24 November 2025
#ECC 2025 Sports Media Trainee Blogs
Alessio Bergadano (23) from Italy and Noor Saleha Salem (27) from the Philippines are the latest participants of the Sports Media Trainee Programme for the 2025-2026 season. In July, they were chosen to join the World Curling Media Team at the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2025 in Lohja, Finland.
Alessio Bergadano
Photographer Trainee
Final reflections
And well, here I am again: back in Italy, with warmer weather, a pizza already devoured, and a suitcase lying abandoned in the hallway. I’m back. Yes, really back.
One day I was photographing athletes, the next day I was back to my usual work routine. A bit of a drastic change, let’s be honest. And yet, as I pick up my habits again, everything is still spinning in my head: Finland, the ice, the arena lights, the Media Team…
But enough with the sentimental stuff: this is not going to be a sad or melancholic conclusion. Quite the opposite. Because this experience was incredible, and I want to talk about it exactly like that: with the enthusiasm it deserves.
Let’s start with the main event. The finals. Imagine the arena packed, the ice sparkling, the crowd holding its breath, and me running (literally) from one side to the other to catch every single movement.
And then… Sweden won both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Double champions.
And the best moment? Definitely when the Swedish athletes, fresh from their victory, decided that the best place to celebrate was… Right. In. Front. Of. My. Camera. They came towards me with those huge smiles, eyes full of adrenaline, arms in the air.
Once I got back to Italy, I spent hours looking through all the edited photos, one by one, as if I were reliving every moment.
The result? I’m satisfied. Could I have done better? Of course, but that’s the part I like about myself: I never settle. I know perfectly well that I can improve. That I must improve. That I want to improve.
That’s exactly the engine that always drives me: the awareness that “perfect” doesn’t exist, but I can always get closer. And this experience gave me a massive boost.
Now comes the fun part: the thank-yous.
First of all, a huge thank you to my fellow photographers, Stephen and James. I learned so much from you just by watching how you moved, waited, anticipated, and approached every moment. You are true professionals… kind, supportive, and incredibly human. Thank you for being such an important part of my growth.
A big thank you to Shona and Amy. Always smiling, always helpful, always full of positive energy. You made me feel at home from the very first minute. Thank you.
To the first person I met in Finland, when I was barely conscious after 30 hours awake — Padraig. Friendly, welcoming, and able to put anyone at ease. I’ll never forget that first conversation. Thank you, truly.
To my colleague from the Trainee Programme, Alec. Sweet, talented, kind, always smiling. The perfect teammate for this adventure.
Thank you for everything (and yes — if you come to Italy, a giant pizza and a VIP tour are mandatory)!
And last — but definitely not least — Mike. I didn’t talk much with him… but enough to understand he’s brilliant, witty, and super interesting. Too bad about one tiny, microscopic detail. A detail that crushed me inside. A detail I never wanted to hear: “I don’t like pizza.” I don’t know if my heart stopped or just did a somersault. But even with this cultural shock, I still think Mike is a wonderful person. So… thank you, Mike (even though I’m still trying to process that sentence).
Finally, to the entire Media Team. A perfect mix of professionalism, humour, organisation, creativity, and… a surprisingly high amount of irony. It’s not often you work with a group where you feel at home after just two days.
There, it happened. And trust me, that’s worth more than a hundred training courses. It was impossible to get bored. Impossible to feel out of place. Impossible not to love them.
I don’t want to end on a sad or melancholic note. Also because, honestly, I don’t feel that way. I’m so happy and grateful for what I experienced that the only thought that comes naturally to me is: “When can I come back?”
Because yes, this experience is over. But it opened a huge door to everything that comes next. And as I organise my photos, I smile because I know this adventure was special. I smile because I met incredible people. I smile because I learned so much. I smile because I lived one of the best experiences of my life.
Thank you, Finland. Thank you, curling. Thank you, Media Team. Thank you, life (you surprise us sometimes).
And now… onto the next chapter. I’m ready.
Mid-way check in
And so, almost without realising it, we’ve reached the day of the semi-finals and the first finals.
My journey here in Finland is coming to an end, and inside me a strange mix of melancholy and satisfaction is beginning to grow. In these days I’ve been submerged in thousands of photos and gigabytes piling up on memory cards. Hours spent chasing the right angle, the perfect light, a gesture that tells a whole story. It’s been a whirlwind of emotions: the adrenaline of the games, the quiet moments in between, and that constant itch to experiment, to find one more different shot even when I thought I’d already seen everything.
On one hand, I know that soon I’ll have to say goodbye to this icy world and return to the routine of everyday life; on the other… this is exactly when things get exciting. The matches that truly matter. The ones that change the tone of voices and the tension in people’s eyes.
Over the past few days, we’ve had a few free shifts — some in the morning, some in the evening. I have to admit, this saved me: a couple of extra hours of sleep here and there definitely helped 😂.
I’ve started to feel familiar with the faces, the Media Team’s routines, the arena’s layout, the small daily habits: the chats in the press room, the jokes exchanged during breaks. These are the things you never photograph, yet they’re what make experiences like this truly special. It’s crazy to think that soon it will all be over, and everyone will return to their own lives, their jobs, their countries.
But it’s not time for goodbyes yet. First, we need to focus on the semi-finals and the finals. And here, believe me, the atmosphere is completely different. It’s as if someone turned up the volume of everyone’s emotions. And then there are the faces: they tell the whole story. The concentration that becomes almost ferocity, the tension tightening their jaws, the celebrations at the end of matches that are no longer simple smiles but explosions of relief. You can tell immediately: now it’s serious. There’s no more room for mistakes or carelessness. Every throw matters.
And for me, as a photographer, this is the most magical part. Because capturing these moments means immortalising something that goes beyond the technical gesture: it’s telling the essence of a sport that many don’t understand from the outside, but that, when you live it from the inside, everything changes. It moves you. It surprises you. It teaches you patience, precision, calm.
As I prepare for these last days, I feel that I’m taking home much more than just a professional experience. I’m bringing back stories, encounters, lessons. And a piece of me will inevitably remain here, on this freezing ice.
But enough nostalgia for now. I tighten the camera strap, take a deep breath… and head back to the rinkside. The semi-finals and finals are waiting for us. And the best part, the truly best part, isn’t over yet.
First impressions
I was at the Special Olympics Winter Games, focused on my photos as usual, when a colleague told me about the World Curling Trainee Programme. One moment I was adjusting my exposure, the next I found myself stuck on a single thought: what if I tried?
That same night, once I got home, I opened my laptop. It was late, I was exhausted, but something inside me didn’t want to wait. I read everything I could about the programme: the requirements, the goals, the testimonials.
It seemed like one of those opportunities too big to be real. Why would they ever choose me, a sports photographer from a small town in Liguria, among candidates from all over the world? And yet? Here I am. In Finland. Photographing the European Curling Championships. Life is strange.
The trip, I must say, didn’t start in the most comfortable way. I hadn’t slept before catching the plane, and when I landed I had been awake for more than 30 hours — a lethal mix of adrenaline and accumulated sleep deprivation. But as soon as I set foot on Finnish soil, I met my first “colleague”: Padraig, the social media guy, one of the nicest people I could have hoped for as a “welcome.” From there, one after another, I met the entire Media Team (Amy, Shona, Mike, Stephen, James, and Alec — the other trainee taking part in the programme. I wonder if she feels the same things I do…) They are kind, helpful, welcoming. As for me, with my usual Ligurian shyness, I’m still warming up… but I’m working on it. 😉
After the first day of settling in, we jumped straight into the real work: media day and practice day. Backstage, portraits, training sessions. It wasn’t my first time with curling — I had already photographed it during the FISU University Winter Games in Turin — but spending an entire day immersed in this sport, just a few metres from the athletes, allowed me to understand it much better. Not that I hadn’t understood it before, but there’s a huge difference between photographing it occasionally and spending hours every day surrounded by curling athletes.
It’s a world made of apparent calm and hidden tension. Of glances, strategy, tiny gestures. A fascinating, almost theatrical world.
I had brought new filters specifically for the event, so off I went with tests, light play, new angles; the light on the ice, reflections off the shiny surfaces, created stunning effects! Then came the day of the real competitions. Stricter rules, specific positions photographers must respect, every single athlete to photograph, a much faster pace… but the exact same desire to chase the shot. The perfect one. The one we photographers know very well doesn’t actually exist — and precisely for that reason we never stop chasing it.
Now we’re on the second day of competitions, and I’m starting to truly feel like part of this small frozen world. Stephen and James, the other two photographers, are super kind, easygoing, and obviously incredibly skilled… otherwise they wouldn’t be here!
I’ve already bonded with the Italian team (we Italians are like that: the moment we step outside the country, our patriotism suddenly multiplies haha!). Of course, I shamelessly cheer for them.
The only real obstacle at the moment? The food. Finland has… particular dishes, let’s say. Good? Sometimes. Interesting? Always. Every now and then I look at the pasta they serve and wonder if it’s worth the risk. For now, I’ve chosen prudence. As soon as I get back to Italy, the first thing I’ll do is eat a gigantic pizza!
For now, though, I’m living an experience that just a few months ago seemed unreachable. And yet it’s real, and I’m here telling the story.
But beyond the laughs, the photos, the fatigue, I already know this experience is changing me. It’s enriching me.
I’m learning how to be part of an international team.
© World Curling / James Roberts
Noor Saleha Salem
Communications Assistant Trainee
Final reflections
Spicy Korean noodles — that’s what I’m craving the most (besides sleep) at the moment as I’m currently waiting for my third and last flight of my return trip. Don’t get me wrong, the food is great in the Kisakallio cafeteria, but my Asian buds need their oriental palate after almost two weeks without it. Apart from that, I’m about to break my travel record because it will take me approximately 38 hours to reach home from the moment I left Hotel Siuntio. Okay, enough about my food and travel rant — let’s get back to business: my final reflection as a media trainee for the 2025 ECC!
“Hop Schwizz! Hop Schwizz!”
“Let’s go Scotland, let’s go! Let’s go Scotland, let’s go!”
From the semi-finals to the gold-medal games, these two cheers got stuck with me and somehow triggered the emotional side of me every time they echoed in my mind during my travel. They brought me back to the moments when I would constantly refresh the live results; the daily “So, what’s your social media plan today?” from either Shona or Amy; the laughs we had after finishing a funny edit; and the times I rushed down to the ice when a session was nearing its 5th end or 10th (and sometimes extra) end to capture the last stone and catch the skips’ post-game interviews. These moments are the ones I want to preserve by writing them here.
And believe it or not, I almost teared up watching the post-awarding ceremony scene unfold. “This is it. It’s the end,” I said to myself. Then Mike came beside me and said almost the same thing. “Did you enjoy it?” he then asked. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the last person to ask me that. Almost everyone in the media team hoped that I enjoyed my traineeship and the sport. Even Anna Hasselborg, when we bumped into each other at the airport, asked me the same question.
As cliché as my answer may sound, I confidently said, “Yes, I did!” to all of them. Other than gaining more exposure to sports media, it made me hungry for the next one. I learned so much from everyone in the media team. This opportunity showed me both my strengths and weaknesses, which fuels my motivation to improve more.
In addition, this programme opened my eyes to what curling truly is. It’s more than just sweeping and throwing stones. It’s a sport where teamwork, strong communication, precise calculation, and strategy are the keys to success. I learned that by observing and of course, the hard way — by sprawling like a newborn calf when I tried to launch the 20kg stone on the practice sheet. It is not as easy as you think it is. I’m ready to throw my hands to whoever questions curling as a Winter Olympics sport. All in all, I can’t properly summarise how enlightened I was during my traineeship, except that I was incredibly lucky to be a part of it.
Before I end my last entry, allow me to express how thankful I am to the media team. Big hugs and thanks to Shona and Amy for patiently answering my questions and correcting my captions. I’ll truly miss our curling and random conversations. I’m sorry I couldn’t catch most of the humor though. Hats off to Mike for showing me how they package news for broadcast and for teaching me the serious side of sports journalism. To Podge, as my senior media trainee, your insights helped me a lot in planning social media content while making sure it stayed relevant to the games. It’s a pity I didn’t get to ask Stephen and James more about photography, but I’m glad our rides back to the hotel gave me time to get to know you both and to expose just how much Filipinos love rice. To my fellow trainee, Alessio, it was so nice working with you — your photos rock! And to the World Curling family, thank you for the opportunity and warm welcome. See you when I see you.
And that’s it — this is Alec, signing off as the media trainee of the 2025 ECC!
P/S: Just as I was about to send this entry, I got an email — my flight to Cotabato City has been delayed for another 2 hours, which means I’m about to hit a 40-hour record! Hahaha, I totally jinxed it. Time to look for noodles and coffee around this airport after I submit this.
Mid-way check in
To be honest, writing the second part of the journal was quite challenging — there’s been a lot going on for the past few days. For someone who is new to curling, I had a lot to digest, especially the terms used: draw, steal, all kinds of throws, etc. It reminded me of when I asked Stefanie Berset about her favorite shot (answer: runback) during the post-game interview, and she kindly explained it to me afterward. Although I’m not obliged to know all those technicalities, it’s still interesting to learn some. And hey, I finally had the confidence to ask some of the athletes for a quick post-game interview for Instagram stories. That’s something to celebrate, innit?
Speaking of interviews, I was awed when we talked with the three young German ladies — younger than me — who are now facing their next challenge: the Olympic Qualification Event. To be able to withstand such big pressure so positively at a young age is incredible. But that’s when I realised how healthy the sportsmanship in curling is. The pressure is real, solid, and definitely heavier than the stones, yet the curling community fosters healthy competition across all ages. It’s never too young and never too old for curling. I wish I could play this game back home.
And again, we’re still on the same main topic: interviews. I have to say, I have one of the best mentors in story writing — Mike. After laying down all the fact sheets and transcribing the interview, I still had difficulty starting the article. But Mike just gave me the best starting line, and that’s when I got locked in and finished writing it within the day.
Another highlight of my traineeship was the comeback of my Turkish language skills. Other than building a good rapport with Team Türkiye, it was a pleasure for me to translate quotes and the interview with Dilsat Yildiz, asking about curling sport development in her country. I didn’t expect that I would have to sharpen my rusty Turkish skills here, but it was worth it. And I’ll be honest, I was silently cheering for them.
I have kind of gotten used to the flow of the event over the past four days. It was repetitive, but looking out for fun content was part of our job. So I’m proud to say that I’m very delighted with me and Alessio’s second collaboration work: Art of Cropping featuring Tina, the mascot for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games! I had a good laugh with the people who witnessed me placing Tina in random places. We have great teamwork there, amico — grazie!
We are now in the semi-finals, and reality is starting to hit me that my journey with the World Curling media team at the European Curling Championships is about to end. I have a list of things I would like to say to the team, but let’s leave that for my last journal entry. For now, let’s enjoy the final matches, publish more entertaining content, and make more good memories!
First impressions
My last sports media experience was two years ago, so you can imagine how thrilled and excited I was when I was selected as one of the media trainees. Despite some minor challenges since I got the news, destiny brought me to the European Curling Championships in Finland.
It took me approximately 36 hours to get from Cotabato City to Lohja, with all the long layovers in Doha. I wonder if any of my future trips could beat that record. Luckily, I met Mike Haggerty (senior writer) in in the pre-departure area going to Finland. We had a good chat during our waiting game in the airports and on our funny trip to the hotel. He also gave me a heads-up on who’s who when we bumped into some of the athletes. And apparently, my nickname ‘Alec’ was a typical Scottish name. Interesting.
That same night, I met the social media team — Shona, Amy, and Padraig (nickname Podge) — as they were brainstorming TikTok ideas for media day, but it was annoying that I had to clock out early because of the swaying feeling I got from the long hours of travel.
However, that good rest was really necessary for me because media day was a crazy introduction to the curlers (in a good way, of course). Making them dance and do TikTok trends made me realise they deserved an award (even an Oscar) for their silly dance moves and remarkable acting skills. Big thanks to Podge for guiding me the whole day, and I guess we did a great job getting a decent amount of reels saved in our bank by the end.It started to get a bit serious the next day when I witnessed my first-ever official curling game experience.
“Overwhelming” was the word of the day, whenever someone asked. Watching all five sheets play simultaneously made me decide to simply observe and learn how the routine works so I could be ready for the next days.
But hey! It was snowing. Nothing beats my kid-like excitement in seeing snow again after 2 years of tropical hot and humid weather in the Philippines.
Today is D-2, I got the morning session off so I took advantage of it by searching up good questions for short interviews. It paid off during the interview with Martin Sesaker, though it still has room for improvement. But the highlight of the day was the photos with curlers and stones in funny sizes done by Alessio. He was up for the trend that I suggested and did an awesome job in capturing and editing the photos.
Anyways, the goal for now is to get the hang of it and make more content!
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