Team Canada finalist for IPC 2010 Paralympics Best Team Award

Team Canada is one of five finalists for the International Paralympic Committee's "Best Team" Award. Jim Armstrong, Darryl Neighbour, Ina Forrest, Sonja Gaudet and Bruno Yizek defended Canada's Paralympic title with a 7-2 round robin record before beating Sweden, and then Korea in the final.

Also being considered are the US and Japanese Sledge Hockey teams and the Russian Men's and Women's Cross Country Skiing Relay Teams.

The winner will be announced in December. The IPC news release is HERE.

Final camp and exhibition matches for Team Canada

Team Canada have their final training camp this weekend at the Richmond CC.

Their last tournament game was in December, but they have brought invitees like Alberta's Jack Smart and Manitoba's Chris Sobkowicz into camp to play alongside Jackie Roy and Bruno Yizek for practice sessions.  Last weekend they won 2 of 3 three matches against Whitney Warren's Team BC.

This weekend I am told the Richmond CC has arranged games for Friday and Saturday though I do not have details. The team will attend Friday evening's Olympic women's draw.

for those looking for team news I have this from Team Leader Wendy Morgan:

Team Canada is very excited about the upcoming Paralympic Games in our home country!

We do not feel pressure to compete in Canada, we welcome that opportunity as a rare privilege!

'Home field advantage' for us, will be having  family and friends to share this experience with...to celebrate the wins, have comfort after losses and live support in the stands. 

Team Canada has been focused on team building, refining strategies, enhancing communication skills and technical tweaking for the last 2 months.

We have had several practice games at our 2 January camps and our final camp this weekend, in Richmond,  will focus on final details of competition and event readiness.

We recognize the presence of expectations...that is the reality of sport at the highest level. The roster of countries and players competing in 2010 is one of  experience, talent, and this 2010 field is very level.

Team Canada is healthy, anxious to play and most eager to put the Maple Leaf on our backs!

Our primary goal is make the playoff round.  Our focus however is one game at a time.

We look forward to cheering on our Ladies and Men's Olympic teams this week in Vancouver. 

Go Canada Go!

I also had a lengthy and less general conversation with Coach Rea that I will use in a future post.

Armstrong injury update

Jim Armstrong - 2009 Nationals
photo - Ian Readey

Several people have mentioned to me that from their observation, Team Canada skip Jim Armstrong is carrying the injury to his non-throwing shoulder with obvious discomfort. While there has been no official comment from the team, my understanding is that the injury is uncomfortable, and does affect his mobility, but is not expected to be an issue as far as playing is concerned.

Jim is fortunate in that he can use his legs in addition to or in place of his non-throwing arm, to brace his delivery.

Experienced users of manual wheelchairs know what a strain is placed on shoulders. Throwing rocks from a chair compounds that strain. So it is no great surprise that Jim, with body already worn from decades of sweeping, may be feeling pain, particularly if he felt the need to play catch-up in training after being inactive after last year's shoulder surgery and car accident.

Though Canada would prefer a fully fit Armstrong throwing fourth stones, his major contribution to the team is not the ability to throw takeout weight. Were his injury to worsen, they could easily let him skip from lead. Were that to happen though, would they just move Sonja, Ina and Darryl up the order, or would they bring in Bruno at third and sit Sonja?

And who would skip were Jim not able to play? Canadians, especially the coaches, hope these questions will never need answers, but what would you do?

Using the Paralympics to publicise the sport

Team GB third Aileen Neilson gave an extended interview to Paul Thomson of the East Kilbride News. She talks about her life before her disability, how she came into wheelchair curling, how she has prepared for Vancouver and her hopes for success.

Scots curlers, who make up the Great Britain team, are generously financed by the government and appear to see publicity as part of their responsibility to the sport. I have recently linked to articles mentioning every member of their team.

Team USA also feature regularly in the press and media, as the USA curling authorities understand that the national team is their best advertisement for increasing participation. Again I have linked to articles on all the team.

Canada has instituted a pre-Paralympics media protocol explicitly discouraging informal press (including me) contact with team members, and insisting that all requests for interviews be cleared with a "media liason officer." Standard procedure. apparently, but just one reason why you'll find so little information about the team on this blog, or read mainstream media stories covering anything other than Jim Armstrong's phoenix-like rise from the ashes of a ruined able-bodied curling career.

Team Canada, also funded by public money, should be doing everything in their power to court publicity, realising that often means not only going out of their way to contact media with stories, but supplying journalists, notoriously lazy, with material.

Instead they issue no press releases, or invitations to watch the team prepare.  They don't train in different locales while inviting local curlers to interact with the team, which would attract local TV.

You can call it necessary focus, and claim that gold in Vancouver wipes away all objections, but making a two year campaign solely about winning a gold medal puts everything in just one basket, and we can only hope it's a sturdy one.

To be successful a sport has to make its audience care about the participants. If all Canadians are asked to care about is a gold medal, then it's a disaster getting anything less. But more, once the competition is over, people will stop caring, and that's no way to nuture a sport and provide for the future.

Official Team Canada profiles online

Did you know that Darryl Neighbour has 13 siblings? Find out more about the Team Canada members on the Canadian Paralympic Comittee's website. I'd post the photos, but they don't actually look that squished in real life.

Jim Armstrong - Darryl Neighbour - Ina Forrest
Sonja Gaudet - Bruno Yizek

Canada vs Finland from Nov 28 in Prague at Czech Opn

Someone, probably from Finland, posted video from the Canada/Finland game in Draw 2 of the Czech Open in Prague on November 28, 2009.

The game was posted on 3 segments. The quality is not great and not every stone has been captured but embed links are below, or you can access the host site directly HERE.

The video does not always play at the first attempt.

Canada played Sonja Gaudet at lead, Bruno Yizek, Darryl Neighbour and Jim Armstrong.

Can't remember what happened and don't want to watch the video? Look up the result in the blog archive for November.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

SUI overwhelm NOR in final of Czech Open - Canada take bronze

Switzerland beat a full strength Canada 8-4 in the semi-final of the Czech Open in Prague today. They opened with a single point, scored facing four Canadian stones, then gave up 3 in the second. The game turned in the 3rd when Switzerland scored 5, and Canada were unable to recover, giving up a steal of 1 in the 4th to be down 7-3 at the break. Canada did have a chance for 3 in the 6th, but only scored 1 and the teams shook hands with Canada run out of rocks in the 7th. (The 5 ender was the costliest end of Armstrong's stewardship of the team.)

Canada         0 3 0 0 1 0 x x - 4
Switzerland*   1 0 5 1 0 1 x x - 8

In the other semi, Norway scored 4 in the final end for a come from behind victory over Sweden 8-6.

Norway    1 0 0 1 2 0 4 x - 8
Sweden*   0 0 5 0 0 1 0 x - 6

Switzerland, with the highly experienced Manfred Bollinger at skip, fielded a team with just one change from the squad that struggled at the 2009 Worlds. In the final they overwhelmed Norway 7-1, allowing the single point in the final end.

Norway            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x - 1
Switzerland*      1 0 1 3 1 1 0 x - 7

Canada redeemed themselves with a 4-1 win over Sweden to take 3rd place.

Canada        0 0 0 1 2 1 0 X  4

Sweden        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  1

(Q) There were a lot of blank ends. Was that intentional, to keep things clean? Wendy Morgan - "It was the game plan based on ice conditions."
*Q) And how would you describe the ice conditions?
Wendy Morgan - "Previous games heavy and inconsistent - the final game sheet 4 was the best sheet we played on during the event - the 3 blank ends were the result of outstanding execution by both teams in a defensive style of play."

Morgan professed to being happy with the trip. "It was a terrific competition - we are very pleased with our results and moving forward to the new year."

That's understandable coach-speak, but the trip demonstrated that Canada can not expect to have things all their own way. They lost to Finland in a game that did not matter, and to Switzerland in a game that did. No cause for panic, and Jim Armstrong's play will doubtless improve as he continues his recovery from injury and is able to put in the ice-time to reach the standard Canada will need in Vancouver. But Sweden, Switzerland and Great Britain have all won international events this year. Norway's play is improving ("We don't want to peak too early," says coach Christensen.) USA have a big event skip, while Korea threaten to break the rocks with their hitting game.

It's going to be interesting in Vancouver.

Unranked Finland upset Canada, Canada & Norway top pools

Canada were upset by Finland, a team that have never appeared in a World Championship, in the morning draw of the second day of the Czech Open in Prague.

They gave up single steals in the first two ends, and a steal of 3 in the 5th before making the 8-5 scoreline a little more respectable with a steal of 3 of their own in the seventh and final end. Bruno Yizek played at second in place of ina. This was a team decision to give Bruno some playing time and experience at different positions.

"Finland played very well - Canada struggled with weight control," texts Team Leader Wendy Morgan. "The team is upbeat - took some lessons learned from this morning's game."

Sweden came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat Czech 1 6-5 in a match that only managed to play 6 ends in the allotted time. Germany saw Norway take singles in each of the first four ends in a 5-2 defeat in seven ends. The low scoring reminded some of their Draw 9 match-up at the 2009 Worlds contest, where the teams blanked the first four ends.

Switzerland posted a 7-5 win over Czech 2 in the remaining morning draw.

Finland   1  1  0  3  3  0  0  -  8
Canada*   0  0  1  0  0  1  3  -  5

Czech 1   2  1  1  0  0  1  -  -  5   
Sweden*   0  0  0  3  3  0  -  -  6

Germany   0  0  0  0  1  0  1  -  2
Norway*   1  1  1  1  0  1  0  -  5

Czech 2*      0  1  0  0  3  1  -  5
Switzerland   4  0  2  1  0  0  -  7

In the afternoon draw, Canada went into the break level with Czech 1, but had steals in the next three ends to win 7-3.

"We had a slow start to the game this afternoon but rallied in the second half," texts Wendy Morgan. "Sonja sat and Bruno played lead."

Norway pounded Czech 2 by 13-1 and Sweden took 5 in the third against Finland and won 9-4.

Germany gave up a steal of 3 in the first and 1 in the second, but eked out a win over Switzerland by scoring 3 in the final end of a game that only managed 6 ends in the allotted two hours.

Norway        2  2  1  1  0  3  2  2  -  13
Czech 2*   0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  -  1

Switzerland   3  1  0  0  1  0  -  -   - 5
Germany*      0  0  2  1  0  3  -  -   - 6

Canada*     1  0  0  1  1  1  3  0   - 7
Czech 1     0  1  1  0  0  0  0  1   - 3

Sweden      0  0  5  0  2  0  2  -   - 9
Finland*    1  1  0  1  0  1  0  -   - 4

Table after round robin

Pool A

1 Norway
2 Switzerland
3 Germany
4 Czech 2

Pool B

1 Canada
2 Sweden
3 Finland
4 Czech 1

Norway plays Sweden and Switzerland plays Canada in tomorrow's semi-finals.

Canada cruise to final of Richmond International

Team Canada gave up a steal in the first end of the morning draw against Chris Daw's team, but then posted a series of big ends to come away 16-4 winners and finish the round robin 5-0. Darryl Neighbour sat out the game, still unwell after his flu shot. Bruno Yizek played 3rd.

Korea finished with an 8-4 win over the Richmond hosts to claim second place at 4-1. Alberta beat BC 8-5.

In the afternoon Page playoff, Canada held Korea to a single point, running out 10-1 wins and claiming the place in tomorrow afternoon's final. Third place Alberta beat Richmond 9-4 and face Korea in the morning semi-final.

Teams have pocketed $50 for each win, and $2,000 is at stake tomorrow

Canada unbeaten after 4 draws, but Korea hang tough

Canada swept to another blowout score in a 16-3 win over hosts Richmond in the morning draw. Darryl Neighbour, unwell with a bad reaction to a flu shot, sat out the game and Bruno Yizek played 3rd.

Alberta posted their first win, 10-0 over a Chris Daw-less CGVC Avengers team. Korea beat BC 8-7, their third win and the third time they have split the ends with their opponents.

The marquee matchup came in Draw 4 with Canada edging Korea 6-5, taking a sngle with hammer in the 8th to win.

CAN   1 0 1 1 0 2 0 1  -  6
KOR   0 1 0 0 2 0 2 0  -  5

Richmond beat Alberta 5-3 and BC beat the Avengers 10-4 in seven ends to round out the second day's play.

Friday's games
Draw 5  -  9.30  -  AB -  BC,  AV - CAN,  RCD - KOR
Page Playoff  1.30    1v2, 3v4

Some photos from Day 1 Richmond International

Photos courtesy of Tom Tang

Richmond Centre for Disability

Acting Mayor Linda Barnes gets things underway by pushing the firs rock
following advice from MC Joe Krapiec

Korea has brought the team that disappointed at the 2009 Worlds.
With a 2-0 start they had much to be happy about.

Alberta 3rd Anne Hibberd, using that "Eales off-side brace" I notice

Alberta lead Bridget Wilson with Martin Purvis holding

Team Canada 3rd Darryl Neighbour with Bruno Yizek holding

Will injury dash Canada's hopes for repeat Paralympics gold?

Team Canada skip Jim Armstrong confirmed today that he has a shoulder injury that will require surgery.

"I have a muscle tear in my left (non-throwing) shoulder that has been bothering me since before the World Championships," he said today. "The prognosis for a full recovery is good, but the surgeons are suggesting that rehab may take three to six months."

Jim is a large man and fairly new to using a wheelchair. It is easy to under estimate how much strain wheeling around, places on shoulders he described as "already beaten up by years of sweeping." Leaving aside issues of physical discomfort, the non throwing arm is important for a stable delivery motion, as well as the ability to manipulate the chair and thus maintain fitness.

"The long rehab is a concern," Jim said, "but if I can get the surgery in a couple of weeks I plan to go ahead with it. Otherwise I'll wait until after the Paralympics."

While the Team Canada squad is comprised of very capable individual curlers, Armstrong's leadership at skip was the decisive factor in Canada's first World Championship last March. It is also the cornerstone of Canada's hopes for repeating their Torino gold medal success at the Vancouver Paralympics in 2010. Even were he not fit enough to justify throwing last rocks, I suspect Armstrong's expertise in strategy, ice reading and team management would mean he'd have to be unable to get his rocks down the ice before he lost his place on the team.

The injury does raise the question of who would replace him were he unable to compete, and what the coaching staff have done to prepare for that eventuality. And what effect will a Jim at less than 100% have on the rest of the team?

Team Canada 2010 (almost) set

It has been a fairly safe assumption for some time now that Canada's team for the 2010 Paralympics would include Jim Armstrong at skip and Darryl Neighbour at 3rd. Coach Wendy Morgan's confirmation that the team would include two women, left just one slot open for speculation.

High Performance Director Gerry Peckham confirmed last night that failing injury or unforeseen circumstance, or a catastrophic loss of form, Ina Forrest and Sonja Gaudet would join Jim and Darryl on the team.

"Their performance within the selection process over the past few years and their gold medal achievement at the 2009 World Wheelchair Championships has placed them in excellent stead to be selected to the 2010 Team," he said.

"We felt it made sense to let the athletes know their relative status as early as possible, to help each of them plan their year. We have added Jackie Roy, an accomplished curler, as a backup to Ina and Sonja, as we are committed to having two females on the team. Chris Sobkowicz, Bruno Yizek and Gerry Austgarden will compete for the remaining slot.

"The carded athletes for the yearly cycle beginning this July are the five members who won the 2009 Worlds, plus Bruno Yizek on a "D" (development) card. Cardings are always a lagging indicator, based on past performance. Bruno was carded as he was 6th on our depth chart, though with everyone so close, that doesn't imply he is favoured to make the team over Gerry and Chris."

The squad will play in Norway and Scotland between October 12 and 23, and Peckham says selection of the 2010 Paralympic team will occur that month.