Brazil is among 34 countries participating in the 2023 World Mixed Curling Championships this week at Curling Aberdeen in Scotland.
While this was Brazil’s sixth appearance at the event, the current team represents a unique achievement on behalf of the Brazilian Snow Sports Confederation.
Until now, all of Brazil’s players on the world stage have been based abroad. However, in the form of Fabiana Campos and Felipe Pires – the pair who make up the front end of the team – Brazil is represented for the first time by players who have entered the sport through the new dedicated curling facility in São Paulo.
Arena Ice Brasil opened in 2020, but didn’t actually get off the ground until after the pandemic. Activities there include a club tournament, and when Fabiana and Felipe came to the event as curious strangers, little did they know that a year later they would be competing for their country’s national team.
As Fabiana says, “Felipe convinced me to go to the tournament, and that was the beginning.”
Now, things are different, and Felipe, reflecting on the couple’s journey, says: “I’m enjoying it all a lot and I’m really happy to be here.”
Reflecting on the momentous nature of their trip, he added: “During the opening ceremony, I almost cried.”
Customized curling facility results
The impact of having a dedicated facility in Brazil has been seen. As Skip Sergio Mezzo Villela – also a member of the World Curling Federation Council – explains, “Before we had our arena, we had 50 curlers registered. Two years later, we had 650 people registered…all people who came and went through basic training.” .
“So that’s the kind of impact you’re going to make by owning the facility.”
“Development is also important,” Sergio added. A lot of countries, I’m thinking of Portugal for example, start where you’re trying to find people abroad who already know how to play, but have that country’s passport. This is a good way to start in the short term, but development comes through the rookies.
“If you have the dedicated ice and people who can teach them, you will get the kids involved.”
Wheelchair, mixed doubles and junior growth
He also emphasized another important point, saying, “Although it is important that you bring in people to teach curling, you also need to have people who are able to teach others how to teach curling.”
Sergio goes on to explain that progress is happening at a somewhat archaic pace. “In partnership with the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, we are training wheelchair soccer players, and they will make their debut at the World Wheelchair Championships and in the World Mixed Doubles.
“We will participate in the Youth Olympic Games in February with a team from Canada, but with the operation of the Brasil Arena, we are sure that the next junior teams will come from Brazil itself,” he added.
Brazilian curling is also making progress in other areas that will pay dividends in the future.
“We have been recognized by the Olympic Sports Committee for some time, but now, for the first time, curling has a project approved by the Sports Incentives Project of the State Ministry of Sports, which is big,” Sergio explains again. “It means we can have sponsorship.” By supporting private companies, they will receive a tax break on their investments.It also shows the increasing level of influence of curling in Brazil.
This development gives Team Brazil the right and obligation to wear the prestigious official mark of the Brazilian Sports Incentive Law (lei de incentive ao esports) on their uniforms, in addition to the official seal of the Brazilian Federal Government (Assinaturas Principal). -Ministry of Sports), what was made possible thanks to his São Paulo teammate Kerler and now team manager Andrea Carlana.
To form this particular team, he skipped Sergio and third player Fernanda Marquez, who are cousins, They live in Switzerland and are members of the Grasshoppers Curling Club under Brazilian coach Nicole Herceg twice now. have already targeted participation in Aberdeen. As Fernanda explained, decision making is on top of a roller coaster in Italy.
When they met Fabiana and Felipe in the Sao Paulo tournament, the lineup was complete. Fabiana and Felipe will continue to compete in the World Mixed Doubles Qualifying Championship, which will be held in Dumfries, Scotland at the beginning of December.
Although competition is their main focus while in Scotland, the team also took the opportunity to visit some historical sites, such as nearby castles and ancient standing stones. They also went to a local cheese factory. “We see that there are a lot of sheep here,” they noted.
Normally, no tourist visit to Scotland would be complete without a trip to a whiskey distillery, but that’s not on the agenda. As Felipe explains: “Because we play!”
Update: Not everything up to this point has been the perfect fairytale one would expect for such a journey, as hospitalization followed by the death of a loved one for the couple resulted in the team playing one game with three players and ultimately losing another game entirely . At the time of writing (October 17), it is unclear whether the team will have the mental space to remain competitive.
Written by: WCF Senior Journalist, Mike Haggerty
Get involved with the World Curling Federation in the lead-up to the 2023 World Mixed Curling Championship Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, FB And Weibo By searching hashtags #Mixed world And #The window
