Fourteen sheets

Fourteen sheets await the participants in the World Mixed Doubles and World Seniors' Curling Championships in Chelyabinsk! Well done to the 'ice making department'.

All that is needed now are some players, and the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud has thrown a spanner into travel plans for many teams, including those from Scotland. The Royal Club has this note on the website preview of the events here:

"Many teams, including Team Scotland, travelling to the World Mixed Doubles and the World Seniors Curling Championships have encountered problems due to the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. The World Curling Federation are currently doing everything they can to accommodate the late arrival of teams."

The photo of the ice pad is by Mark Callan

Chelyabinsk bound

Isobel Waddell, Elma McCulloch, Kathleen Scott and Lynne Stevenson, as Scottish Senior Champions 2010, have their first game in the World Seniors in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Sunday. They meet Japan first of all, in the nine-country competition.

Keith Prentice, Lockhart Steele, Robin Aitken and Tommy Fleming face the Estonian team in their first game on Sunday. Seventeen countries are signed up to compete for the men's title, playing initially in two sections. The draws can be downloaded from here.

The World Mixed Doubles Championship is being played alongside the Seniors' Championships. Logan Gray and Kay Adams are representing Scotland. They start their campaign against Finland on Sunday. Twenty-six countries are represented at the event, according to the draw which can be found here. Three sections.

The events will be held in the Ural Lightning Ice Palace in Chelyabinsk, opened in 2004. The Ice Palace is usually a multi-sports facility including an Olympic-size 400-metre speed skating track, and an ice hockey rink, used for figure skating and short track, and curling. The total ice surface area is 10,540 square metres.

If you have a Facebook account you can see photos of Mark Callan and the ice crew getting the rink ready for the world events here. Fourteen (no, that should be FOURTEEN) sheets of ice have been laid out side by side for the event. Must be something of a record! And a challenge for the ice techs!

The pic of the arena is from the official website.