Video from the 2011 World Championships in Prague

This video features scenes from the 2011 World Wheelchair Curling Championships in Prague last February.

It was posted to the Czech Wheelchair Curling Facebook page.

Scots skip Aileen Neilson wins Worlds Sportsmanship Award

Aileen Neilson received the award from Chief Umpire Ian Addison 

Aileen Neilson skip of the Scottish wheelchair curling team, has won the 2011 World Wheelchair Curling Championship sportsmanship award.

Neilson was nominated by her fellow competitors who were all invited to nominate a player at the event who, in their view, best exemplified the traditional values of skill, honesty, fair play, sportsmanship and friendship.

Below is a photo of her team arriving back in Scotland courtesy of Bob Cowan's Skip Cottage blog.

Aileen Neilson, Mike McKenzie, Gregor Ewan, Sheila Swan (coach), Tom Killin, Angie Malone

Photo © Skip Cottage

2011 World Championships wrap-up

That fact that it was not unexpected should not diminish the achievement of Team Canada's successful defence of their World Championship in Prague. They are the first wheelchair team to go undefeated at a World level event, and though their first three wins were by single points and rested on the games' final stone breaking their way, they never looked in serious difficulty once they settled in. They also had the most steals (24) and gave up the fewest (7).

Skip Jim Armstrong gave lack of competition time and unfamiliarity with the ice as reasons for their comparatively slow start, but said their title rested on the strength of the front end, lead Sonja Gaudet and second Ina Forrest. "They are the benchmarks for front end play," he noted. "(Third) Darryl Neighbour and I just had to clean up."

This is third successive title Canada has won since Armstrong brought his 40 plus years of competitive and Brier experience to what is only the 7th World Championship. It's impossible to see the CCA penalising the current team for being too successful, and removing their carding funding, in the interests of letting someone else have a go.

There is a sucession question, however. Who would skip in place of Armstrong given that he and his vice Darryl Neighbour and the alternate, Bruno Yizek, are all over 60.

News of Canada's win was circulated by the Canada Press, who included considerable detail of Armstrong's conviction last month in Seattle. “There is a whole other story that in all likelihood will surface once I'm back home and I think it's self-explanatory,” Jim Amstrong (told CP) without elaborating.

“The one thing that I want to be very very clear (about) is that the Canadian Curling Association in particular has been supportive. I explained things to them, as things were happening late last year. They accepted what I had to tell them at the time. And this team and the staff have just been absolutely tremendous.”

I'm sure that's true, but Team Canada, if it means anything, is Canada's team and Jim will want the support of Canadians beyond those involved with the national program if this victory is to benefit the sport overall.

Scotland did their best phoenix impression, rising from the ashes of three years of disappointments to once again challenge in a final. New British wheelchair curling boss Tony Zummack was forced to watch from Alberta via the web, but commented that "everything is right again in the curling world."

Scotland are still throwing draws from the rings, 22% further and thus requiring them to throw 22% harder by Zummack's calculation, though he felt that on Prague's fast swingy ice, the added distance was not a big factor. "They are throwing takeouts from the hogline," he noted, "so their thinking may be that the overall weight adjustment is less." Expect changes next season, regardless.

Whether it was the addition of new energy through Gregor Ewan and Michael McKenzie, or skip Aileen Nielson allowed to call the game as well as throwing last stones, or a desire to impress a new boss, or a feeling that heads would definitely roll with another abject performance; for whatever reason, Scotland is back.

So too are Norway, the only team apart from Canada and Scotland to have won at this level since 2002. Coach Thoralf Hognestad, who had been in charge when Norway won World titles in 2007 and 2008, rebuilt the team this year, adding a rookie front end of Terge Rafdal and Tone Edvarsen to the experience of skip Rune Lorentsen and Jostein Stordahl.

That four of their five defeats this week were at the hands of Canada and Scotland is both a mark of their improvement, and a marker for how much more still needs to be done. Norway, like all of the teams with the possible exception of Scotland, have to start believing they can beat an Armstrong skipped Canada.

Both qualifying teams, Russia and China, did well at this championship. Russia played at this level for the first time since being relegated in 2008 and were the (pleasant) surprise of the tournament, beating Scotland in round robin play, but falling to Norway in the bronze medal game. They have an increasingly experienced squad and as hosts in 2014, an automatic Paralympics place.

China, my wild card pick for this tournament, fell one loss to Russia short of a playoff place, but are a young side with an interesting "unwind" delivery that has their non-delivery hand locked onto the delvery side of their chair, and their face close to the ice as they throw. Not a delivery for gentlemen of 60 plus years, but it shows there is still scope for innovation in our young sport. Their challenge, as Korea's, will be to gain the competitive experience that makes for intelligent decisions on the ice.

Korea sent their national champions (thank you Steve), who beat out the Vancouver silver medallists, to represent their country in Prague. While coaches in control of national team selection may shake their heads, it is encouraging to see a country value development of the sport by offering club teams the incentive of representing their country. Korea, hosts in 2012, also doubled the number of players with international experince.

While the Czech Repblic and Germany will be disappointed to be relegated, neither entered with any great expectation of success. The Czechs were present as hosts, and while they can point to wins over China and bronze medallists Norway, they will struggle to make it back through Qualifying.

Germany's coach suspected a tough week when he told me before they left home that their ambition was to avoid relegation. An interesting subplot to the German story is that Jens Jäger, the skip who won bronze at the 2009 Worlds in Vancouver, was dropped from this year's team. He has been travelling internationally with his own team, the Mainhattan Ice Wheelers, and will doubtless be interested in representing his country again, perhaps under a different coach.

Sweden won silver at the Paralympics in Vancouver, but escaped relegation only by winning two tie-breaks. Vancouver skip Jalle Jungnell and lead Anette Wilhelm retired, and Glen Ikonen had to sit out a six month suspension. Though lead Kristina Ulander was the only new addition to this year's squad, the team struggled without Jalle's experience at skip.

Jungnell is the first player to make the transition to coach, and admits the game looks much clearer from above than from the ice. His conclusion at the end of play: the team formed too late in the season to succeed at this level. "We were just unprepared," he admitted, without saying whether he would be around to prepare them in Korea. i suspect, and hope, he will.

Which leaves Team USA as the biggest disappointment of 2011. The three men on this team have played together since 2006, and lead Jacqui Kapinowski joined in 2008 when they won bronze. They made the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but this year relied on other teams losing on the final day to avoid relegation.

The ice was good, the rocks were good, so what went wrong? USA can point to losing Patrick McDonald after team selection. They also lost by a single point to each of the three medal teams before confidence waned and the losses grew.

USA suffers from the same geographical logistic problems Canada would face if they didn't draw their team and coach from the same province. They have concentrated their efforts on a group playing out of Utica NY but it may be time to widen the player net more often than a once a year open call to a selection camp.

They live to fight another day, however, though someone with ties to the national team suggested that relegation would have put the whole program in jeopardy as a trip to Finland may have overwhelmed an already too small budget.

The top eight teams from this championship will join the top two teams from the Qualifying tournament that begins October 29 in Finland in the next (Korean) round of the chase for points towards qualifying for the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi Russia.

Share your impressions of the Worlds in the Comments.

Full details of the Worlds can be found in earlier posts and on wheelchaircurling.com.

Worlds Day 8 - Canada sweep to World title

Canada celebrates the defense of their World title
Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova

Gold - Canada 
Bruno Yizek, Sonja Gaudet, Ina Forrest, Darryl Neighbour,
Jim Armstrong (skip) and Coach Joe Rea[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]

Silver - Scotland
Michael McKenzie, Angie Malone, Gregor Ewan, Tom Killin,
Aileen Nielson (skip) and Coach Sheila Swan[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]

Bronze - Norway
Terge Rafdal, Runar Bjørnstad, Tone Edvarsen, Jostein Stordahl,
Rune Lorentsen skip, Coach Thoralf Hognestad
[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]

It was the return of the old guard as the podium places were decided on the final day of the World Championships in Prague. Since 2004 there have only been three winners at the World level of wheelchair curling**, and all three teams claimed the podium today as Canada won gold, Scotland silver and Norway bronze.

Defending champions Canada also set a record as the only team to go through a World event unbeaten.

Lorentsen and Stordahl discuss the situation playing Scotland
[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]
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In the morning semi-final Scotland, who had beaten Norway 9-1 in round robin play, overwhelmed them 12-1, racing out to a 6-0 lead and sealing the win with a 4 in the 5th and a date with Canada in the afternoon's final.

Scotland * 3 2 1 0 4 2 x x - 12

Norway     0 0 0 1 0 0 x x - 1

It was the first time since Canada's nail biting last rock victory in 2006 that Canada and Scotland had met in the final of a World event, and it was a close game at the beginning. Canada opened with 2 with hammer, but Scotland took a single and a steal to tie. Canada regained the initiative with another 2 before the break, and then eased ahead with steals in ends 5 and 6 to win 7-3.

Scotland - 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 x - 3
Canada *   2 0 0 2 2 1 0 x - 7

Armstrong and Neighbour know they have the game in hand
[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]
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“We got off to a good start,” said Canada skip Jim Armstrong. “We were very solid and the two girls [lead Sonja Gaudet and second Ina Forrest] at the front end absolutely set the bar for wheelchair curling. They made it really easy for me. I honestly never had a tough shot. In the round robin we were very close after five ends against Scotland, but sometimes you have to play a little more aggressively and we had to play hard to beat them.”

Skip Nielson (right) talks to her team
[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]
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Scottish skip Aileen Nielson said the team was delighted with silver. “We knew we could come out here and give it our best shot. This is the first major championship that the five of us have played together. I think it’s obvious that we’ve really gelled. The guys have played great and given me great support on the ice and made my job easy.”

Norway had to overcome the disappointment of their semi-final thrashing by facing Russia for the bronze. Quite why the losing team in the 3 vs 4 game should get another chance at a medal eludes me, but this time justice prevailed as Norway beat Russia 8 - 3.

Russia's Alexander Shevchenko braced by Oxana Slesarenko

[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]

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Russia started well, stealing 2 in the 1st end, but Norway posted the next seven points for a comfortable win.

Russia - 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 x - 3
Norway * 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 x - 8

Norway's Rune Lorentsen watched by Terge Rafdal and Tone Edvarsen

[Photo: WCF/Pavla Hrbova]

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“I’m very satisfied,” said Norway's skip Rune Lorentsen. "We had a good start to the championship and went downhill in the middle. In the game against Scotland this morning I missed everything. It was a bad day at the office for me! But now I’m feeling much better.”

Russia join the medallists and China, Korea, USA and Sweden as automatic qualifiers for the 2012 World Championships in Chuncheon City, South Korea February 18 - 25, 2012. They will be joined by the top two teams competing at the Worlds Qualifying Tournament in Finland at the end of October. Only teams that compete in World Championships can earn points towards qualification at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.

You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores of all the games are available HERE and large galleries of photos are available HERE

**Scotland won the Worlds in 2004 and 2005. Norway won the Worlds in 2007 and 2008. Canada won the Worlds in 2009 and 2011 and also the Paralympics in 2006 and 2010.

Return of the old guard: Canada, Scotland and Norway play for Worlds title

Three years ago Canada, Scotland and Norway may have been consensus picks to compete in the playoffs at the World Championships. After two years of struggle Scotland and Norway have re-emerged to challenge Canada at the top of the 2011 Prague World Championship rankings.

Canada played Norway in the 1 vs 2 game, opening with a 3 and never looking back in the 7-4 victory. Norwegian skip Rune Lorentsen was fatalistic after the game, knowing he's been playing all week with a rookie front end.

“The Canadian lead and second were very strong in this game,” he said. “If our lead and second have a good day then we can perhaps match them and hopefully that will be in the final.”

Jim Armstrong watches Rune Lorentsen pondering Canada's 3 in the house

[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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Scotland played qualifiers Russia, a team who had beaten them on the opening day of round robin play, in the page 3 vs 4 game. Scotland held Russia to 1 in the opening end and then took 3 in the second, only to fall behind 4-3 on a couple of single point steals after 5. Singles were taken with hammer for a 5-5 tie through 8 ends, but in the extra, Scotland stole 3 for an 8-5 win and a semi-final game against Norway.

Scots skip Aileen Nielsen hogged her first stone in the extra end, but playeda great hit-and-roll buried with her second. “We are absolutely delighted, the guys played an awesome game,” she said. “The guys set up the extra end perfectly. My first shot wasn’t the best but I made up for that with the second shot.”

Angie Malone, Gregor Ewan and Aileen Nielson watched by Russia's Svetlana Pakhomova

[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

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The winner of the morning semi-final game plays Canada in Tuesday afternoon's final. The loser plays Russia for the bronze medal.

At the bottom of the table, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany all had 2-7 records so played tie-breakers to decide which team would automatically qualify for the 2012 Worlds in Korea, and which would have to compete in the Qualifying Tournament in Finland next November.

Sweden and the Czechs played first, a game of singles with Sweden gaining a 3-0 lead at the break and holding on for a 4-2 victory, relegating the Czechs.

Czech Radek Musílek congratulates Sweden's Glenn Ikonen
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

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Sweden then played Germany, who had given themselves a chance at avoiding relegation by beating Sweden 7-3 in the final round robin draw. With the scores tied 3-3 at the break, Sweden stole 2 in the 5th only to give up 3 in the 6th. But Germany could not hold on. Sweden took two in the 7th and Germany, down one in the final end, gave up a steal and lost 8-6 and were relegated.

German lead Christiane Steger congratulates her Swedish counterpart Kristina Ulander

[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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A relieved Swedish coach Jalle Jungnell said “if you manage to stay in the group of teams that qualify directly for the World Championships you have got a better chance of qualifying for the Paralympics. But the lesson we have learnt here is for better preparation. We were unprepared.”

On a personal note while I sympathis with Germany and the Czechs, I'm pleased that Jalle, the first wheelchair user to coach at the World level, did not see his team relegated.

Coach Jalle Jungnell rallying his troops

[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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Swedish relief at avoiding relegation

[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE and a large gallery of photos are available HERE

Worlds Day 6 - Canada sweep, join Norway, Russia and Scotland in playoffs

Canada completed their sweep of the round robin matches at the 7th World Wheelchair Curling Championships in Prague, beating Scotland 9-4 in the final draw.

Jim Armstrong braced by Ina Forrest
[World Curling Federation/Roman Suda]
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Skip Jim Armstrong, acknowledging tight early results, told reporters that his team had not played together very often this year and had taken a little while to settle in and get used to the ice, but were feeling increasingly comfortable as the week went on.

“The 9-4 score was not indicative of the game,” he said. “They had last rock and we ran them up and down for a couple of ends and I decided we’d take a cautious risk in end three and see if we could take two and get back in control. The interesting thing is that those first four ends were played exactly as able-bodied curlers would play it and I think that speaks for the calibre of the game today.”

It was Canada's steal of 3 in the 4th end that put paid to Scotland's hopes of appearing in the 1-2 playoff game, given that they lost to China 5-4 in an extra end this morning.

Ewan Gregor braces Scotland's lead Angie Malone
 [World Curling Federation/Roman Suda]
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“Obviously today has not been our best day at the office” said Scottish Skip Aileen Neilson. “But our goal was to get into the business end of the week and we’ve done that. Tomorrow we are going to come out fighting. We know that if we play the way we did with our six (consecutive) wins, there’s absolutely nothing to stop us coming out on top.”

China held their fate in their own hands when they faced fellow qualifiers Russia, who beat Sweden 8-3 this morning, in the final draw. The winner would play on, the loser would have to wait for next year.

Russian lead Lead Svetlana Pakhomova braced by Alexander Shevchenko [World Curling Federation/Roman Suda]
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China opened with a single with hammer, then saw Russia pull ahead 3-1 with single point steals before the break. China pulled level with a single in the 5th and a steal in the 6th, but Russia posted a decisive 3 in the 7th to claim the 6-3 win and their playoff spot. An excited Russian skip Marat Romanov said, “Our performance has exceeded our expectations. This is the first time we’ve reached such heights at the World Championships.”

Norwegian rookies Terge Rafdal and Tone Edvarsen with Jostein Stordahl
 [World Curling Federation/Roman Suda]
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Norway went into today's games knowing they had at least a tie-break. Coach Thoralf Hognestad was philosophical about his team's defeats by Canada and Scotland, but unhappy at the loss to the struggling Czechs, a game where he felt his team blew more than enough chances to win.

They almost blew their game against bottom team Germany, needing an extra end to post a 7-6 victory after giving up a steal in the 8th.

Germany's rookie skip Marcus Sieger
 [World Curling Federation/Roman Suda]
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German coach Helmar Erlewein, acknowledging a new line-up, had limited ambitions for this Championship; a desire to qualify for next year. In the final draw his team avoided automatic relegation by defeating Sweden 7-3.

USA lead Jacqui Kapinowski, braced by Jimmy Joseph with Jim Pierce [World Curling Federation/Roman Suda]
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USA, who began the competition with definite plans on a medal, had only the morning game, a vital third victory, 9-3 over the host Czechs. They then had an anxious wait to see whether the afternoon results would go their way. They did, with the Czechs losing to Korea 7-3 and Sweden's loss to Germany.

This put Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic all at 2-7 with a series of playoff games to come to decide which two teams will be relegated to the Qualifying Tournament in Finland next November.

Canada plays Norway in the 1 vs 2 game tomorrow. The winner goes to the final, the loser plays the winner of the 3 vs 4 game between Russia and Scotland. Russia beat Scotland 7-3 on the opening day.

1. Canada 9-0 (1 vs 2)
2. Norway 6-3 (1 vs 2)
3. Russia 6-3 (3 vs 4)
4. Scotland 6-3 (3 vs 4)
5. China 5-4 (qualified for Korea 2012)
6. Korea 4-5 (qualified for Korea 2012 as host)
7. USA 3-6 (qualified for Korea 2012)

Germany 2-7

Sweden 2-7

Czech Republic 2-7

You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE and a large gallery of photos are available HERE

Worlds Day 5 - Unbeaten Canada clinch playoff spot.

Canadian lead Sonja Gaudet using an off side brace
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Alberta's patient alternate Bruno Yizek was given a game at 2nd against Germany (1-6) in the morning draw that saw Canada (8-0) coast to a 13-0 win in six ends. The opposition promised to be tougher in the afternoon, but Canada stole an early 4-0 lead over Norway (5-3) on their way to a 7-4 win that guaranteed them a place in the Page 1 vs 2 playoff game.

Canada front end Bruno Yizek and Sonja Gaudet
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Norway had lost to the Czech Republic in the morning draw, again by falling behind early. Though they tied the game after 6 ends, and were just one down with hammer in the 8th, they were unable to deny the Czechs their second win, losing 6-4.

Norway's coach Thoralf Hognestad talks to his team
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Norwegian skip Rune Lorentsen remained upbeat saying “with two beginners and our third player who has never been in the Worlds before, our performance this week is above all our expectations.” They face last place Germany tomorrow, and with the other 3 loss teams playing each other, are guaranteed a playoff spot with a win.

Scottish rookie Gregor Ewan wonders what he's done
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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Scotland (6-1) clinched their playoff spot with a 5-4 win over Korea (3-5). “When you come to the world championships your first goal is to get the business end of the week,” said skip Aileen Neilson. “[then) we take stock and focus and start the competition again.” Three losses guarantees a playoff spot.

China's skip Taeyeong Jeong
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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China (4-3) beat Sweden (2-5) 5-3 in their only game today, but have a tough finish against Scotland and Russia tomorrow. Russia needed a steal of 2 in an extra end to put away the disappointing Americans who again dug themselves a huge hole by giving up a big end, this time a five before the break, that single point steals were unable to overcome.

USA coach Steve Brown discusses the extra end against Russia
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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USA had posted a decisive 12-3 win to dent Korea's playoff hopes in the morning draw but relegation to the Qulifying Tournament is now a very real possibility for a USA team who had made the playoffs at the 2009 Worlds and 2010 Paralympics. They play the Czechs tomorrow in a must win game for both teams.

Jimmy Joseph with Jacqui Kapinowski [World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Another team who will be fighting for survival are Paralympic bronze medallists Sweden who play Russia tomorrow. Both teams will be highly motivated; for opposite reasons.

Swedish coach Jalle Jungnell encouraging his team [World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Standings after Draw 10

Canada 8-0 (Qualified for playoffs)
Scotland 6-1 (Qualified for playoffs)
Norway 5-3
China 4-3
Russia 4-3
Korea 3-5
Sweden 2-5
Czech Republic 2-5
USA 2-6
Germany 1-6

Canada plays Scotland tomorrow.  You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE and a large gallery of photos are available HERE

Worlds Day 4 - Canada alone at top after Scotland end Norway's unbeaten run

Norway's run of 22 games without defeat came to a decisive halt when they faced Scotland in Draw 7 of the World Championships in Prague. The game went with hammer, with Scotland holding a 3-1 edge at the break, before the Scots posted steals of 3 in the 5th and 6th before early handshakes and a 9-1 win.

Scots skip Aileen Nielson pointing to the exact spot for the stone to finish [World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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The win put Scotland in a tie with Norway for second place and skip Aileen Nielson was delighted to have broken Norway's streak.  "My team played a phenomenal game. But we need to keep our heads screwed on because we’ve still got three more games to go.” Scotland had beaten Germany 10-4 earlier in the day but still have to face Korea, China and Canada.

Scotland's 3rd Tom Killin braced by Gregor Ewan in action against Germany
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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Canada had a very tough 5-4 win over the Czech Republic to maintain their unbeaten record and claim sole ownership of the top of the table. The Czechs went out to an early 3-0 lead before seeing it slip away in a series of single point steals. Skip Radek Pokorný said his team had tried hard to surprise Canada and thought they did that, managing to force Canada into some difficult situations.

Canadian Ina Forrest and Czech Martin Tluk [World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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Korea kept their playoff hopes alive with an 8-2 win on four consecutive steals over fellow challengers Russia, though Russia regrouped to post a 14-0 win over an emotionally drained Czech Republic.

Korea's Haenam Yang using a crossover delivery, braced by Giteak Kuon [World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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China handed Germany their second loss of the day, and kept their playoff hopes on track with the 11-1 win. They are tied with Korea and Russia for fourth place.

China's He Jun

[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Sweden won their second game and put paid to USA's medal chances with a 9-6 win. USA have lost some very close games this week, but in a game they had to win they were down 5-0 after two ends despite having hammer. They pulled back to level the scores and started the 7th with hammer but gave up 3 and lost 9-6.

Sweden's Patrik Burman braced by Kristina Ulander
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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“It feels very good to have a win finally again,” said coach and last year's skip Jalle Jungnell “It’s very hard as you see things so much more clearly from above. it’s very clear what the team needs to do! And you get frustrated that you can’t actually play the shot.”

Table after Draw 8

Canada 6-0
Norway 5-1
Scotland 5-1
China 3-3
Korea 3-3
Russia 3-3
Sweden 2-4
Germany 1-5
Czech Republic 1-5
USA 1-5

Canada plays Germany and Norway tomorrow.  You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE and a large gallery of photos are available HERE

Worlds Day 3 - Norway and Canada continue to win

Jostein Stordahl and skip Rune Lorentsen with China's skip Wang Haitao
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

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Norway added another couple of wins to their impressive string of 22 consecutive victories when they faced Korea and China on Day 3 of the World Championships in Prague.

In the morning draw steals in the 4th and 7th saw off China 6-3. In the afternoon against Korea they opened with two but then gave up four before steadying with steals in ends 4, 5 and 6. Korea levelled the score at 7-7 with a three in the 7th end, but Norway took their one in the 8th to win 8-7.

Norway 2nd Tone Edvarsen watched by Jostein Stordahl
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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Canada kept pace with Norway, beating Russia 7-3 in the morning draw. A steal of two in the 5th was decisive. In the afternoon against struggling Sweden, Canada stole each of the first four ends, again winning 7-3.

Canada's Darryl Neighbour and skip Jim Armstrong await a decision
by Russia's Andrey Smirnov and skip Marat Romanov
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

Scotland remain at just one loss after beating USA 6-5. USA started well, taking one and then stealing 2 for an unfamiliar early lead before seeing it disappear when Scotland posted four in the 3rd. An exchange of singles the rest of the way gave Scotland the 8-7 win.

A USA between ends team meeting [World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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USA have ridden the confidence of their skip Goose Perez to the playoffs the last two years, but at 1-3 going into the afternoon draw against China they found themselves down by 4 before they gave up the hammer. China later posted a four and a three in an 11-4 win that had the hallmarks of a losing team pressing.

Sweden's coach Jalle Jungnell has had a tough transition from last year skipping the Paralympic bronze medallists. He saw his team fall behind 4-0 with the hammer playing Korea, and then watched Korea post the biggest end of the tournament, a 5 just after the break on the way to a 10-6 final.

Life was no easier in the afternoon as they faced Canada, who stole the first six points for a 7-3 win. “The Swedes had a tough first game today and sometimes it’s a little tough to re-gear and refocus,” said Canadian Skip Jim Armstrong. “I think we maybe just caught Glenn [Ikonen, Swedish Skip] on a bad day, on a rebound."

Sweden's skip Glenn Ikonen
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]

Winless Germany got off to a strong start against the host Czech Republic. A three in the 2nd was followed by a steal, and though the Czechs rallied with a steal of their own in the 7th to get to within two, Germany prevailed for their first win, 6-4.

German skip Marcus Sieger
[World Curling Federation/Vladimir Nosek]
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A relieved Marcus Sieger, who has stepped up to skip while still throwing 3rd stones said, “We are happy to have our first victory. it’s my first world championship as skip so it’s a new experience for me. I think I have still got a lot to learn – I need to improve on strategy!”

Canada plays Czech Republic tomorrow and Norway plays Scotland.  You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE and a large gallery of photos are available HERE

Norway wins 20 straight, stays top with Canada

Rune Lorentsen - Norway skip
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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Norway won their twentieth consecutive match this morning, beating Russia 7-3. "This afternoon," promised coach Thoralf Hognestad, "we will play tennis!"

Canada continued their run of nail-biting single point victories with a 6-5 win over Korea. They were behind 3-2 at the 4th end break, and gave up a steal in the 5th, but then scored the next four points. Korean skip Tae Yeong Jeong, needing two to force an extra, was light on his final draw and managed only a single.

Canada skip Jim Armstrong braced by Ina Forrest
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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All three of Canada's wins have been decided by a single point.  “Once again we had to come from behind, I think it speaks for the calibre of play generally” said Canadian Skip Jim Armstrong. “Every game has gone to the last rock.”

Scotland regrouped from yesterday's disappointing loss to Russia to post two wins, 10-2 over the Czechs and 7-4 over Sweden.

Scotland's skip Aileen Nielson
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

“Sometimes it’s that last stone that makes the difference,” said Scottish Skip Aileen Neilson, who ended Sweden’s chances of tying up the game in the eighth end with her last stone. “Sometimes you just do the maths and I thought if I get rid of that stone he [Swedish Skip Glenn Ikonen] is not going to get his two. That was the objective and it came off.” Not only was the takeout successful, it padded the score with a steal.

USA finally entered the win column, scoring 4 in the 7th to sink Germany 9-3.

USA skip 'Goose' Perez braced by Jimmyy Joseph
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

“I think the difference between yesterday and today is that we shot to make the shots and yesterday sometimes we felt that we were shooting not to miss. The key shots we needed to make today – we did!” exclaimed US Skip Augusto Perez.

Germany mounted a comeback against Russia in the afternoon after giving up a 4 in the 6th. They stole 2 in the 8th to force an extra end, but it wasn't enough as Russia took their one to win 8-7 and leave Germany as the only team without a win.

Hosts Czech Republic won their first game, a convincing 9-3 defeat of China in a game where they stole points in 5 of the 7 ends.

Czech skip Radek Pokorný and Third Martin Tluk
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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Czech Skip Radek Pokorný, playing at his first World Championship, said: “We were quite disappointed to have lost so badly to Scotland this morning as every game is important. We were just trying to forget about this loss. Right from the start we put China under pressure. They were forced to make difficult shots and our tactic paid off.”

Canada play Russia and Sweden tomorrow. You can see the full schedule, results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE and a large gallery of photos are available HERE

Worlds Day 1 - Canada overcome early scare, share lead with Norway

[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

Canada are not known as fast starters at international competitions, and faced a tough opening day against China and USA. China had to qualify through the challenge round last November, but impressed observers with their accurate up-weight hitting, much as Korea had done when they came from nowhere to claim silver in 2008.

China took 1 with hammer, then stole 2 only to give momentum back to Canada who stole 1 just before the break. China added to their lead however, with singles in 5 and a steal of 1 in 6 to go ahead 5-2 with two ends remaining.

Canada were held to one in the 7th but then came through with a big steal of two in the 8th to force an extra end, winning 6-5 with another steal when China's skip Haitao Wang’s final stone was too heavy.

Canada rode their good fortune into their afternoon draw against USA. This time Canada started well, following a blank first end with a 3 with hammer. An exchange of singles left USA down 5-3 in the 8th and though they stole the last point, it wasn't enough, Canada winning 5-4 to join Norway at the top of the standings.

Norway beat USA in the morning. The pattern of a single and a steal was broken by Norway's 2 with hammer in the 8th for a 5-4 win. Long-time skip Rune Lorentsen said: “We are extremely pleased to have done so well on the first day. I have to give credit to Terje [Rafdal] and Tone [Edvardsen] the new lead and second on our team.”

Norway saw off regional rivals Sweden 8-3 in seven ends in the afternoon draw, stealing 2 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th before handshakes.

In the other morning matches, Sweden went out to a 5-0 lead against hosts Czech Republic but saw it whittled away with a succession of single point steals. Sweden needed their single with hammer in the final end for their 6-4 win.

Korea posted 3's in the 2nd and 7th ends but needed a stolen single in the final end to complete their 7-5 win over Germany.

Germany's coach Helmar Erlewein with Stefan Deuschl, Marcus Sieger and Christiane Steger[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

Scotland had a bye in the morning and dug themselves a big hole in their afternoon game against qualifiers Russia, falling behind 4-0 after 3 ends. Russia won 7-3, their skip Marat Romanov joking afterwards that traditionally they have lost their first game so to win was a bit of a surprise.

Scot Angie Malone with Russians Alexander Shevchenko, Andrey Smirnov and Svetlana Pakhomova[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]
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The loss against a team they would have expected to beat will not have done much to help the Scots team's confidence after a series of international setbacks.

China demonstrated they are the new Asian team to watch in their 9-3 win over a Korean team lacking international experience.

China's 2nd Guangqin Xu demonstrates the team's face to the ice power delivery
[World Curling Federation/Pavla Vrbova]

The day's results have Canada and Norway at the top of the table while USA Scotland, Czech Republic and Germany await their first win.

Canada play just one game tomorrow, against Korea in the morning.
You can see results and tables in our Worlds 2011 section of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Line scores are available HERE