There are random bouts of cheering from the arena, but it's the home crowd encouraging Italy on in their match against Sweden.

There is a reason for us all to cheer though, as Great Britain are now 3-0 up going into the third end.

Here's Britain's Chris McCormick. What sort of run can he pull off here?

He missed out on Team GB selection four years ago for Beijing and he's said getting the chance to just compete at a Games is incredible.

Birk Ruud's score of 81.75 still stops the leaderboard.

Vicky Wright
Olympic gold medallist curler on BBC Two

Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat have a good partnership.

They are two best friends playing together, and they grew up playing curling together. They know each other inside out.

Their communication is so key to how they perform.

If you want to know more about their friendship then have a watch of the video below ...

Great Britain are 2-0 up over the United States after the first end.

There's still a long way to go, but it is a positive start for Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds.

Vicky Wright
Olympic gold medallist curler on BBC Two

Last night the stones went under maintenance, and they were trying to smooth the running band out.

Team GB were saying the ice was slow yesterday and the stones weren't running well.

Jess Anderson
BBC Sport in Cortina

The number of people around Cortina has increased SIGNIFICANTLY in the last 24 hours.

It’s almost like there’s a Winter Olympics on or something?

The bars, cafes and restaurants are all packed with people grabbing an afternoon aperitif or a slice of pizza.

And of course, one of the most in-demand spots in town right now is the Olympic flame, which will burn here until the end of the Games.

Norway's Birk Ruud was the first to go and he's put down a huge score of 81.75. That will take some beating.

Ruud is a two-time defending world champion in slopestyle, while he won the big air title at the last Olympics in Beijing.

Image source, Getty Images

Vicky Wright
Olympic gold medallist curler on BBC Two

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin have been a strong pairing, and they formed their partnership a few years ago.

They came through a tough Olympic qualifier to get here, and they have also had a very strong season.

Great Britain's round robin match against the United States is underway!

Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds have the hammer too.

Richard Winton
BBC Sport Scotland in Cortina

Right, we've been doing the maths here and while we don't think Great Britain are guaranteed a semi-final quite yet, their six wins will more than likely be enough.

Switzerland are the only team who could displace them from the top four, we reckon, given GB would edge out Sweden on a head-to-head.

But a win over United States (13:35 GMT) will put all beyond any doubt.

The Group B preliminary women's match between Germany and Japan has finished, with Germany claiming a 5-2 victory.

Finland play the US at 15:40 GMT, having had their previous match postponed because of a norovirus outbreak in their squad.

There's also Sweden v Italy (13:40) and Switzerland v Canada (20:10).

BBC Red Button

So we've had the women's freeski slopestyle qualifying this morning, now it's time for men's.

That's live on BBC Red Button right now.

Britain's Chris McCormick is in the line-up and will be 13th rider to go, but he'll have to do something pretty special if he's to finish inside the top 12 and make it through to Tuesday's final.

BBC Two

Don't forget you can watch Great Britain's match against the United States live on BBC Two.

Can Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds continue their unbeaten run and make it seven wins in seven matches?

Let's find out!

Image source, Getty Images

Richard Winton
BBC Sport Scotland in Cortina

Just been watching Team USA's Korey Dropkin working himself into a lather for this match. It was his old dear who was keeping Snoop Dogg company here yesterday, incidentally.

Anyway, after sauntering up to leave his drinks and towel at the Team GB end - a bit of a flex maybe? - Dropkin bounded up the full length of the sheet, changing direction as he went, before performing a especially aggressive stretching routine.

This fella might be a fun watch...

Image source, Getty Images

It's a day of firsts on day one of the Winter Olympics - and the first medals have been handed out for the men's downhill.

Switzerland's reigning world champion Franjo von Allmen took gold, but the real crowd pleaser was silver and bronze for Italian pair Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris.

Bruce Mouat's men's team-mates might not be here to keep him company yet - they arrive over the weekend - but he does have a wee pal with him.

This is Oly, who was knitted by Bruce's mum Marie before the Beijing Games.

He was in China and he's here in Italy, too.

Image source, Bruce Mouat

Watching curling for the first time in a while? The first time in four years, perhaps? Here's a quick reminder of how it all works...

In the men's and women's events, matches consists of 10 ends and each team - or rink - plays eight stones per end. At the end of each end, when all 16 stones have been thrown, the score is calculated.

In the faster-paced mixed doubles, there are eight ends and each team plays five stones per end.

You score a point for each stone that sits inside or is touching the outer ring AND is closer to the centre of the 'house' than your opponent.

That means only one team can score per end. Although it's common for neither team to score - known as a blank.

The winner is the team with the most points at the end of the final end.

Image source, Getty Images

Richard Winton
BBC Sport Scotland in Cortina

Jen Dodds was saying after this morning's match that the ice was two seconds faster than it had been before, which is a pretty significant shift in a sport like this where the margins are so small.

Not that it made any difference to her and Bruce Mouat.

The GB pair are unbeaten, six for six, and already on the brink of the semi-finals before their next game with the United States (13:35 GMT).

We have some more curling coming up as Team GB take on the United States at the Cortina Curling Stadium.

Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds are on the brink of the Winter Olympics semi-finals with three matches still to play.

Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse are likely to be the Brits toughest test yet as they are also unbeaten in this round robin phase.

Image source, Getty Images