The Scots are on their way to Vancouver

Rosemary Lenton, Jim Sellar, Tom Killin

Aileen Nielson, Michael McCreadie
and coach Tom Pendreigh

Bob Cowan reports that the Scots are set to leave for Canada on the 11th, to stay in a "holding camp" in Richmond BC. This reminds me that when they came to Kelowna in 2005, I had scouted out some accessible drinking establishments, only to be told by their pleasant but somewhat dour skip Frank Duffy that the team were not going to be allowed to go drinking.

I hope the holding camp has at least a television, and its location registered with the Red Cross.

Cameron wins playdown for spot at Ontario Provincials

Christine Lavallee, Jamie Eddy, Doug Morris, Bruce Cameron

The Ontario Curling Association's controversial decision to allow only one wheelchair team per region to attend the provincial championships in Kingston at the end of the month (other curlers are allowed two) necessitated a playdown between the two competitive Region 1 Ottawa teams.

On Saturday, Bruce Cameron skipped Doug Morris, Jamie Eddy and Christine Lavallee to an 8-4 win over Team Fraser, going on to win the best of three playdown with a 9-3 win on Sunday.

Game 1 Sat Feb 7/09 5:00 PM

Bruce Cameron 1 1 0 0 1 5 0 X 8
Richard Fraser  0 0 1 1 0 0 2 X 4

Game 2 Sun Feb 8/09 11:00 AM

Bruce Cameron 2 2 0 0 1 3 1 X  9
Richard Fraser  0 0 1 2 0 0 0 X  3

The Ontario Dominion Wheelchair Championship will feature four teams and be held Feb 25-27,2009 at the Royal Kingston CC.

"Wheelchair Watch" column in February issue of SWEEP! Magazine

My "Wheelchair Watch" column for the February 2009 issue of SWEEP! Magazine is now available online.

Fort William CC to build on success of wheelchair program

Coach Dave Kawahara, who brought wheelchair curling to northern Ontario, told the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal that the Fort William CC, host to the N. Ontario Provincial Championships, has plans to install an elevator and grow their wheelchair curling program.

“Mid-March, we should find out if we have all the capital, and then we‘re scheduled to start June 1,” he told reporter Graham Strong, adding that anyone with a physical disability is welcome to come out and try the sport, even if they have to borrow a wheelchair from the club.  “We enjoy everybody‘s company,” Kawahara said. “And once we get the elevator, it‘s going to be really social.”

The program has about 20 members and ice is available at the Fort William CC each Sunday afternoon at 3.30pm. CLICK HERE to read the full Chronicle Journal report.

The Kenora Miner & News also reported on the MEDIchair Provincial Championship final. Read their report including comments by winning skip Wayne Ficek after the match. 

Kenora's Ficek storms back to take N. Ontario title

Kenora's Wayne Ficek and Mark Wherrett (2008)

Wayne Ficek put aside a round robin defeat as he led his Kenora team to a thrilling come from behind victory over Thunder Bay's Carl Levesque in the final of the MEDIchair Northern Ontario Provincial Championship at the  Fort William Curling Club. Down 7-3 after 6 ends, the Kenoran's scored 5 in the 7th and 2 with the hammer in an extra end for a 10-8 win. Line score HERE.

Ficek and 3rd Mark Wherrett played for Levesque at the 2008 Championship on a coach selected team. This year they will take Chester Draper (2nd) and Denise Miault (lead) to the Nationals in Nova Scotia March 23-28. The Northern Ontario Championship was sponsored by MEDIchair who issued this press release about their involvement in wheelchair curling.

Calgarians repeat as provincial champions

Anne Hibberd, Jack Smart, Bridget Wilson, Bruno Yizek
repeat as Alberta Champions (photo from 2008 Championship)

Experience proved out in a close final as Jack Smart led his Calgary team to a 7-6 win over fellow Calgarian Emer Stang and a repeat Alberta Provincial Championship at the Garrison CC in Calgary this weekend.

Team Smart, with Team Canada squad member Bruno Yizek at 3rd, Anne Hibberd at 2nd and Bridget Wilson at lead went 3-0 in the round robin and then easily disposed of Edmonton's Team Nuspl in the semi-final.

Two Edmonton teams and two Calgary teams competed in the three day event notable for a significant increase in the skills shown and the closeness of many of the games since last year's championship. For team rosters and results CLICK HERE

MEDIchair N. Ontario Provincials underway in Fort William

Wayne Ficek skipped his Kenora team of Mark Wherrett, Chester Draper and Denise Miault to a 15-2 win over Fort Williiam host club's Richard Dawid in the opening draw of the MEDIchair Northern Ontario Provincials.

In the evening draw, Fort William's Carl Levesque, with Rick Bell and Sharon LaFroye who he skipped at the 2008 Nationals, plus Ron Brunelle, ran out 7-2 winners over the Kenora team. The line scores are HERE.

The round robin concludes tomorrow afternoon at 1.30PM local time with Levesque playing Dawid.

Regional playoff required for Ontario Provincials

Ottawa's curlers have been told by the Ontario Curling Association that the decision to allow only one team per region will stand, necessitating a Region 1 playoff.

Ottawa skip Bruce Cameron argued in a comment to an earlier post that wheelchair curlers should have been treated as in every other level of curling in Ontario, with two entries allowed per region. Excluding people, he argued, is "very frustrating when we, with the exception of the OCA, are trying to expand our sport."

The playoff between Richard Fraser and Bruce Cameron, both representing the RA Centre in Ottawa, will be a best of three eight-end games played at the RA Centre in Ottawa. Game 1 Sat Feb. 5:00pm, Game 2 Sun Feb.8 9:00am and Game 3 (if necessary) Sun. Feb 8 3:00pm. The winner will join Chris Rees (Toronto) Ken Gregory (Bradford) and Don Bell (London) for the Dominion Ontario Provincials to be played at the Royal Kingston CC from February 25-27,2009.

2009 MEDIchair No. Ontario Provincials begin February 1st

The inaugural N. Ontario Provincial Championship, sponsored by MEDIchair, will be held at the Fort William CC from Sunday February 1st through 3rd. Three teams will compete for the right to travel to the Nationals in Nova Scotia at the end of March.

Richard Dawid and Carl Levesque will skip teams out of the host club and will be challenged by a Kenora rink skipped by Wayne Ficek.

“This is a proud moment in Northern Ontario curling history,” says Northern Ontario Curling Association President Al Gemmell. “We are very pleased to include wheelchair curling in our schedule and look forward to its growth across Northern Ontario.”

This will be Northern Ontario's second appearance at the Nationals. In 2008 the selected team skipped by Carl Levesque finished a very creditable 3-4. Team details are HERE and the schedule is HERE. Follow the action at the Fort William CC website.

Valentine's Day Give-It-A-Go session in St. John's

Newfoundland's St. John's CC is hosting an introduction to wheelchair curling on February 14th between 11 am and 5 pm. The club plays at the Remax Centre, a fully wheelchair accessible facility. Paralympic gold medal skip Chris Daw will lead the session, though no word on whether he will be accepting Valentine chocolates or kisses.

"This introductory clinic is aimed at anyone in the province who wishes to participate in wheelchair curling and will help build our provincial program," he said. Email Chris Daw at chris@chrisdaw.ca for more information.

Quebec comes to Ottawa - the result a 16 ender

Two yellow!

Denis Grenier, Donny Stinson, Richard Fraser, Jacques Martin,
Claire Argo, Joanna Bos, Johanne Daly, Benoit Lessard

The Lennoxville CC, a newly formed team keen to get in as much practice as possible before the nationals, drove through a snow storm to take on the two Ottawa teams last Sunday. They beat both Team Cameron and Team Fraser, and the 4th end of the Fraser match ended with all 16 rocks in the rings.

Ontario Provincials entry deadline is January 30th

Registration for the Ontario Provincials closes January 30th and the Provincial Association had decided that only four teams would be allowed to compete, one from each region. A regional playoff would take place February 7-8 if more than one team from a region applied.

The four team Provincials limit is controversial and seen by some Ottawa curlers, who have the potential to field two teams, as being unnecessarily restrictive. Tom Ward of the Ontario Curling Association says that no decision has been made about what would happen if there were more than two entries from a region yet less than five total. "We'll wait to see how many applications there are before deciding," he told me.

BC, in organizing their first Provincial Championship this year, initially expected to use a traditional regional structure, but abandoned it in the spirit of maximizing participation in the championship. In the end only Team Austgarden in the four team field was drawn from the same region.

Windsor CC in Nova Scotia now fully accessible

The Windsor CC has been rebuilt and is now fully wheelchair accessible. Club President Rae Winkelaar told Christy Marsters of the Hants Journal that having a curling club that is accessible is great for demonstrating to other clubs that this can be done.  “And, for others in wheelchairs, to be exposed to the fact this is something that’s possible… people can now see how others curl in wheelchairs,” Winkelaar said.  [read full article]

The club held a demonstration day last weekend and hopes to attract enough wheelchair users to form their own club team. Wheelchair curling in Nova Scotia has been centred in Lower Sackville, host to the 2009 Canadian Championships.

Team USA training in Abbotsford BC Feb 16-19

Team USA will be training at the Abbotsford CC before attending the 2009 Nationals. They will finish with an open demonstration match at 6.45 pm on February 18th.

Reports of Team BC alternate are premature

A report on The Curling News blog that Sonja Gaudet had been selected as the alternate on Team BC for the 2009 Canadian Nationals appears premature. Team BC skip Jim Armstrong tells me that a final decision has not been made about who will be the alternate if in fact CurlBC's budget allows for one.

Jim Shannon 1946-2009 R.I.P.

Jim Shannon - Team BC skip 

and National Championship silver medalist 2005 and 2006

Jim Shannon, one of the athletes instrumental in establishing wheelchair curling in BC, has died in Vancouver after a long illness. He is survived by his parents Melvin and Beryl Shannon, his daughter Aubrey and his sister Joyce. He was 62.

His daughter said: "Jim was born in Medicine Hat on Sept 26 1946. He grew up in a curling family. He absolutely loved wheelchair curling. He died on January 15 2009. He courageously battled his aliments until the day he died in the hopes of regaining his independence and getting back to the curling rink. He also has been a long time volunteer at Pearson Centre, coordinating the karaoke group there, going on most weekends to involve the residents in his love of karaoke."

A memorial Service will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 21st at George Pearson Hospital, 719 West 59th Avenue, Vancouver. On-line condolences may be expressed at www.schoenings.com or a comment left below.

Jim skipped BC to consecutive silver medals at the 2005 and 2006 National Championships, and was the alternate on the team that won gold at the 2007 Championship even while he had curtailed his time on the ice because of illness.

Team mate Darryl Neighbour credited his start in the sport to Jim. “Jim Shannon inspired me and asked me to come out and try it," he said. Darryl is now playing 3rd for Team Canada.

A fixture at events at the Marpole and Richmond CC, Jim was recognised in 2005 with an award for his service in promoting wheelchair curling.

He will be missed. 

Local press covers BC Provincials

Click HERE for a report from the Prince George Citizen and HERE for a report from the Vernon Morning Star.

Duluth beat Thunder Bay using rolling delivery

A team from Duluth MN beat a team from Thunder Bay 9-2  in the first ever cross border wheelchair curling club challenge match in Grand Marais, MN. The game was remarkable for the fact that the Minnesota players used a rolling rather than a stationary delivery.

Duluth team member Shawn Corbin explained his surprise to discover that WCF rules insist that delivery be from a stationary wheelchair, as he had become used to manipulating both rock and chair towards the hogline before release. He felt that his method had considerable advantages, and saw no reason why the rules should not allow for it.

I will post our emails on this subject as a comment below.

BC playdowns - Vernon January 18th, 2009

2009 BC Provincial Champions

Jim Armstrong, Frank LaBounty
Whitney Warren, Jackie Roy

*****

Silver medalists 2009 BC Provincial Championship

 
Coach Andy Barnes, Sonja Gaudet
Cyril Kinakin, Ron Vaselenak, Gerry Austgarden

*****

Bronze medalists 2009 BC Provincial Championships

 

Samantha Sui, Bob McDonald, 

Ina Forrest, Darryl Neighbour

Team Armstrong repeat as BC Champions

Jim Armstrong will be defending his 2008 Canadian Nationals, though this year his team of Frank LaBounty, Whitney Warren and Jackie Roy will have earned the honour on the ice rather than had it handed to them at camp.

In the morning semi-final against Darryl Neighbour, he took 4 in the 1st and ran out a 9-6 win that was never as close as the score suggests.

The afternoon final against unbeaten Team Austgarden was a different matter, with play in the four foot almost every end and both teams impressing the spectators with consistent draw weight.

Armstrong stole to a 4-0 lead after 3 ends, Austgarden took 1 and then stole 2 in the 5th when Armstrong's attempt at a last rock save came up inches short of the button. It took a measurement to give Armstrong a steal of 2 in the 7th, and in the final end, down 4, Austgarden had 2 rocks counting in the back of the house with skip stones to play before Armstrong threw a takeout through a narrow port for a decisive hit and a 9-6 win.   

Line scores are at playdowns.com

Team Sobkowicz defends its Manitoba championship

Dennis Thiessen, Chris Sobkowicz, Michael Alberg, Arlene Ursel

Team Canada 2009 member Chris Sobkowicz successfully defended his Manitoba title winning the opening two games of the best of three playdown against Team Horning.

Chris will take teammates Arlene Ursel, Michael Alberg, Dennis Thiessen and alternate Terry Lindell to Nova Scotia in March where he is sure to face at least one other Team Canada member from BC.

Austgarden wins easy passage to BC final

Gerry Austgarden, dropped from Team Canada 2009, had another two easy wins at the BC playdowns in Vernon, defeating Lindstrom 9-3 in the morning and Armstrong 11-1 in the final round robin draw.
 

Armstrong beat Neighbour 12-8 in the morning draw, scoring 5 in the 5th and stealing 4 in the 6th. Neighbour faced the other 0-2 team Lindstrom for a semi-final chance. He stole 5 early points but squeaked home 7-6 after giving up 3 in the final end. Line scores at playdowns.com

Armstrong faces Neighbour at 8.30am in the morning semi-final with the winner playing Austgarden at 1.30.

Austgarden and Armstrong win in Draw 1 of BC playdown

Gerry Austgarden beat Darryl Neighbour 9-4 in the first draw of the BC playdowns in Vernon. He went out to an early 4 point lead, Neighbour, with 2 in the 3rd and a steal of 1 in the 4th, pulled to within 1 at the half-way point but gave up a game settling 3 in the 5th.

Jim Armstrong, defending BC and National Champion, beat Lindstrom 6-3 with a 3 in the 6th end proving decisive. Line scores at playdowns.com

Sonja Gaudet profiled in preview of BC playdowns

Sonja Gaudet braced by Gerry Austgarden
curling for gold in Torino 2006

The Vernon Morning Star profiles local Paralympian and 2009 Team Canada alternate Sonja Gaudet as she prepares to play lead for Gerry Austgarden in the BC playdowns this weekend. [read article]

BC playdown details on playdowns.com

With six of the 8 person Team Canada squad spread over the four teams competing for the right to represent BC at the Nationals in March, there may be more than casual interest in who wins this playdown. Jim Armstrong will be skipping the same team that won last year's national championship. Teams and schedule available at playdowns.com

Saskatchewan provincial selection camp January 24th

Anyone wishing to be considered for selection to the Saskatchewan team must attend the camp on January 24th at the Callie CC in Regina. Contact Amber Holland at the Saskatchewan Curling Association office. Phone: 306-780-9202 or e-mail: tdsca@sasktel.net

7th Annual Pat "O" Reid Memorial Bonspiel on Valentines Day

The Toronto Wheelchair Curling Group is putting on the spiel on February 14th at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club. Open format, teams and individuals welcome to two games and a dinner. Details HERE (Word doc)

Germany keep winning, take 3rd Annual Identa Cup

Germany won the 3rd Annual Identa Cup, held this past weekend in Schwenningen, Germany, heading a 10 team field with 8 points from 5 games. The field included the Italian, Swiss and Slovakian national teams as well a team from the Czech Republic and domestic teams from Switzerland and Italy.

Germany put on an impressive performance at the 2009 Worlds Qualifying tournament, losing only to fellow qualifiers China in the 9 game round robin. (See posts for November 19/20 2008) It will be interesting to see how they match up with the more established teams at the Worlds starting February 21st in Vancouver.

No. Ontario and BC holding playdowns for Nationals

Wheelchair curling is thriving in Northern Ontario with more than two dozen active players at clubs in Thunder Bay, Kenora and Dryden. Three competitive teams are expected for the first ever playdown to choose the 2009 provincial representative February 1-3  at the Fort William CC in Thunder Bay.

BC holds it's first ever playdown this weekend in Vernon. Four teams have registered and play begins Friday evening with the final set for 1.30pm Sunday January 18. Jim Armstrong will return with his 2008 National Champion team, but will face tough competition as each of the challengers include current Team Canada squad members. (see post 12/20/2008)

Chris is baaack! Daw to skip at 2009 Nationals

Long-time Team Canada skip Chris Daw will have recovered from a serious hip injury in time to skip Newfoundland/Labrador team at the 2009 Nationals at the end of March.

The team was formed this season with athletes who bring considerable outside competitive experience to the ice. Darlene Jackman and Joanne MacDonald are Paralympians, Lanie Woodfine is an accomplished road racer, and Felix Green has represented the province at multiple sports.  The team has an experienced coach in Leslie Ann Walsh, herself a Mixed provincial champion.

The team plays out of the Remax Centre in Saint John's, a fully wheelchair accessible facility, right down to the scoreboards. Read full press release HERE (pdf)

Manitoba playdown, Atlantic select and Canada train

This weekend will be busy from coast to coast. Team Canada holds a closed training camp in Richmond BC, while on the east coast the Atlantic provinces are holding an open training camp in Lower Sackville, NS, with anyone interested invited to participate. Coaches Helen Radford, Leslie Ann Walsh, and Chris Daw will supervise both a high performance camp and exhibition games, after which team selection for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland/Labrador will be announced.

In Manitoba two teams will compete in a playoff to determine the provincial representative. The 2008 Team Manitoba will hope to repeat as champions, skipped this year by 2009 Team Canada member Chris Sobkowicz, with Dennis Thiessen, Michael Alberg, Arlene Ursel, and with Terry Lindell as alternate. Their challengers are George Horning (Skip), Richard Dudek (3rd), Don Kalinski (2nd) and Effie Loubardias (Lead).

Team USA to see in new year at training camp

 

Cape Cod CC members Russ Lemcke, Fred Flynn, Frank Balas and Todd Benedict
Team USA Augusto Perez, James Pierce, Jacqui Kapinowski and Jimmy Joseph.

 

Team USA will celebrate the new year in Falmouth, MA, hosted by the Cape Cod CC. They'll begin with a challenge match starting at 3.30 December 31st and train with the club's wheelchair team through January 3rd.

Anyone interested in watching the team that won a bronze medal at the 2008 Worlds prepare for the 2009 event, is invited to the club. For more information visit capecodcurling.org or call Mary Colacchio at 617-529-4534

Northern Ontario planning cross border challenge

John Cameron reports in the Chronicle Journal that as many as 20 curlers are turning out at the Fort William Curling Club, and there will be a playdown February 1-3 for the right to play in the 2009 Nationals.

The MEDIChair Wheelchair Curling Association (way to go on the sponsorship, guys) is also planning a cross border challenge in Grand Marais, Minnesota, with the equally active Duluth team on, Jan. 17.

If you would like to be part of either a recreational or competitive team, call Dave Kawahara at 577-5818 or the Fort William club at 622-5377.

Press preview the new Hillcrest 2010 curling facility

 

Photograph by: Glenn Baglo/Vancouver Sun

The 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championships will be the first event held at the brand new Olympic facility in the Hillcrest district of Vancouver, and Jim Armstrong and Georgina Wheatcroft were on hand at the press preview. [read Vancouver Sun coverage]

Deadline Monday December 22nd for BC playdowns

CurlBC have finally abandoned selection camps, this year allowing a playdown to decide who goes to the 2009 Nationals in Halifax in March.

The deadline for registration is Monday December 22, and competition is slated to take place in Vernon, January 16-18.

Because of the mandate for mixed gender teams, participation is restricted by the number of women available to play. Four teams, including Jim Armstrong's 2008 national champions, are expected, and by agreement with Team Canada coaches, no more than two TC squad members may play on any one team.

Teams (unconfirmed):

Jim Armstrong, Frank LaBounty, Whitney Warren, Jackie Roy

Darryl Neighbour, Ina Forrest, Bob MacDonald, Rich Green

Gerry Austgarden, Sonja Gaudet, Ron Vaselenak, Cyril Kinakin/Jim Miller

Gary Cormack. Bill Lindstrom, Roy Crawford, Corinne Jensen

Team Canada "not a closed shop" as 2009 version named

The additional two week wait is over and the coaches have finally announced the line-up for Team Canada 2009. As predicted in my November 27th post it is:

Jim Armstrong  (Richmond BC)
Darryl Neighbour  (Richmond BC)
Ina Forrest  (Armstrong BC)
Chris Sobkowicz  (Winnipeg MB)
Sonja Gaudet - (Vernon BC) alternate
Joe Rea (Prince George BC)  coach   Playing positions not yet decided.

The team includes three players from Team Canada 2008 (Darryl, Ina and Sonja) with Sonja the only holdover from the 2006 Torino gold medal team.

In a telephone interview shortly after the announcement, Team Director Gerry Peckham made the following points:

*There was very little to choose between any of the candidates, and the delay in announcing the team was to give the coaches additional opportunities to observe the players in meaningful competition.

*Sonja Gaudet earned her place with her performance, though there would have been a bias towards taking two women to avoid the risk of default were one to become injured.

*There was no regional bias at all. The coaches saw no problem with having an all-BC team. Chris Sobkowicz earned his place by his performance.

*Though a sports psychologist works with the team and has input in coaching discussions, team dynamics within the squad were excellent, with every player happy to work for the team, and with any other player.

*This team has been selected for the 2009 Worlds only. The squad of eight will be retained and may even be enlarged next year as several people not currently on the squad have caught the attention of TC coaches.

*The squad will start with a clean slate after the Worlds and will have to compete for their place on the 2010 Paralympics side.

*Team Canada is not a closed shop - any player, or player's coach, who feels that TC coaches should evaluate their performance are encouraged to contact either Joe Rea or Wendy Morgan (or Gerry himself.)

Pushing a ton of granite - for charity

Jim Taylor, an a wheelchair user since an accident playing rugby and now a keen curler, is today pushing a ton of granite for a mile in a sponsored charity appeal.  Here's what he says (thanks Bob Cowan):

As a keen curler, I am going to push a tonne of granite on a mile of ice to support The Hearts and Heroes Challenge, run by the Sportsman's Charity, with Poppyscotland and Scotland's rugby charity for disabled players, Hearts & Balls. Scottish Rugby's Murrayfield Centenary Fund will also be a beneficiary.

This involves me throwing 50 x 20kg (=44lb) curling stones (they weigh a tonne and I'm not kidding..!) on 75 consecutive lengths of ice. I'm stopping at 80 to be sure....

Please sponsor me to do this. But don't stop there. have a look at the website www.heartsandheroes.co.uk and think about entering a team or visit this link to see the fantastic sponsorship opportunities from £100 to £5000+.

I appreciate that times are hard, but for disabled sportsmen and service personnel, recession is a long term prospect!

Many, many thanks,  Jim Taylor

No changes as Team Scotland 2009 announced

Bob Cowan, in his Curling Today blog, reports the announcement of Team Scotland 2009. There's no change from the team that tied for last place at 3-6 in Sursee, Switzerland inn 2008.

The same players competed as Great Britain in the recent Richmond Cashspiel: Michael McCreadie (skip), Aileen Nielson, Tom Killin, Jim Sellar and Rosemary Lenton, with coach Tom Pendreigh. [Read more on the Scottish selection]

"Wheelchair Watch" column in SWEEP! Magazine (December 08)

My "Wheelchair Watch" column for the December issue of SWEEP! Magazine is now available online.

Sport surging in Nova Scotia prior to 2009 Canadian Nationals

The Lakeshore CC in Lower Sackville NS will host the 2009 Canadian National Championships on March, and expects a record number of provinces to compete. Programs in Saskatchewan, Quebec and  Newfoundland/Labrador hope to have teams ready to join the seven who participated in the 2008 event in Winnipeg MB.

Also growing is the local wheelchair curling program at the Lakeshore; so much so that the recreational program has doubled in size and moved from Mondays to Fridays for better ice availability. The competitive squad now has eleven members and the Provincial team will be selected from this group in January.  New curlers are always welcome. For more information call Laughie Rutt at 902-864-2737.

"Wheelchair curling the roller derby of curling"

Jim Armstrong, in an interview with Don Fennell of the Richmond Review says: "Wheelchair curling is also very, very challenging and the level of play is just going to become greater. I’ve only been involved a year-and-a-half and I’d venture to say our Canadian group that we draw from is at least 15 per cent better mechanically than when I started and the results show it......

“I play quite a lot with Darryl Neighbour here, many times a week, and he’s as good as there is mechanically. You can’t teach experience and that makes the situation a little more complicated. There are very few players here that have any real curling background to draw from ... Able-bodied curling has gotten so good over the past few years since the free guard zone rule that there’s a potential risk of having a 1-0 game in a meaningful event. I call wheelchair curling the roller derby of curling because there’s always spills, action and enough misses to keep it interesting. No lead is ever safe.”  Read full article.

Team Canada 2009 announcement delayed again - new date December 17

The eight member Team Canada squad had been told that they would know ten days ago which five players would wear the Maple Leaf at the 2009 Worlds. That date was changed to the conclusion of the Richmond spiel. Today they were informed that they would be told by telephone  next Wednesday, December 17th.

The reason for the continued delay is not clear, even given that statistically there is little to choose between the candidates beyond (in my opinion) Armstrong, Neighbour and Forrest. Did performances at the Richmond event suggest the need for a rethink?

Will past practice be followed with two women making the squad? Will non-BC members Chris Sobkowicz and Bruno Yizek be included to give them the benefit of meaningful international competition prior to 2010? Or a compromise - Sonja Gaudet plus either Chris or Bruno? Or will experience win out and Gary Cormack and Gerry Austgarden hold on to their spots?

With six of the squad from BC and entries for the BC playdowns for the Canadian Nationals due by December 22, the choice has implications for BC's playdown teams who will be allowed only two Team Canada members on any one side.

You can add your choice for Team Canada 2009 by adding a comment to the couple of dozen guesses already posted on the December 10th Blog post.

Alberta steal $1,500 1st prize at Richmond International Cashspiel

Alberta proved that their round robin record was no fluke by stealing in the 8th and again in an extra end to post a 7-6 victory over Canada II's Jim Armstrong in the $5,000 Richmond International Cashspiel this afternoon.

Alberta      1  0  0  1  1  0  2  1  1   =  7
Canada II    0  1  2  0  0  3  0  0  0   =  6

Here's a report from an  anonymous spectator:

Armstrong loses!!!!   Alberta, with a couple of fortunate breaks in the early going, stole the 8th and extra end to beat Armstrong.

On the 8th, Armstrong made a 20 foot runback to spill one of two off the button to salvage a tie. On the extra, Armstrong had a hit and roll off his own rock on the side of the four foot. He needed a two foot roll, but only got about a foot, leaving Alberta with the steal.  Very entertaining....

Great Britain failed to recover from the disappointment of their semi-final loss, bowing to Richmond 10-6 in the 3 v 4 game, Vince Miele throwing 4th rocks.

In the consolation games Canada I beat Manitoba 10-2, and Scotland beat Victoria 7-5.

Final standings
1 Alberta      $1,500
2 Canada II   $1,000
3 Richmond    $750
4 Great Britain $400

Photographs from the event will be available at the Richmond Centre for Disability's website.

$5,000 Richmond International Cashspiel Semi-Final

The final day of the 2nd Annual Richmond International Cashspiel saw round robin winners Alberta blank 4th place hosts Richmond 15-0 in 6 ends in the first semi-final. Armstrong's Canada II squad took just 7 ends to defeat Michael McCreadie's Great Britain team 13-5 in the other semi-final.

Alberta will play Armstrong for the trophy and the $1500 1st prize. Richmond plays Great Britain for 3rd.

Semi-final

Alberta 15-0 (6 ends) Richmond

Canada II (Armstrong) 13-5 (7ends) Great Britain

Final

Alberta v. Canada II

3rd place

Great Britain v. Richmond

With $50 at stake for each game won during the week, the other teams also played this morning, Manitoba edging Victoria 6-5 and Austgarden beating
Scotland 12-4

For team line-ups see entry for Day 1 December 10

The sponsors, Hosting BC, the Rick Hanson Foundation, the City of Richmond and the Richmond Centre for Disability, not only provided for a cash prize pool of $5,000 but also gave travel grants of $2,000 to the British team and $750 each to Alberta and Manitoba to help defray expenses. Victoria also received assistance from Hanson's Wheels in Motion.

Photographs from the event will eventually be available at the Richmond Centre for Disability's website.

Richmond International - Day 3

Alberta took first place after round robin play on the strength of a tournament best score in the team "draw to the button" test in Draw 3. Their overall mark of 5-2 was tied with Great Britain and Canada II and they will play host team Richmond in tomorrow's semi-final.

  Team       Won  Lost  Button  Distance
1 Alberta     4     2     Win     143"
2 GB          4     2     Win     230"
3 Canada II   5     1     Loss    283"
4 Richmond    4     2     Loss    291"
5 Canada I    2     4     Win     156"
6 Manitoba    2     4     Win     262"
7 Victoria    2     4     Loss    213"
8 Scotland    1     5     Loss    279"

Jim Armstrong chalked up another two wins but because his team's "draw to the button" skills test in Draw 3 was played head to head, their dismal seventh best scoring counted as a loss to Manitoba. Michael McCreadie's Great Britain squad showed some signs of life after struggling for much of the season, and will face Armstrong in tomorrow's semi-final.

Gerry Austgarden's Canada 1 team redeemed themselves with two wins, though it took an extra end for them to put away Manitoba.

Draw 6 - morning
Victoria  0-13 (5 ends) Canada II (Armstrong)
Scotland  4-8  Canada 1 (Austgarden)
Manitoba  9-6  Great Britain
Richmond  8-7  Alberta

Draw 7 - afternoon
Manitoba 7-9 (extra) Canada 1 (Austgarden)
Richmond  6-10  Canada II (Armstrong)
Victoria  0-7 (6 ends) Great Britain
Scotland 4-9  Alberta

Richmond International - Day 2

At the end of the second day of the Richmond International Cashspiel, Jim Armstrong's Canada II is tied with Richmond, Great Britain and Alberta at 3-1, with Victoria 2-2 and Scotland and Manitoba 1-3. Gerry Ausgarden's Canada I squad has yet to record a win though they posted the second best "draw to the button" score in the "skills" element yesterday.

Draw 4 - morning
Canada II (Armstrong) 13-0 Scotland
Victoria  8-2  Canada I (Austgarden)
Alberta  10-4  Manitoba
Great Britain 10-1  Richmond

Draw 5 - afternoon
Great Britain 9-5  Canada II (Armstrong)
Alberta 10-4  Canada I  (Austgarden)
Manitoba  2-6  Scotland
Victoria 5-9 Richmond

Richmond International - Day 1

Consistent with the coaches' insistence that no decision has yet been made about which of the eight squad members competing in Richmond will become Team Canada 2009, Canada I is being skipped by Gerry Austgarden while Jim Armstrong skips Canada II.

In the morning draw Great Britain beat Austgarden 8-4, while Armstrong beat Alberta 12-3. It took Manitoba an extra end to defeat Victoria 8-6, and Richmond beat Scotland 6-5.

In the afternoon Armstrong beat Austgarden 11-6, Richmond beat Manitoba 7-6, Victoria beat Scotland 10-4 and Alberta beat Great Britain 9-5.

Draw 3 was a short session "skills" competition. Each team member drew to the button with the cumulative distance from the button determining the winner: Austgarden (156") over Richmond (291"), Manitoba (262") over Armstrong (283"), Alberta (143") beat Victoria (213") and Great Britain (230") beat Scotland (279").

Canada I	Great Britain	Alberta	Manitoba
Gerry Austgarden	Michael McCreadie	Jack Smart	Dennis Thiesen
Gary Cormack	Aileen Neilson	Anne Hibberd	Michael Alberg
Chris Sobkowicz	Tom Killin	Jackie Roy	Arlene Ursel
Sonja Gaudet	James Sellar	Bridget Wilson	Terry Lindell
		Tony Zummack
Canada II	Scotland	Richmond	Victoria
Jim Armstrong	Michael McKenzie	Bob Macdonald	Mark Wherrett
Darryl Neighbour	Rosemary Lenton	Rich Green	Bill Lindstrom
Bruno Yizek	Gregor Ewan	Vince Miele	Roy Crawford
Ina Forrest	Gillian Keith	Samantha Sui	Corinne Jensen
		Tom Parker

2nd Annual Richmond (BC) International begins Dec 10

Team Canada will face the British Paralympic squad during the four day Richmond (BC) International starting tomorrow. With the delayed announcement of which five players will become Team Canada 2009, this event will be a last chance for the eight person training squad to impress the coaches.

Canada last faced the Brits in October at a spiel in Kinross, Scotland which ended in a Canada/Canada final.

Completing the eight team field in Richmond are teams from Alberta, Manitoba and two local club sides.

USA announces team for 2009 Worlds and Vancouver 2010

To no great surprise the on-ice curlers who won America's first medal at the World level last March, have been chosen to represent their country at the 2009 Worlds, and pending approval by the US Olympics Committee, the 2010 Paralympics.

The team of skip Augusto (Goose) Perez, James Pierce, Jimmy Joseph and Jackie Kapinowski came through a three stage assessment that began with a formal try-out, and continued over spiels in Ottawa and Utica.

Newcomer Patrick McDonald, who had been skipping USA II, joins thee team as the sole west coast representative. CLICK HERE for more information.

USA 1 need extra end but win U.S. Open

Augusto Perez avenged a round robin defeat by Bradford, Ontario's Ken Gregory in the first semi-final of the 2nd Annual U.S. Open in Utica, NY today, but he needed an extra end to prevail 7-6 in 9 ends. Bruce Cameron's Ottawa team beat Great Britain I by 9-5 in the other semi.

In the final USA I beat Cameron 7-2 for the gold medal, with Gregory beating Great Britain 1 for bronze.

Great Britain now travel to British Columbia to compete in the 8 team Richmond International against Team Canada, Alberta, Manitoba and two BC club sides. GB, which is essentially a Scottish squad, have struggled for some time after finishing tied for last place at the 2008 Worlds. They still have players with a great deal of experience, and their funding enables them to travel. It will be interesting to see whether they can raise their game in Richmond or will plead continued experimentation in preparation for 2010 to explain what to their fans is a worrying lack of success. At some point a team has to prove to themselves they can win, and the Scots may be leaving it a little late.

U.S. Open - Day 2

Day 2 of the 2nd Annual U.S. Open saw 3 draws, with USA I suffering their first defeat, and Bruce Cameron's Ottawa team seeding #2 in Sunday's playoff.

Draw 3 results

Cameron 4-8 Gregory

USA I 8-3 GB II

USA II 5-6 GB I

Draw 4 results

GB I 7-2 GB II

USA II 3-7 Cameron

USA I 7-9 Gregory

Draw 5 results

USA I 11-3 USA II

GB I 4-7 Cameron

GB II 7-7 Gregory

U.S. Open begins in Utica NY

The 2nd annual U.S. Open, featuring the Great Britain Paralympic squad, began today at the Utica Curling Club, NY. Both US teams posted two wins in the opening draws.

Draw 1 results
USA I 11-2 GB I
USA II 11-3 Gregory (Bradford ON)
Cameron (Ottawa ON) 9-4 GB II

Draw 2 results
USA I 7-5 Cameron
USA II 8-3 GB II
GB I 7-6 Gregory

USA I - Perez, Pierce, Joseph, Kapinowski
USA II - McDonald, Heathcoat, Dorsett, Delano
Ottawa - Cameron, Morris, Eddy, Lavallee
Bradford - Gregiry, Cannerella, Joseph, Palalunga
GB I - Neilson, McCreadie. Ewan, Keith
GB II - Sellar, Killin, Lenton, McKenzie

Canada, played in Ottawa last weekend and will play in Richmond BC next week so did not attend this event, which Great Britain won last year.

CCA ad from the 2008/9 issue of Extra End

CLICK to enlarge

Team Canada announcement delayed

The announcement of the members of Team Canada 2009 has been delayed until Saturday December 13th, at the banquet at the Richmond International spiel, as happened last year.

The eight squad members had been told that they would know today, and the reason for the delay is unclear. Possibly Joe Rea, who did not travel to Ottawa for the Cathy Kerr, needed additional time to see them play. Or it might have been felt that announcing the team before Richmond would adversely affect the performance of those not chosen. Whatever the reason, as of today the proposed line-ups in Richmond are:

Armstrong, Neighbour, Forrest, Yitzek
Austgarden, Cormack, Sobkowicz, Gaudet
It should be noted that the proposed line-ups changed shortly before the Ottawa event.

This does, however, allow more time for those yet to cast their ballot for Team Canada 2009. Please do so in the comments section in the post below this one.

Who do you pick for Team Canada 2009?

The members of Team Canada 2009 will be announced Saturday December 9th. The candidates in alphabetical order are:

Jim Armstrong, Gerry Austgarden, Gary Cormack, Ina Forrest, Sonja Gaudet, Darryl Neighbour, Chris Sobkowicz, Bruno Yizek

Who do you think will make the team - Skip through lead, plus alternate?

GB begin North American tour at US Open in Utica Dec 5-7

The Great Britain Paralympic squad will begin their North American tour at the 2nd US Open in Utica this weekend. Two British team will compete against the two US teams that played last weekend in Ottawa. Two Ontario teams, Cameron from Ottawa and Gregory from Bradford round out the six team field.

The Brits then travel to BC and will face Team Canada 2009, who are to be selected tomorrow (December 4th), at the Richmond International spiel starting December 9th.

Quebec to compete at 2009 Canadian Nationals

Quebec wheelchair curlers, based at the Lennoxville CC in Sherbrooke, learned today that their winning participation in the recreational division of the Cathy Kerr in Ottawa has led to sponsorship for a trip to the 2009 Canadian Nationals.

Club member Al Whittier, who has been the force behind the program, was delighted. "We were all inspired by seeing the Ottawa ice-sheets full of wheelchairs," he said when he phoned us the news. "And we already have a woman who drove to Ottawa to watch what was happening, and who will coming out to a practice. We need female curlers and she asked about training."

This brings up a point that I have been making for several years. If curling wants to attract committed athletes there must be answers to intelligent questions, like what will be my time commitment to excel, what coaching is available, and what is my path to representative competition.

As far as I know there is still no "Path To Excellence" type brochure that lays out the support serious athletes will expect from a sport attempting to get them to commit their time and energy.

Angie Malone skips to British Open win

photo courtesy Bob Cowan

Bob Cowan reports that Angie Malone, who fans will remember played lead for Frank Duffy at the 2006 Torino Paralympics, skipped her team of Ian Donaldson, Jim Elliot and Jim Taylor to a 6-4 win over Jim Gault to win the British Open Championship at Kinross this weekend.

USA I denies Canada I a perfect record with tie in final draw at Cathy Kerr

The final day's action, two 6-end draws, began at 8.30am and saw Canada I beat Fraser 13-1 and Canada II beat USA II 7-4.

The final draw featured the marquee match-up, Armstrong against USA I's Perez. It ended honours even in a 4-4 tie.

Canada I  - 1 0 0 1 2 0
USA I*...  - 0 1 1 0 0 2

Canada II beat Fraser 7-2.

Overall winners - Canada I - Armstrong, Neighbour, Forrest and Cormack

Recreational winners - Lennoxville Quebec - Ben Lasard, Carl Marquis, Jacques Martin and Denis Paradis.

Draw 6 Sunday 8:30 AM

Cameron 5-3 Gregory
Canada II 7-4 USA II
USA 1 5-5 Rees
Canada I  13-1  Fraser

Draw 7 Sunday 11 AM

Cameron 0-6  USA II
Fraser  2-7  Canada II
Rees 4-2 Gregory
Canada 1  4-4  USA I

Ottawa (Michel) 2-7  Lennoxville (Lessard)
Ottawa (Wong-Sing) 4-4  London (Bell)

Rankings
1. Canada I -  6-0-1
2. Canada II - 6-1-0
3. Rees (Toronto) 4-2-1
4. USA I   -   4-1-2
=5. USA II  2-5-0
=5. Cameron (Ottawa)  2-5-0
=5. Gregory (Bradford)  2-5-0
8. Fraser  0-7-0

Canada I at 5-0. Austgarden avenges USA bronze defeat

The last time Gerry Austgarden faced USA skip 'Goose' Perez he was shaking hands after lead stones in the final end of the game that gave USA their first World Championship medal. In Draw 3 this morning revenge was sweet as he led Canada II to a 8-6 win over USA I.  Canada I remained unbeaten with a 10-4 win over Bradford.

In Draw 4 this afternoon Canada I raised their record to 4-0 with a 12-4 win over Cameron, while Canada II beat Chris Rees' Toronto 6-2.  

In Draw 5 this evening Canada I  beat Rees 12-4 and Canada II beat  Cameron 8-2.

Draw 3  Saturday 8:30 AM

Cameron 13-0 Fraser
Canada I  10-4  Gregory
USA II  5-10 Rees
Canada II  8-6  USA 1

Draw 4 Saturday 1 PM

USA II 3-8 USA 1
Rees 2-8  Canada II
Fraser 3-15 Gregory
Canada I  12-4  Cameron

Ottawa (Wong-Sing) 2 Lennoxville (Lessard) 7
London (Bell) 5 Ottawa (Michel) 4

Draw 5 Saturday 4:30 PM

Canada II  8-2 Cameron
Gregory 5-9  USA 1
Rees 2-10  Canada 1
USA 2  13-2   Ottawa

Ottawa (Wong-Sing) 7 Ottawa (Michel) 5
London (Bell) 3 Lennoxville (Lessard) 14

Canada I over Canada II at Cathy Kerr

Both Team Canada squads had solid wins in the morning draw. Canada 1 blanked USA II by 15-0, and Canada II beat Bradford 9-5.

In the afternoon draw Canada I skipped by Jim Armstrong, beat Gerry Austgarden's Canada II by a score of 8-2.

Here are the full Day 1 results

Draw 1 - Friday 1 pm

Can 1 (Armstrong) 15 - USA II (MacDonald) 0
Can II (Austgarden) 9 - Bradford (Gregory) 5
Toronto (Rees) 7 - Ottawa (Cameron) 4
USA I (Perez) 18 - Ottawa (Fraser) 2

Draw 2 Friday 4:30PM

USA 1 (Perez) 9 - Ottawa (Cameron) 4
Can 1 (Armstrong) 8 - CanII (Austgarden) 2
Bradford (Gregory) 9 - USA II (MacDonald) 3
Toronto (Rees) 9 - Ottawa (Fraser) 6

Canada and USA line-ups for Cathy Kerr announced

Canada and USA have announced their teams for the 3 day Ottawa spiel starting tomorrow.

Canada I - Armstrong (skip), Neighbour, Forrest, and Cormack all from BC.
Canada II - Austgarden (skip BC), Yizek (AB), Sobkowicz (MB) and Gaudet (BC)

USA I - Perez (skip NY), Pierce (NY), Joseph (NY) and Kapinowski (NJ)
USA II - McDonald (Skip CA), Heathcoat (WI), Dorsett (PA) and Delano (NY)

Canadian coach Wendy Morgan was at pains to point out that their teams did not indicate who would represent Canada at the 2009 Worlds. That decision  will be announced next week so that the team can play together at the Richmond International spiel the following weekend.

Armstrong, Neighbour, and Forrest are favourites to make the cut, with Gaudet the alternate if coach Rea follows past practice of including two women. That would leave Torino gold medallists Austgarden and Cormack competing with Yizek and Sobkowicz for the remaining front end position. Performance this weekend will influence selection, but all things being equal the vote may go to Sobkowicz in a move away from an all-BC team. Have an opinion? Post it in the comments.

The USA trials last weekend was the major factor in deciding which 8 athletes would compete in Ottawa. USA I, bronze medallists  at the 2008 Worlds, appear to have weathered the challenge of 6 other athletes though a final decision on the 2009 Team USA will not be officially announced until December 14th, after the US Open.

Canada and USA meet in Ottawa at Cathy Kerr - Nov 28-30

The 4th Annual Cathy Kerr Memorial bonspiel has expanded to 3 days and 8 competitive teams plus 4 others who will play in the social division. Two teams from each of the national Canadian and USA squads will compete against the top four Ontario teams. Games will be held at the RA Centre and the Nepean Sportsplex. Click HERE for a full schedule (pdf)

Wheelchair curling, in a league of their own

Corrinna Pole writes in The Record (Sherbrooke, QUE): Last year, a Wheelchair curling program, the first of its kind in the province, was a pilot project at Lennoxville's Curling Club. Now the team is even closer to becoming a full league with high hopes of branching out.

"Wheelchair curling is nonexistent in Quebec but other provinces have it," said Lennoxville's Alfred Whittier, who has years of experience instructing handicapped athletes. "Our aim is to form a Quebec competitive team to represent the province in Canadian tournaments." [read more]

"Wheelchair Watch" column in SWEEP! Magazine (November 08)

My "Wheelchair Watch" column for the November 2008 issue of SWEEP! magazine is now available online at this link

Have-A-Go Day in Langley BC on November 29

National Champion skip and Team Canada member Darryl Neighbour will be hosting a Have-A-Go day at Langley, November 29th from 12-3pm

"Come try this sport in a welcoming, non-competitive environment geared toward new participants. You just come and have Fun!" Contact CurlBC for more information.

Jim Armstrong profiled in The Province

On delivering a rock from a wheelchair with a stick, Armstrong said: "The feel eventually comes through. But what I was used to was doing it from the hack to the hogline [before letting go of the rock]. Now I'm doing it in two feet."

[read full article]

Germany and China qualify for 2009 Worlds

Germany stole their way to a win over Russia in the 1 v. 2 Page playoff game at the Worlds Qualifying tournament in Prague, to claim the first of two slots at the 2009 Worlds in Vancouver next February. Though Russia stole singles in the first two ends, Germany stole 3 in the 4th, and singles in the 5th and 6th on their way to a 6-5 win.

In the 3 v. 4 game the host Czechs started with the hammer and took 2 from China, but that was to be the end of their dream as they gave up 5 in the second and failed to score the rest of the way as China ran out 11-2 winners in seven ends.

Russia then played China for the second qualifying slot, but despite having the hammer, only managed a consolation single in the 7th end, China winning 13-1.

CLICK HERE for live line scores. CLICK HERE for WCF report

Germany and China will join Norway, Korea, USA, Canada, Italy, Sweden, Scotland and Switzerland In Vancouver.

Germany top after round robin at Worlds Qualifying

Germany (8-1) topped the 10 team field after round robin play at the qualifying tournament for the final two places at the 2009 Worlds in Vancouver next February.

Hosts Czech Republic, 2008 Worlds competitor Russia and China, who gave Germany their only defeat, were all 7-2 and will play in the Page play-off Thursday.

Germany v. Russia - winner takes first qualifying spot, loser plays winner of China v. Czech Republic for the second qualifying spot.

CLICK HERE for live line scores.

Worlds Qualifying all week in Prague

Ten teams are competing in Prague at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship Qualifying Competition, for the final two places at the 2009 Worlds in Vancouver next February. After 7 draws of round robin competition, China, Germany and the Czech Republic are unbeaten. Sentimental favourite Japan, forced to qualify when their pre-tournament tie-break draw to the button at the 2008 Worlds lost by millimetres, are out of contention at 1-5.

CLICK HERE for live line scores. Click on the team names for participants. The website also has webcams on each sheet but I could not get access to them.

Teams and schedule (CET time which is 9 hours ahead of Pacific and 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time) can be downloaded as a Word document from this page.

The Page playoff final games are scheduled for Thursday November 20th.

Cape Cod CC continues support for wheelchair curlers

Several wheelchair users took part in this weekend's charity spie at the Cape Cod CC, which raised $5,000 for a local group offering adaptive sports equipment to physically and mentally challenged people of all ages. [read report]

Club official Tony Colacchio, inspired, he told me, by a wheelchair curling column to include disabled access in the club's $500,000 renovation  plan, hopes they can attract a core group of wheelchair users to challenge for places on the USA national team.  

Norway take 2008 Rolli Cup in Bern

Norway, Sweden, Scotland and 5 teams from Switzerland competed in Bern for the 2008 Rolli Cup. Each pool of 4 teams played 3 round robin 6-end  games on Saturday. Norway (3-0) beat Scotland 12-2 in one semi-final while Lausanne Olympique (2-0-1) lost to Bern II  in the other.

In the final Norway  blanked Bern II by 8-0 while Scotland claimed bronze with a 10-2 win over Lausanne.

For complete details CLICK HERE

Ten compete for 2009 Team USA and 2010 Paralympics - UPDATED 11/16

CLICK HERE for video coverage of the first weekend of evaluation, and HERE for a News 10 Now report by Jim Gibbons.

Ten curlers from six different states will be competing over the next month for Team USA places for the 2009 Worlds and the 2010 Paralympics, both to be held in Vancouver.

Tryouts begin in Utica this weekend November 14-16, and evaluations will continue during the Cathy Kerr bonspiel in Ottawa November 28-30, and conclude at the USA Open in Utica December 5-7.

CLICK HERE for a press release detailing who will be competing, and GO TO THIS PAGE and click on the 2010 Olympic Team Selection Link to download a detailed description of eligibility requirements and selection protocols.

Chris Daw recovering in hospital after ATV crash

Chris Daw is recovering from a broken hip in the Health Sciences Center in St. John's,  Newfoundland. He is expected to be there till Friday. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Update - November 24 - see comments for email from Chris

Chis Daw in happier days with the Torino Paralympics gold medal

he won as Team Canada skip

San Francisco Bay Area CC has Team USA hopeful

Patrick McDonald, a member of the SF Bay Area Curling Club can be seen here practicing in hopes of qualifying for Team USA.

4th Annual Cathy Kerr Memorial bonspiel

Ottawa's Capitol Wheelchair Curling Club will host the 4th Annual Cathy Kerr Memorial bonspiel, November 28-30. Team Canada and Team USA will each field two teams and go head to head in their first match-up since the bronze medal game at the 2008 Worlds. Four Ontario teams, Rees, Cameron, Gregory and Fraser make up the eight team field.

The event will take place at the RA Curling Club and the Nepean Sportsplex. Contact Bruce Cameron for more information.