Sudbury's Team Daniel dress for success

Steve Daniel skip,Rick Prudhomme 3rd, Sarah Lashbrook 2nd, Dennis Duclos lead

Coach Thomas Matheson and primary sponsor Norm Gervais

.

Sudbury skip Steve Daniel tells Laura Young of the Sudbury Star: "It's a belief of mine that in order to play well, you've got to feel like you're a professional ... some of the teams look at our uniforms and say, 'You guys look like you've been doing this for awhile, (like) professional curlers.' "

It seemed to work at the N. Ontario Provincials at the Fort William CC, as the team overcame a late arrival, fire alarms the night before, and two early defeats, to challenge champions Team Ficek in the final.

Daniel, a Beijing Paralympian, and his team all play for Sudbury Rolling Thunder, the local wheelchair basketball team. Sarah Lashbrook was the only female basketball player with the Rolling Thunder.

"We begged and pleaded with her to come out (and she) got us through Saturday. She was probably (my) tournament MVP," Daniel said.

The Sudbury CC has been very supportive, Daniel told Young. "They've really opened their arms to wheelchair curling. They make sure that every time we go there the club is accessible.

"We're very, very thankful for the support. We want to continue to build (wheelchair) curling. Just because we have a competitive team doesn't mean that's the end all and be all of curling. I'd like to see it grow (over the next few years) to a league so that we can have several teams that play for fun on weekend."

For Daniel, all the support, especially from Norm Gervais, owner of MEDIchair Sudbury and the team's major sponsor, meant they could compete. "We had to have all those elements in place in order to be successful. I think everyone is excited to see how we progress in the next few years."

You can read the complete article HERE.