2nd Annual Cape Cod Summerspiel draws international field

Teams from Russia, Scotland, Canada and the USA will be competing in the 2nd Annual Cape Cod Summerspiel July 17-20 in Falmouth, MA.

Russia is sending the team that just missed the podium when they finished 4th at the 2011 Worlds in Prague, though with a different coach, Alexandra Ryzhkova.

Tony Zummack, Great Britain's new Head Coach of Wheelchair Curling with his first competitive team selection, is bringing four of the five Prague silver medalists, Jim Gault replacing Michael McKenzie.

Canada will be represented by Team Lessard,  Quebec provincial champions looking to rebound from a disappointing 2011 Nationals, and by British Columbia's Team Cormack.

USA national coach Steve Brown will be guiding both a new-look Team USA with Patrick McDonald at skip, and a mixed USA/Canada team featuring the return to action of Bob Prenoveau at skip.

Full details of the event, draws and teams can be found HERE.

N. Ontario's Chester Draper wins the Manitoba Marathon

[photo JASON HALSTEAD/Winnipeg Sun]

Chester Draper, who plays 2nd on Wayne Ficek's No. Ontario provincial championship team won the Manitoba men’s full wheelchair marathon with a time of 1:57:26 beating that benchmark 2 hour time that marks a great performance.

Congratulations Chester, who is 71 and lives in Dryden, ON. And no, he didn't use a souped-up power wheelchair.

Video coverage from the 2011 Canadian Nationals in Edmonton

AccessibleMedia were filming at the 2011 Canadian Nationals in Edmonton. Coverage included comments from Cathy Craig, Joe Rea and Bruno Yizek.

"Come and Try" Wheelchair Curling in Melbourne, Australia

Wheelchair users in the vicinity of Melbourne, Australia are invited to a "come and try" session June 27 at 7pm and 8pm and onwards at the Icehouse.

Members of the Southern Cross Rollers, Australia's first wheelchair curling team, are competing at the Australian Championships this September. Read what they have to say about their sport and get more information about the event HERE.

Additions to the events calendar

There have been some additions to the international events calendar page on the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Invitations have been sent out for teams to compete in the Norwegian Open at the Halden Curling Center from October 14-16, 2011. Details can be downloaded from HERE.

Also the 5th Annual Richmond Center for Disability International Spiel will be held November 2-5, 2011 at the Richmond (BC) Curling Club. You can download details HERE.

USA searching for next year's team

USA are searching for the combination of players who will bring them back into contention after a disappointing 2011 World Championship brought to an end a very promising run of competitive results that had suggested medal success was close.

With two members of last year's team already announcing their retirement there was plenty of incentive for aspiring curlers to learn about the sport and perhaps impress Steve Brown, the National Team Coach, during four days of on and off ice instruction this weekend at the Green Bay CC.

Reporter Beth Jones of Fox station WLUK-TV was on hand to speak to some of the participants.

US Trials in Green Bay WI June 2-5

A National Wheelchair Curling Camp is being held at the Green Bay (WI) Curling Club from June 2-5 with the goal of increasing the athlete pool and improving medal prospects at future World Championships and Paralympic Winter Games.

The camp schedule is as follows: Thursday, June 2: Noon - 6 PM Friday, June 3: 9 AM – 5 PM Saturday, June 4: 9 AM – 8 PM Sunday, June 5: 9 AM – Noon

[Photo - MAX GERSH | RRSTAR.COM]

One of the athletes attending will be Tim Kelly, a resident of Rockford IL who has been travelling to Green Bay to learn from National Coach Steve Brown, and also play on an able-bodied league team. Tom was recently profiled in the Rockford Register Star. [read]

Thank you

I would like to thank Al Whittier and those involved in the wheelchair curling development program based at the Lennoxville CC in Quebec for their donation in support of the work that goes into producing this blog and the wheelchaircurling.com website.

Michael McCreadie back in Scotland's plans for 2014

When Michael McCreadie stepped down as British and Scottish skip after the team's disappointing run of performances up to and including the Vancouver Paralympics, he said he hoped to rejoin the program at a later date.

McCreadie continued to compete with some success on domestic teams skipped by partner Aileen Neilson, and the promise of significant changes to the national team's approach to the game under new National Coach Tony Zummack, prompted him to apply to the 2011-2012 Wheelchair Performance Program.

Michael McCreadie at the 2009 Worlds

The eight athletes selected are Aileen Neilson, Tom Killin, Angie Malone and Gregor Ewan from the 2011 Worlds silver medal team, Michael McCreadie, and newcomers Jim Gault, Ian Donaldson and Gill Keith.

2011 World's silver medallist Michael McKenzie missed out but will have an opportunity, along with the other unsuccessful applicants, to be considered for the Scottish Wheelchair Curling Association's 'Spokes' Development Program.

The talent identification and development effort promises to be an on-going process, providing incentives not only to current members to develop their skills, but to those who may yet challenge for a place on the Sochi Paralympics team in 2014.

Debbie Earle nominated Nova Scotia Female Curler of the Year

Debbie Earle, lead on Team Nova Scotia, was nominated for Female Athlete of the Year at the  Annual Awards banquet of the Nova Scotia Curling Association.

Debbie was voted All Star lead at the 2011 TSX National Wheelchair Curling Championships in Edmonton where she helped her team to a bronze medal, her Province's first podium appearance.

Debbie, who like Team Canada 2nd Ina Forrest was recruited while shopping, has just completed her second year of curling and gives most of the credit to her team mates who worked with her to develop her skills and commitment to the game. She balances work, curling, and raising a teenage daughter

CurlBC names Gary Cormack disabled athlete of the year

Gary Cormack, curling out of the Marpole CC has won CurlBC's annual award for "Athlete With A Disability." He skipped Team BC to a 4th place finish at the 2011 National Championships in Edmonton, and will be recognised at the AGM on June 11th.

Team Canada to get their banner

Team Canada will receive their World Championship banner during a presentation at the CurlBC AGM at the Richmond CC, Saturday June 11.

Canada's national team coach Joe Rea will be on hand to give brief remarks and answer questions at 11.45am.

Four of the five members of the team plus the coach live in BC.

A full schedule of the day's events, which will also be available online via webcast, can be found HERE.

Open call for June Wisconsin Team USA camp

Team USA manager Marc DePerno has issued an open invitation to any American wheelchair user who has the interest and desire to explore wheelchair curling, to attend a summer training camp in Wisconsin June 2-5.

The camp will be held at the Green Bay Curling Club, and will be directed by Team USA coaching staff. Wheelchair users may attend for one or more days, with the program building each day on what has previously been covered.

With two members of the 2011 team retiring, there are opportunities for athletes with the desire to represent their country at a Paralympic sport, to discover what wheelchair curling is all about.

Registration deadline is May 23. You can view the information sheet HERE or email Marc DePerno or call him at 315-737-2459 for more information

Nationals more than just the curling - BC's Alison Duddy

Gary Cormack, Karen Watson, coach, Frank LaBounty, Vince Miele
Samantha Siu and Alison Duddy with Kevin Martin
.

BC's lead Alison Duddy, while expressing disappointment at her team's 4th place finish, mentions an important fact: competing at a national championship is about more than just the curling. You can read the interview she gave the Quesnel Cariboo Observer HERE.

Armstrong's fake Viagra saga ends without restitution to drug companies.

At a hearing before US Fedral Judge Ricardo Martinez in Seattle WA Tuesday, Jim Armstrong and his son Gregory were not ordered to pay the $44,000 restitution requested by the manufacturers of Viagra and Ciallis pills, fake versions of which formed the basis of the Armstrong's convictions last February.

Defense lawyers argued that restitution was not appropriate as the fake pills had been seized from Jim Armstrong before they could be smuggled into Canada and sold by Gregory in Vancouver nightclubs.

Jim has said in interviews that he has a full explanation for his actions, but has not yet felt able to present it, in part out of concern for the welfare of his son, who is in an American prison serving a 12 month sentence.

Upcoming events

The competition calendar is becoming increasingly congested especially in October and November, and event organisers are beginning to make an effort to coordinate schedules to encourage travelling teams to attend more than one event.

Several events last year were over-subscribed which is a great tribute to the organising committees, but a warning that wheelchair curlers must start to make plans further in advance.

There is a list of competition dates on the calendar page which will be updated as information becomes available. Looking at last season is often a good indication of what may take place next season.

Today the Norwegian Open and the Kinross spiel were added to October dates.

If you know of an event that is not listed, please email me with the details.

A quick reminder about comments

Just a reminder that comments posted anonymously, as noted at the top of the comments box, automatically disappear. Anonymous complaints about anonymous posts disappearing, suffer the same fate.

Varsity curler turned wheelchair coach Thomas Matheson profiled

Thomas Matheson, a varsity curler with the Laurentian Voyageurs, was asked by TC coach Wendy Morgan to work with Sudbury's rookie wheelchair curling team, an effort that earned them second place in the Northern Ontario provincials.

Thomas, in a report by the Laurentian University's Department of Athletics, talks about being given the opportunity to coach, the progress of his team and sharing that feeling of deflation at coming up short in the provincial final.

Aileen Neilson skips her Breahead rink to season finale Tunnock Trophy win

The 3rd Annual Tunnock Trophy sponsored by cookie maker Tunnock's of Uddingston, was hosted by the South Lanarkshire WCC at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink in Hamilton last week. A full complement of twelve teams including one from England meant that applications were turned down from teams from Germany and Denmark. Aileen Neilson's Braehead rink, last month's Scottish Champions, took the Trophy with Jim Sellar's local rink finishing second.

You can read a report of the event HERE and watch video of the inaugural (2009) event HERE

GB's Head Coach for Wheelchair Curling on his way April 16th.

Alberta's Tony Zummack has finally received all the paperwork necessary for him to take up residence in Scotland as Great Britains Head Coach - Wheelchair Curling.

He will be leaving on April 16th and staying in the Stirling area. His wife will join him in July and his daughter hopes to be accepted into Stirling University.

A lengthy delay in processing the paperwork for his change of residence meant that he was unable to take over the Scottish team in time for the 2011 World Championships in Prague. He was able to meet many of the players at the recent Scottish Championships, won by Aileen Neilson's rink, present skip of the National Team.

Curlers interested in being considered for the British national team training program have been asked to submit applications, and the next 8 member national squad, which presently includes the five who won silver in Prague, plus Rosemary Lenton, Jim Gault and Jim Sellars, will be selected from those applicants based in part on performances at the regular on-ice training sessions Zummack intends to hold at least once a week in Stirling and at other venues if available.

Zummack will be Team Scotland's coach for the Worlds, and Team Great Britain's coach for the Paralympics in Sochi in 2014. Though only Scots have made the British team, Zummack says he will ensure that all Britain's wheelchair curlers have access to an opportunity to demonstrate their ability.

"Giving as many wheelchair curlers as possible the opportunity to learn and improve will create  long term growth in the entire program," he told me.