For the record, the European Championships began in a small way in 1975 when just 8 nations were represented in the men's event and 7 in the women's event. Since then the Championships have been held as follows with the number of competing nations indicated:
1975 Megeve (8 men, 7 women)
1976 Berlin (9, 8)
1977 Oslo (10, 8)
1978 Aviemore (10, 9)
1979 Varese (11, 9)
1980 Copnhagen (12, 11)
1981 Grindelwald (14, 13)
1982 Kirkcaldy (14, 13)
1983 Vasteras (14, 14)
1984 Morzine (14, 14)
1985 Grindelwald (14, 14)
1986 Copenhagen (13, 13)
1987 Obertsdorf (14, 13)
1988 Perth (14, 12)
1989 Engelberg (14, 13)
1990 Lillehammer (14, 13)
1991 Chamonix (17, 13)
1992 Perth (19, 15)
1993 Leukerbad (18, 14)
1994 Sundsvall (19, 17)
1995 Grindelwald (19, 16)
1996 Copenhagen (18, 16)
1997 Fussen (17, 14)
1998 Flims (17, 14)
1999 Chamonix (16, 14)
2000 Obertsdorf (18, 13)
2001 Vierumaki (18, 14)
2002 Grindelwald (21, 18)
2003 Courmayeur (22, 19)
2004 Sofia (27, 22)
2005 Garmisch-Partenkirchen (29, 24)
2006 Basel (30, 22)
2007 Fussen (31, 23)
2008 Ornskoldsvik (28, 21)
2009 Aberdeen (30, 21)
2010 Champery (26, 20)*
2011 Moscow (26, 20)*
2012 Karlstad (26, 20)*
2013 Stavanger (26, 20)*
*Since 2010 the number of nations participating in the A and B Group Championships has been limited to 26 men and 20 women with a C Group being used as a qualifying competition.Including those countries which did not qualify the total entries have been:
2010 (31, 23)
2011 (33, 28)
2012 (31, 24)
2013 (32, 22)
It is interesting to see how the numbers have grown at certain times - throughout the 1980s the entries stabilised at around 14 in each Championships and then at the beginning of the 1990s, as the WCF tried to get curling into the Olympics, the number increased gradually with a peak in 1994 before a decline in 1999 to almost 1980s levels. In the early 2000s as the effect of the introduction of curling at the 1998 Nagano Olympics began to kick in the numbers increased slowly until exploding at Sofia in 2004 to record levels which then rose to a peak in 2011.
By 2009 the numbers were getting unmanageable and so it was necessary to introduce a qualifying competition (the C Group) which allowed for promotion and relegation, while still allowing all nations the chance to reach the World Championship each year. This in itself introduced new issues with the successful nations in the C Group now having to finance two International trips within a couple of months of each other - a difficult proposition for people who are essentially still amateurs.
Personally I attended the Championships between 1982 and 1986 as a competitor and then have been at all of them since 2000, variously as an alternate, coach or as the ECA's representative at WCF and ECF meetings. So I think it is fair to say that I have been at most of the types of venue - big cities (Copenhagen, Sofia, Basel, Moscow), smaller cities (Aberdeen, Vasteras, Karlstad), Alpine resorts (Grindelwald, Morzine, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Fussen, Oberstdorf, Courmayeur, Champery), out of the way places you would never otherwise go to (Ornskoldsvik, Vierumaki) and coastal towns with no real winter sports connections (Kirkcaldy, Stavanger).
An interesting cross-section of locations I think you will agree and if I were to rate them as a TripAdvisor critic I think I would group them as follows:
5 stars - Grindelwald - just the most gorgeous Alpine resort with stunning views
5 stars - Copenhagen - one of my favourite European cities with a great culture and friendly people
4 stars - Basel - another favourite destination with a superb transport system
4 stars - Garmisch-Partenkirchen - a big town with a small town feel - great views of the mountains
4 stars - Courmayeur - close to Mont Blanc and plenty to do when not curling
4 stars - Aberdeen - one of the best Scottish cities to spend some time in, not too big but lots to do
4 stars - Oberstdorf - a lovely little town with a great atmosphere pre-Christmas
3 stars - Moscow - a great tourist centre - for a couple of days - but just something about it.....
3 stars - Morzine - a small, slightly old-fashioned resort (at least in 1984), but with character
3 stars - Fussen - a nice enough town but nothing to write home about
3 stars - Champery - lovely scenery but too hilly for some and not much to do
3 stars - Vierumaki - interesting venue in the middle of the Finnish forests - not much to do but just...different
2 stars - Vasteras - boring Swedish city
2 stars - Karlstad - see Vasteras
2 stars - Ornskoldsvik - see Vasteras and Karlstad
2 stars - Stavanger - see Swedish cities above but also VERY expensive
1 star - Sofia - the very worst of Eastern Europe communism and social deprivation
1 star - Kirkcaldy - not many package holidays sold for here - cold and dreich in December
Of course at many of these Championships the chances of getting out and about were limited what with watching games or attending meetings, and that has certainly got worse in recent years with the number of games increasing for each country - although nowadays of course the ECF is being shut down and the WCF no longer holds its meetings at the Europeans and so there is a bit more time to get out of the arenas / meeting rooms and see some of the sights.
Further posts will follow on different aspects of the European Championships but just to finish off a reminder of how time does not stand still for anyone:
Kirkcaldy 1982 - Duncan Stewart, Tony Fraser, John Brown, Ronnie Brock (dig the woollen jumpers) [Photo courtesy of Adrian Meikle]
Moscow 2011 - Tom Jaeggi, Andrew Woolston, Alan MacDougall, John Brown, Andrew Reed [Photo courtesy of Leslie Ingram-Brown]
