Switzerland’s curling teams are playing with heavy hearts this week during the Crown Royal Players’ Championship.
Team Yannick Schwaller, Team Silvana Tirinzoni and Team Xenia Schwaller are all wearing black ribbons this week in memory of the victims of a deadly New Year’s fire at a bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana that left 40 people dead and over 100 injured.
A national day of mourning was held on Friday in Switzerland to pay tribute.
“Man, yeah, it’s insane,” said Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel, who throws fourth stones for Yannick Schwaller. “I mean, what happened there, on a day where you should party, it’s absolutely terrible. I don’t know anyone who was involved personally, but I think especially in the French part of Switzerland, if you go friends of friends, everyone knows someone concerned.
“It’s an absolute tragedy what happened there, and today was a special day in Switzerland. When we woke up, we saw the news. They made announcements in the trains, in the restaurants, in the shopping malls, everywhere. It’s very sad. Very, very sad.”
Team Tirinzoni second Carole Howald said it’s crazy and was almost at a loss for words to describe how she’s feeling.
“Like you think that can’t happen, right?” she said. “I feel very sad and compassion for all those (people) and I think it’s a nice sign to feel with them.”