I see that the World Curling Federation has appointed Eeva Röthlisberger (above) as its new curling development officer, to be based in Europe. She will take up her appointment on May 17.I've met Eeva a number of times. An impressive lady, much respected as an umpire. When the job with curling's world governing body was advertised the roles and responsibilities were many and varied, and I was interested in how many would apply. I understand that there were many applications, and I conclude that the very best has got the job. The roles and responsibilities that the WCF set out for the job included:
> Administering the Development Assistance Programme
> Co-ordinating all aspects of WCF Camps and Courses
> Arranging special clinics and courses
> Supplying course and camp information and updates to websites
> Continuing the development of wheelchair curling
> Instructing basic courses (ie - Umpire, Discover Curling, Level I Instructor)
> Visiting the Member Associations and providing programmes to help plan their development
> Making regular reports to the WCF Executive Board giving an overview of development in each Member Association
> Planning and administering the special IOC development funding
> Creating and update WCF technical manuals
> Maintaining a register of qualified course instructors
> Attending WCF Executive Board meetings
> Evolving a 'Business of Curling' module and becoming a facilitator
One can see the experience that Eeva brings to the post from the WCF press release which says, "With a background in marketing and sales, Eeva Röthlisberger, who has joint Swiss and Finnish citizenship, has been involved with the sport of curling for almost twenty years. Her experience has included umpiring, timing supervision and team management at over thirty international curling events, including the recent Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the World Men’s Championship in Cortina, Italy, where she was Chief Umpire.
Since 2005, Eeva Röthlisberger has also had a part-time involvement with the Swiss Swimming Federation where she was responsible for organizing training camps, courses and events for synchronized swimming. In her new role, Eeva will be responsible for administering the World Curling Federation’s Development Assistance Programme, as well as coordinating the WCF’s curling camps and training courses and continuing the development of wheelchair curling.
Announcing the appointment, WCF President Kate Caithness said, 'We are delighted to welcome Eeva on board. She comes with a wealth of experience and has shown great deal of commitment over the years to working with the sport of curling. The new Curling Development Officer position has been created at a key time for the development of our sport, never before has there been such widespread interest in curling. Eeva’s energy and ideas will be central to this new job.'
Speaking about the position, Eeva said, 'I look forward to this new challenge and believe my professional background, my experience in curling as well as my openness to learn new things will help me to do a good job. There is a lot of work ahead but it’s a great opportunity to help develop curling around the world.'"
Best wishes and good luck to you, Eeva.
The top photo of Eeva was taken at the European Championships in Aberdeen in December. The photo above is from the European Mixed at Kitzbuehel in 2008 (here with Spain's third player Martina Zurlohe). © Skip Cottage
