"We should make it to the playoffs" - Host Team coach Cathy Craig

Edmonton's Host Team

Cliff Nuspl skip, Mike McMullan, Warren Fleury, Shawna Walsh, Coach Cathy Craig
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Cathy Craig is manager of the Jasper Place CC in Edmonton and the event manager for the Canadian Nationals that begin there on Monday. She is also coaching the Edmonton Host Team, skipped by Cliff Nuspl.

This is Craig's first year coaching a wheelchair team but she sounded confident of their prospects, telling the Edmonton Journal: "We should make it to the playoffs. They're solid. They just have trouble in big games."

The Host team open with games against Ontario and BC and finish against the Calgarian provincial champions.

"Whenever there's a national championship, no matter the sport or the level of play, a national championship is a national championship," Craig told the Edmonton Examiner. "You're representing your province, you're trying to win for the country."

The championship will feature the "Tire Patch", offering live entertainment in the club's lounge on Friday and Saturday night.

The Edmonton Journal reported that Jasper Place agreed to stage this year's Nationals after Brandon MB backed out. It is a huge undertaking, and a good sense of what is involved can be gleaned from this blog entry by Lisa Shamchuck who will be compiling scores and making entries on the CCA's website as well as tweeting on each day's events.