Saturday, April 2, 2011

More changes for wheelchair curling in the USA

Jim Pierce has also announced retirement from Team USA after the disappointments at the 2011 World Championships in Prague. telling his teammates he is giving up the sport.

Jim Pierce 2011

Jim was a founding member of the USA wheelchair curling team, playing in 66 games including five Worlds and two Paralympics, and finishing with a 2008 Worlds bronze medal and a 31-35 record.

Patrick McDonald, who missed almost all of last season with a shoulder injury, aims to step up and take more responsibility next season, assuming he regains competitive fitness.

"The shoulder is coming along ahead of schedule. I'm feeling really happy about having a complete shoulder replacement. From what the doctor's told me after my MRI it was most likely broken in Vancouver at the Paralympics," he told me.

"I'm moving my family to Madison, WI. so I can curl full time and work with the coaching staff. I will also be helping find new athlete's to make the sport grow here in the States."

Perhaps he will be able to infleunce the wheelchair users curling out of Duluth MN who have so far stubbornly resisted approaches from Team USA coaches because they want the WCF rules of play rewritten to allow them to deliver while their chairs are moving forward. 
 

1 comment:

Bruce Cameron said...

We will miss you Jim.....all the best in the future...