Today (07.30 a.m.) in Marchtrenk, the men’s national curling championships start with the men’s target competition. Also among the favourites: Upper Austria local hero Martin Scharrer.
Not even press man Franz Taucher from the Association of Ice and Stick Sportsmen dares to make a prognosis before today’s start of the state championships in the target competition in Marchtrenk. “The tip is extremely wide. Anyone of the nine who survives the preliminary round can win the title here,” Taucher is convinced. At the top of the draw: Bernd Fischer and Thomas Fuchs from Salzburg, Matthias Taxacher from Tyrol and Martin Scharrer from Upper Austria. In the target competition, everyone has to complete four rounds and disciplines of six attempts each, and the nine finalists fire a total of 72 shots. Taucher: “Only an all-rounder who stays focused for hours and gets into a run has a chance. Otherwise nothing works.” While the women will determine their champion tomorrow (7.30 a.m.), the men are on ice today (7.30 a.m.). “The running plates of the sticks have to correspond to the international device list, everyone chooses the rubber hardness individually.” Due to the energy crisis, the trend in stick sports is also towards summer. What clouds the mood: The inclusion in the Olympic program 2026 has burst for the time being.
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