The young Swiss team led by skip Xenia Schwaller has developed rapidly. In Calgary, it wants to cause a sensation at its first World Curling Championships from Saturday.
13.03.2026, 04:00
13.03.2026, 07:01
SDA
"It's still pretty surreal to be here now, playing our first elite world championships," Xenia Schwaller told the Keystone-SDA news agency on the phone from Calgary. Together with Selina Rychiger, Fabienne Rieder and Selina Gafner, she punched her ticket to the World Championships the weekend before last by triumphing at the Swiss Championships in Bern. In the final, the quartet won the best-of-3 series against the team led by skip Silvana Tirinzoni, who had previously won Olympic silver in Cortina d'Ampezzo and secured four gold and two silver medals at the last six World Championships.
Schwaller and Co. are contesting their fourth season together and are between 22 and 23 years old. It is amazing how quickly they have made the leap from juniors to the top of the world. They currently occupy 6th place in the world rankings, although they have been ranked even higher in the past.
Young, energetic and a strong work ethic
When asked how she would describe her team, Xenia Schwaller replies: "Young and energetic. We are very active in everything, there is always something we want to improve." They are also a very fun group with four extremely different characters who complement each other perfectly. "Selina (Rychiger) is the calming influence, Fabienne is the good soul in the team, the other Selina brings the most energy. I'm also rather calm and responsible for the tactics."
Coach Andreas Schwaller also emphasizes the high work ethic. He is Xenia's father and celebrated great success as a curler, such as winning Olympic bronze in 2002. "They put a lot of things on the back burner in terms of work and studies. Not so many teams are prepared to take this step," he tells Keystone-SDA. "They are also quite brave to address the difficult issues. It's special that they are already so successful at such a young age." As a junior team (2024), they qualified for the Players' Championship, the prestigious final tournament of the Grand Slam series with the twelve best teams in the world.
Clear separation of the two roles
Andreas Schwaller, who is self-employed, became the team's coach "more out of necessity". "It's extremely difficult to find people who have both the time and the necessary know-how. Because it's my daughter, I was willing to take on this task," says the 2006 European champion. The 55-year-old invests around 100 days a year in this project on a voluntary basis. "Otherwise the budget (which is just over 100,000 francs) would be even tighter - and they're already doing without a lot." In Calgary, the quintet lives in an Airbnb and also cooks for themselves.
What is it like when your own father is the coach? "Everyone has got used to it by now," says Xenia Schwaller, who completed the top sports recruit school last year. "In the beginning, the other team members certainly had to figure out how to approach him if there was something wrong with me, if there were any difficulties." She herself had always talked to him about everything to do with curling before. "However, we had to learn to clearly separate the roles. As soon as we're at home, he's my father and no longer the coach." Andreas Schwaller adds: "I was a little hesitant at first. However, our relationship has become even better and I've got to know her from a new perspective."
A medal is realistic
Team GC Zurich can expect to do well in Calgary, as there are only two teams ahead of them in the world rankings: South Korea with skip Gim Eunji and Canada with skip Kerri Einarson. Canada has won the World Championship title in the last two years, but with skip Rachel Homan. For the first time since 2016, Sweden will not be represented at a World Championship by Anna Hasselborg's team, which won Olympic gold in February.
"Our main goal is to build on our performances," says Xenia Schwaller. "I'm very confident that we can win a medal if we live up to our potential." Andreas Schwaller adds: "We've beaten all our competitors several times before. The only difference is our routine - this World Championship experience is priceless." For the promising young team, participation in the World Championships should soon no longer be surreal.
