Team Canada honoured at CPC Gala

Sonja Gaudet, with CPC Board member Josh Vander Vies and Greg Sremlaw

Canadian Paralympic Committee yesterday honoured the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Team with the Best Team Award for winning Canada's second consecutive gold medal in the sport.

"These athletes made the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games a significant moment in Canadian sport history and reaffirmed to the world that Team Canada is a strong competitor," said Henry Storgaard, Chief Executive Officer for the CPC. "I am so pleased we could honour them here today and give them the recognition they deserve for their incredible accomplishments. By their excellence, they have raised the profile of the Paralympic Movement and have inspired a whole nation."

This is the first time CPC has developed its own awards to recognize the athletes at the national level. Sonja Gaudet attended the ceremony and accepted the award on behalf of the team from the CCA's  Chief Executive Officer, Greg Stremlaw.

2011 Women of Curling - glamour with a purpose

2011 Cover girl Jill Officer

The 2011 Women Of Curling calendar is now on sale with proceeds going to support spinal cord research. The campaign also hopes to raise public awareness of wheelchair curling.

Here, courtesy of The Curling News, are the  2011 Women of Curling:

December 2010: Colleen Jones  NS
January 2011: Ashley Miharija  ON
February: Cheryl Bernard  AB
March: Chelsea Carey  MB
April: Jill Officer  MB
May: Kari MacLean  ON
June: Sarah Wark  BC
July: Andrea Leganchuk  ON
August: Trica Affleck  PEI
September: Sabrina Shibley  ON
October: Kristy Jenion  MB
November: Teri Lake  NS
December: Darah Provencal  BC

News from Japan

Team Japan - Photo - Mika Yamaguchi

Wheelchair curling reporter and supporter Yayoi Mashimo tells me that wheelchair curling associations in Asia are organizing a regional competition at the end of this month. The spiel will be in Harbin, China, one of only two Chinese cities with curling ice. Teams from China, Korea, and Japan will participate.

Next month the Japanese national team, from the Shinshu Chair Curling Club, will compete in the World Wheelchair Curling Qualification competition in Lohja, Finland from November 7-12.

Reports and photos from last year's Japanese National Championships can be seen HERE.

Photos of Team Japan taken at the Vancouver Paralympics by Yayoi's friend Mika Yamaguchi, who sadly lost her battle against cancer this August, can be seen HERE.

Saskatchewan selection and national development camp

Deadline for applications to attend Provincial Team Selection Camp is November 12th, 2010. Saskatchewan Curling Association 306-780-9202 or 1-877-722-2875.

Five curlers will be chosen to represent Saskatchewan at the National Wheelchair Curling Championship March 20 to 27, 2011 in Edmonton, AB.

A CCA Talent ID/Development Camp will take place at the same time.

Date:             November 27, 2010
Location:        Regina – Callie Curling Club
Times:           10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Registration Fee:    $30.00 (lunch & supper provided)

Athletes coming to the camp will be provided development sessions and evaluated on the following:

-    Delivery Technical Skills and Shot Making Ability
-    Game Strategy & Tactics
-    Ability to work in a team environment

Full information is available HERE

Nine attend inaugural national talent identification camp

The first in what is planned as a nationwide series of talent identification and development camps is taking place in Calgary, Alberta, this weekend. Team Smart, the 2010 provincial champions, and 4 curlers from Edmonton are taking part.

The camps are an attempt by the CCA to reach out across Canada to ensure that every talented curler has the opportunity to make themselves known to those in charge of the national team.

As part of that effort, national coach Wendy Morgan has put together a booklet outlining "National Wheelchair Program Expectations" that includes an extensive variety of drills.

The drills come with a proviso that there are a 'work in progress' that will be revised and improved as field testing occurs.

"We need to ensure they are valid and reflect the current standard of play," says Gerry Peckham, the person in overall charge of Canada's high performance coaching.

You can view the booklet HERE

Norway sweeps to win at Kinross International

Maria Duncan, playing lead for Team Norway

Local club curler Maria Duncan played lead for Norway as they completed their sweep of the competition at the Kinross International, earning big wins over Wales and Scotland 4 (who gave up a 6 in the 2nd) before finishing with a 7-4 win over Rosemary Lenton's Scotland 1.

Norway   -   0  2  3  0  1  1   -  7
Sotland1  -  2  0  0  2  0   0  -  4

Norway's full results and some photos can be viewed HERE.

Switzerland earned second place on a countback of ends won to break a tie with Scotland 1.

Winners - Norway
Per Fagerhoi, Runar Bjornstad, Maria Duncan, Rune Lorensten, Jostein Stardahl

 Runners-up - SwitzerlandManfred Bollinger, Sybille Steiner, Claudia Huttenmoser, Rony Liechtenhan, Daniel Meyer

Standing - Councilor Willie Robertson and Brian Martin - Ailsa Craig Jewellery - sponsor.

Jim Armstrong pleads guilty to "intent to mislead or defraud"

Jim Armstrong, skip of Canada's gold medal winning Paralympic wheelchair curling team, today changed his plea to guilty of distributing pills with an intent to deceive. The trafficking charges outlined in the original indictment are presumably dropped and the trial scheduled for Monday October 25th will not take place.

He faces up to three years prison, though the plea agreement, which does not bind the sentencing judge, recommends that he be fined $50,000, perform community service hours and be sentenced to the time he already served in U.S. Custody. Sentencing is scheduled for January 28th before Judge Martinez of the US District Court.

Here's part of the United States Attorney’s Office press release.

US ARETIRED B.C. DENTIST AND SON PLEAD GUILTY TO SELLING COUNTERFEIT VIAGRA AND CIALIS

Counterfeit Drugs Shipped from China and India to Blaine Post Office, Distributed in Canada

            JAMES PETER ARMSTRONG, 59, of Richmond B.C. Canada, and his son, GREGORY JAMES ARMSTRONG, 28, also of Richmond, B.C., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to selling and dispensing counterfeit drugs with the intent to mislead or defraud.  JAMES ARMSTRONG is a retired dentist and was a member of the Canadian Paralympic curling team.  The men face up to three years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on January 28, 2011.

Read the full release HERE

Two teams unbeaten midway through Kinross International

Per Fagerhøi, Runar Bjørnstad, Jostein Stordahl, Rune Lorentsen
& Team Norway Coach Thoralf Hognestad

Team Norway, with some new faces and refound enthusiasm after the disappointments of the past couple of years, are tied at 3-0 with Scotland 1 at the midpoint of the Kinross International.

Coach Thoralf Hognestad, back in charge after a year away, says the team's spirits are high and skip Rune Lorentsen is enjoying the game again. Certainly the results have been decisive: a 7-2 win over what on paper looked a formidable Scotland 2 side (Aileen Nielsen, Tom Killin, Angie Malone and George Ewan), and overwhelming defeats of Scotland 3 and Switzerland.

For Norwegian speakers there is a web page with today's action HERE.

Norway introduced two new players, Runar Bjørnstad and Paralympic skiier Per Fagerhøi, though they had to borrow local club player Maria Duncan as they were unable to travel with a female player.

Runar and Per are alternating games in Kinross, but next month at the Prague Open, Rune and Jostein will play with two more newcomers; Tone Edvartsen and Terje Rafdal.

Rosemary Lenton, a late cut from the 2010 British Paralympic squad, has skipped Scotland 1 to a 3-0 start and will play Norway in the final draw Thursday at 3pm local time.

The teams and schedule can be found HERE.

via Twitter

CCA launches Team Canada Talent Identification programme

It's the start of a new quadrennial, and the CCA is aware that procedures for consideration for Team Canada training have appeared less than transparent.

Does this mean they plan to follow the lead of US A and (more significantly) Scotland by holding open tryouts? Well, not exactly, but they are slowly moving in that direction and promising this year a more public process.

The CCA's Wendy Morgan, in partnership with provincial organizations, is holding a series of national talent identification camps with the aim of allowing every wheelchair curler with the ambition and ability to perform to national team standards, the opportunity to be assessed by national coaching staff.

Read Wendy's plan outline HERE.

How do you ensure a place? That will depend on the policy of your provincial association. The initial CCA guideline was to invite to the camp last year's provincial champions plus 2 or 3 others deemed deserving. In Alberta this is what will happen in Calgary this coming weekend. Team Smart (the 2010 provincial champions) will be joined by 3 curlers from Edmonton.

In Manitoba invitations were issued to 10 curlers, "all our wheelchair curlers with experience," according to provincial coordinator Elaine Owen. Saskatchewan is running the camp in conjunction with their provincial team selection camp, open to everyone qualified to play for the province.

Atlantic Canada will hold a competition and camp on January 14th and will be inviting everyone who has appeared at a National Championships or wheelchair curling camp the past two seasons.

Every province has a wheelchair curling coordinator who will be responsible for deciding who will be invited to attend their camp. The names are listed at the end of this post. Some will have been actively involved with wheelchair curling, and others only in an administrative sense.

There has been a lot of grumbling in the past by people who felt their skills had been overlooked. This time round, they at least have the opportunity to know who is doing the choosing, and where and when.

Gerry Peckham agrees that no one wants a situation where participation depends on who you know rather than what you can do on the ice. If you think you have the skills to challenge for a Team Canada place, it is up to you to make sure an invitation comes your way.

Provincial coordinators:

Helen Radford - Atlantic Canada

Alan Smith - Quebec

Tom Ward - Ontario

Dave Kawahara - Northern Ontario

Elaine Owen - Manitoba

Amber Holland - Saskatchewan

Kathy Odegard - Alberta

Heather Beatty - British Columbia

3rd Annual Kinross International underway

Bob Cowan reminds me that the 3rd Annual Kinross International got underway today.

Last year it attracted six Paralympic squads in a nine team field but will still host seven teams, with Switzerland and Norway joining Wales and four Scottish teams for play through Thursday.

Sudbury CC program begins October 24

Wheelchair curling in Northern Ontario adds another venue with Sudbury CC hosting wheelchair curling Sundays beginning October 24. Call 705-560-3309 for more information.

Quebec's Team Lessard has a blog

BENOIT LESSARD skip, CARL MARQUIS 3rd, DENIS GRENIER 2nd,
JOHANNE DALY lead, GERMAIN TREMBLAY coach

Team Lessard, who have reorganised this season and now play out of the Magog CC under new coach Germain Tremblay, have started their own blog.

You can post an online greeting or comment and follow the team's progress at ÉQUIPE LESSARD. (Introductory post also in English)

Team USA's Patrick McDonald out for season

Patrick McDonald, the lone west coast member of Team USA, will undergo surgery for a chronic shoulder problem and will miss the entire season.

"He had hoped it could wait till next Spring," team leader Marc DePerno told me, "but it requires immediate attention. We'll select a replacement at a later date."

Team USA have just completed their trials and had nominated a USA "B" team, so will have opportunities to see how prospective replacements perform, initially at the USA Open in Utica, NY, November 12 - 14.

Patrick broke into the squad in 2009. He played as an alternate at the 2009 Worlds, but saw more playing time during the Vancouver Paralympics.

Lakeshore CC (NS) begins Saturday sessions on October 16th

The holiday weekend has delayed the start of the Lakeshore CC wheelchair curling sessions for a week. They will begin Saturday October 16t, 2.45 till 5pm.

Cost is $4 and no experience is necessary. Able-bodied friends who are prepared to use a delivery stick, are also welcome.

Nanaimo program off to a promising start

As mentioned a couple of days ago, the newly accessible Nanaimo Curling Centre has programmed wheelchair curling for Wednesday mornings, and six wheelchair users showed up on the first day.

"Three were first timers and three had some experience," club manager Denise Wood told me. "Two have decided to play in one of our regular curling leagues, and we're hoping to attract nine or 10 regulars as the season progresses."

As for the change from club to centre, she explained: "The design (above) was a result of local design students presenting their concepts to our membership."

Stranraer ramp lets you drown your sorrows

Aileen Nielsen with Hammy Mcmillan Snr.
photo courtesy Michael McCreadie via Bob Cowan

Stranraer Ice rink, which celebrated its 40th birthday this year, now has a ramp that extends from the bar to the changing rooms, making the entire facility wheelchair accessible.

Michael McCreadie told Bob Cowan: "It is quite long and goes from the top of the stairs at the bar down to the middle door leading to the changing rooms. As wheelchair users we can go independently anywhere on the ice rink. Congratulations on their foresight and no doubt when word gets round more wheelchair users will use this great venue."

Richmond Spiel needs one more team or may move to 2on2 format

The Richmond Centre for Disability, an active supporter of wheelchair curling for many years, had hoped to celebrate their 25th Anniversary International with a big field for their December spiel.

They have extended the application deadline to October 15th, hoping to add at least one more team and reach the minimum five entries needed to run the tournament with four person teams.

The organizers hope the event will run as a 2on2 if no more entries are received.

The competition runs from December 1 - 4, with practice ice available November 30th. Entries are $250 for up to 12 teams with half payable by the registration deadline of October 15th.

For more information and a registration form contact Rich Green.

Nanaimo CC now fully accessible

The eight-sheet Nanaimo Curling Centre (the CCA has been trying to get clubs to rebrand as centres, hoping to sound more inclusive) is now fully accessible to wheelchair users after the addition of an elevator.

Time has been set aside for wheelchair curling on Wednesday mornings, though there's no reason why wheelchair users should not do what the general public does; jump right in and join a "fun" league, even if you lack experience.

The club manager is Denise Wood who'll be happy to arrange ice time for wheelchair users to try the sport.

Events calendar

I get frequent emails asking whether I know the dates of this or that wheelchair curling event. When I am given the information, I put it on the calendar page of the wheelchaircurling.com website.

If you know of an event that may be of interest to those who follow wheelchair curling, please send it to me at eric@wheelchaircurling.com and I will make it available to everyone.