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The Kolibris curling club was founded on 15. 4. 1996. It was the
idea of the best curlers at that time (D. Šik, M. Polívka, K. Hradec,
P. Menšík a D. Havlena). These players had been part of the Czech
national team that had played so well at the 1995 European Championships
in Grindelwald (Switzerland).
Before the start of the European Championships we travelled and
played throughout Europe enabling us to gain a lot of experience.
We acquired our curling knowledge and skills from the Swedish trainer,
Olle Brudsten, who as trainer led our team to the 1995 European
Championships. He passed on to us not only his experience in how
to found a club but primarily in how to get it on the right track
to being the most successful club in the Czech Republic.
Our club is one of the two largest which are members of the Czech
Curling Association (ÈSC) and we have put together several excellent
junior and senior teams. At present, our club has four junior teams,
nine senior teams and the largest number of active club trainers
in the entire Czech Curling Association. Our trainers know how to
get their teams to achieve their targets and to become more successful
each year on the international stage.
Our club has recorded successes at tournaments both in the Czech
Republic and abroad. We have also been successful in representing
the Czech Republic (at the European Championships).
Our men’s teams have fought their way through at competitions
organised by ÈSC to represent their country and several times have
achieved good positions at the European Championships. Our teams
represented the Czech Republic at the European Championships in
1997 and 1998 where for the first time in the Czech national team’s
history they won a place in group A. No other men’s team has since
been able to repeat this success. Our women’s team competed for
the first time at the European Championships in 2000 in Obersdorf.
Our efforts in working with juniors has also borne fruit. In 1997
– 2000, 2003 and 2004 our junior women successfully represented
the Czech Republic at the Junior World Championships. In group B
at the last Junior World Championships Czech juniors, both men and
women, brought back bronze medals. The entire junior women’s team
was from the Kolibris club and one of our members was in the junior
men’s team.
The year 2001 was a very important one for the club’s development
and the presentation of its activities. Thanks to the club’s strong
management it was possible to organise the first annual Kolibris
CUP, in which more than 16 teams from the Czech Republic and traditional
curling nations such as Switzerland, Scotland and Norway took part.
In recent years they have also been joined by teams from Germany.
The Kolibris CUP has really found its place among the other large
tournaments in Europe and has made a name for itself among curlers
from all over Europe.
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