Wales return to the international Curling stage this week as their men's team compete in the B-Division of the annual European Curling Championships in Estonia.

Wales' men struggled for consistency last year and came close to being relegated from the B-Division in St. Gallen. The team know they are capable of better than that, and will once more have an eye on the top 3 places in their group - which would not only secure their place in the B-Division, but also a shot at medals and potential promotion to next season's A-Division.

Changes for this year's competition

With regular team Skip James Pougher still recovering from surgery, he will act as Coach this year, and experienced Wales curler Adrian Meikle returns to take the helm.

There is also a slight change to the format of the competition. In previous years, at the end of the competition, the winners of the B-Division would play the losing team from the A-Division in a mini-series - with the overall winners gaining a place at the World Curling Championships later in the season. This year, there is a new World Qualification Event, held in New Zealand - and both the winners and runners-up will instead gain berths there. Due to both time and cost, it is uncertain if Wales would be able to take up this place if it becomes relevant.

The Europeans themselves are still contested in three separate divisions, with promotion and relegation between them. The C-Division took place around 6 months before the A & B, with Denmark (winners) and Poland (runners-up) qualifying to play in Estonia.

Follow the team

You can follow Wales' progress by tracking the live scores on the official event website. The team will also be posting regular updates on their own Team Pougher facebook page.

Initially, Wales will play a 7-match Round Robin in their group. If after their final Group match on the evening of Thursday 22nd Nov they are in the top 3 ranking places, they will qualify for either a quarter-final or semi-final match. If ranked 7th or 8th in their group, they will have to play at least one relegation match.

Here is a list of all Wales' upcoming matches at the Europeans (all times adjusted to GMT):
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If you have access to Estonian TV, you may be able to see Wales play this year from wherever you are - as a local broadcaster is screening Estonia's matches. However, as Wales and Estonia are in different groups, this is only likely if both Wales and Estonia qualify for the play-offs.

Sadly, while you can watch matches from the A-Division live on YouTube, none of the B-Division matches are due to be webcast.