Sweden and Switzerland women secure two wins on day one

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World Curling Media

12 April 2025

The World Junior Curling Championships 2025 began at the Cortina Ice Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo today, on Saturday 12 April.

The women played two sessions, whilst the men played just one.

Women’s competition

Sweden and Switzerland both recorded two wins on day one of the event.

Sweden’s first success of the day came from a 6-1 win over Italy. After four blank ends, Sweden were first to put a point on the board. They went on to steal another three points in the next end, after Italy’s attempt to draw fell short. Italy conceded after nine ends, with Sweden securing the 6-1 win.

Sweden’s Moa Dryburgh © World Curling / Céline Stucki

They then went on the claim their second win against Latvia. By the fourth end Sweden already had five points under their belt, but Latvia managed to fight back and bring the score to 5-2. In the tenth end, Latvia were able to play a draw to lie three but this wasn’t enough to win, and Sweden left the ice with a score of 10-9.

Sweden’s skip Moa Dryburgh said, “It’s good to have two wins. It was a bit of a struggle in the last couple of ends here but we managed to get the win so we’re just happy with the two wins.

“We need to just keep trusting the process and just play our game. We know we can be good so we just need to trust ourselves and believe in ourselves and I think it will go well.”

Switzerland, who will look to defend the world title, faced Canada in their morning session. The game remained close until the tenth end, when Swiss skip Ariane Oberson played a takeout to score two and win the game 8-7.

In their evening session, they had a 9-7 win against Korea. The Swiss opened the game with three points and maintained control throughout the game for a 9-7 win.

Following the win Oberson said, “We are feeling good. We had a rough start, it was difficult at the start to keep our stones, but it pushed us as a team and we got there eventually.”

Germany were one of four teams to have a single draw day and in the morning session, they faced Latvia. The score was level (6-6) until the eighth end, but when Latvia’s skip Evelina Barone’s final stone was off target, Germany profited with a four-point steal, bringing their score to 10-6. Latvia conceded after the ninth end, giving Germany a win of 10-7.

Team Germany © World Curling / Céline Stucki

“We had a really good start and then we had some struggles and didn’t make our shots perfectly but in the end, we pulled it off pretty good and managed to get the win,” said Germany’s skip Sara Messenzehl.

Korea started their campaign off strong in the morning with a 7-3 win over last year’s bronze medallists Norway. Norway held a 2-1 lead in the fourth end, but when skip Torild Bjoernstad misjudged her final shot, Korea stole three points. Norway conceded the game after the ninth end, and Korea won 7-3.

However, Norway came back fighting in their evening session when they beat Italy 10-6 to record their first win.

Norway’s skip Torild Bjoernstad said, “I’m really glad we got our revenge in this game, but I didn’t think it was our best game, but hopefully our playing will be even better tomorrow.”

Japan versus China © World Curling / Céline Stucki

The evening session saw Japan and China play their only game of the day, against each other. China held the lead until the third end, when Japan levelled the score. Japan went to score four points in both the fourth and sixth ends, before a final score of 12-8.

After the game, Japan skip Miura Yuina said, “I am happy we were able to perform well in the second half.

“Our team ensured we had good communication throughout the game and this helped us win.”

Men’s competition

Defending champions Norway had a good start to their campaign against Japan. By the sixth end, the Norwegians had a comfortable 12-0 lead, until Japanese skip Nakahara Toa played a draw to score a single. Japan then conceded, giving Norway the 12-1 win.

Following the game, Norway’s skip Lukas Hoestmaelingen said, “It was good, a good start. We got a lot of points on the board so we’re happy with the performance and the effort from the team.”

Last year’s bronze medallists Denmark also left the ice with a high score on the board when they defeated Canada 10-4 after six ends. After five ends the score sat at a close 6-4, but Denmark played a draw to bypass their opponents’ stones to lay one and add to the existing three in the house. Canada called the game to give Denmark the win.

After, Denmark’s skip Jacob Schmidt said, “We think that game went really well. It was a good start to the tournament.”

Also in the afternoon session, Korea, who have not played in the competition since 2023 but qualified this year through the Junior-B event, took on Switzerland. Korea remained in front for the whole game and by the eighth end, had an 8-4 lead. In the eighth, Switzerland’s skip Felix Luethold attempted a draw for one, but was unsuccessful, allowing Korea to steal an additional point and mark the 9-4 win.

Reflecting on their first win, Korea’s skip Kim Daehyun said, “It was a bit challenging at the beginning, but we managed it. In the end, everything worked out, and we were able to win the game.

“We will work hard to perform well in the competition so that we can keep playing as long as possible.”

In the last men’s game of the day, 2024 silver medallists Italy played Germany. The teams had equal scores in the seventh end, until Germany’s skip Lukas Jaeger attempt to score was unsuccessful, and Italy stole two points, bringing their score to 4-2. The game continued until the tenth end where Italy secured the 5-3 win.

Italy’s skip Stefano Spiller shared his thoughts after the game, “Towards the end of the game, we were in control, which ultimately led to our success.

“It was really important for us to start the tournament with a win, as the pressure is quite high since we are the representing team. Now we’re heading into the next matches with a good feeling.”

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Sweden and Switzerland women secure two wins on day one

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