Curling fever is also sweeping South Tyrol

It was a historic precious metal, the first ever in curling for Italy. The Mosaner/Constantini duo won all 9 preliminary round games, then the semi-final against Sweden and finally the gold match against Norway. There are only 333 active curlers registered with the association in Italy, with 3 playing facilities. In comparison, there are 150.000 in Canada (a quarter of them professionals) and 8500 in Switzerland with 293 curling lanes. Bruneck will be the new performance center There are 2 curling clubs in South Tyrol, one in Niederdorf for 11 years and the other in Klausen (founded 2 years ago). The two clubs have now merged. Two curling lanes were built at the new ice stadium in Bruneck (Intercable Arena). Hubert Trenker, President of the Niederdorf Curling Club, looks back: “We enthusiastic curlers traveled to Cortina d'Ampezzo for training and games for years. That was difficult in winter, we only got ice time from 2 p.m. But that’s just how idealists are.” “Youth work can also be carried out with the performance center in Bruneck. Curling should see an upswing.” Hubert Trenker Ice cream masters from Cortina are currently at work in Bruneck. The 2 curling lanes in Rienzstadt will be open for play at the end of March/beginning of April. “A Curling Club South Tyrol is being created. Bruneck will therefore be the new performance center,” explains Trenker. There are currently only around 20 active curling players in this country. It will be extremely difficult to see a South Tyrolean in the azure team for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina. “But we hope that it will work out for the 2030 Games,” continued Trenker. Also because at the Olympic Games there is an additional mixed competition, consisting of 2 women and 2 men. Training with the Olympic champion Youth work can also be carried out using the facility in Brunico (the Slovenians have already registered for official training courses). “We also want to get promoted to Serie A. We are currently playing in Series B,” reports Trenker, who puts a lot of passion into curling. In Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Niederdorfer often trained alongside Stefania Constantini. “We know her well and are friends. In the curling scene everyone knows each other anyway, there aren’t many of us,” jokes the 60-year-old. That could change in the coming years. Curling stones come from Scotland Curling athletes fighting for medals at the Winter Olympics in Beijing swear by the sports equipment from Scotland. The world's best granite for curling stones comes from a deserted island off the east coast of Scotland. The island is called Ailsa Craig. A curling stone weighs just under 20 kilograms and can cost up to 1400 euros. For the competition you can get 32 stones for a price of 30.000 euros. Italy is a top nation in Central Europe after Switzerland. The “Azzurri” have been ahead of the curling players from Austria, Germany and Slovenia in terms of performance since the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. Curling training is extensive. “In addition to exercise on the ice, this includes endurance and strength training, juggling and tightrope walking,” reports Trenker. In South Tyrol, curling is popular and the state government immediately supported the construction of the tracks in Brunico. Of course, the sport is not cheap; just making ice cream is an expensive feat. “We are currently learning from ice masters,” confirms Trenker.

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Curling fever is also sweeping South Tyrol

Whether South Tyrol can also produce an Amos Mosaner (Cembra Tal/Trentino) or a Stefania Constantini (Cortina d'Ampezzo)? The two “Azzurri” sensationally won gold in the mixed competition at the Olympic Games. The scene is also experiencing an upswing in this country.

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