it and don’t ‘get it’. A single game takes two-and-a-half t Which is deadly for audiences. The curling federation is of course aware of the problem an figure out how to make the sport more attractive to viewers without changing the rules sig How is it played? “It’s a team sport where two four-member teams face off and take turns ‘curling’ or sendin called stones) towards a target known as the ‘curling house’ and trying to send them close That doesn't mean every shot is aimed at the centre where they can easily be knocked out b team. “The first four shots in a game are ‘guards’ within an end (which is complete when each te eight of its stones). A regular game sees eight or 10 ends. Once you have the guards out, or curl the stones around them to get closest to the centre. Only one team scores per end points is determined by how many stones they get closer to the centre than the losing team It sounds like strategy plays an important role… “It absolutely does. If you have opposing skips (or skippers) of equal skill then it all c strategy: if you choose a poor strategy at the top level it can definitely be the margin o Of course, you can also just play for fun on a pond and simply slide the stone as best you strategy goes out the window.” Is it fair to say that success depends on how much you mess up the opposing team’s shots? “Well you have to think about it every shot: every shot and potential impact has to be con how useful or dangerous game-wise it could prove for the opponent.” Are there shots you never forget? “You definitely remember the captain’s (or skip’s) shots. Because they often decide matche but remember those.” The skipper has the final word when it comes to the overall approach? “She is responsible for the strategy. Those on the front end, who play the first one or tw track of the remaining time and monitor the quality of the ice on sections of the surface sheet.” Wait, the surface isn’t the same at all venues? “No. Like in golf, for example, each playing area is different. The first thing you have t sheet to see if there are any spots where the stones don’t curl enough or just behave stra task of the starting team players to read the surface.” How does the surface differ from regular ice? “Shooting stones on regular ice would require considerable strength: curling ice is harder thinner, a maximum five centimetres thick. The ice is also prepared differently: its dry c or sprayed with droplets of water across the surface for a smoother slide. Basically, the touches the full surface and that, also, is why curling brooms are so important in the fin Curling brooms are important since they influence the trajectory and speed of a stone: I a question, but I wondered if you a are a fan of sweeping up at home? “Not much, I have to admit. Although both use brooms, housecleaning and curling have nothi What is next for you and for the national team? “In September we will be travelling to Canada and training there as well as taking part in World Cup events. I am looking forward to the European Championships in November and I hop for the World Championships. It would also be amazing if we had a shot at qualifying for t How hard is that? “Incredibly hard! There are international teams which are really good: the difference is t professional sportsmen and women. The Czech women’s team is below the top 10 but in our co an amateur sport only with professional-level demands. You have to travel a minimum of 50 which means taking holiday time if you are employed, not counting weekends. “It is very financially draining and time-intense. And you have to go full-speed ahead: it part-time commitment. If we want to make it to the Olympics, it will require success at th Championships and beyond.” How difficult is it to combine a top-level sport with your studies? “It’s quite doable. A lot of credits are given for laboratory work tied to the Master’s th quite a bit of freedom when it comes to dividing-up the work and dividing-up my time. I ha the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biologist Zuzana K sees it’s not a problem for me to come in on weekends and so on, so when I need time off t can.” Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time? “I would be happy as a trainer. Because I am also studying to be a teacher of biology and would be ideal if I could teach in the morning and work as a curling trainer in the aftern Did you consider continuing in scientific research? “I did. But because I have spent a lot of time on my thesis I wanted to take time off from while. Next year I want to study only teaching and focus only on curling. Until the Olympi focus primarily on sport. I want to be able to say I did everything I could and then I’ll return to science. I like the challenges the field presents, not unlike the world of sport something more stable.” To come back to curling, I heard the team captain has tattoos on her body commemorating im victories… “Yes, she has a line per win the way, like the marks per mug of beer made on a piece of pa pubs. I don’t do anything like that: I hang onto my medals and stick them in a box.” Alžběta Baudyšová [ URL "https://www.facebook.com/UniverzitaKarlova/photos/a.1862505547717 proud that she got many members of her family involved in curling including her mum, dad, it means to land an excellent throw which edges out the opponent. The Master’s student hop here. Translated and Edited by Jan Velinger Published by UNIMEDIA