Sweeping the Nation

By Lynne Swanson

Less than two months after it came together, Canada’s wheelchair curling team won a silver medal at the first world championships in Switzerland in January, 2002.

Cec Wintonyk of Curl Ontario says her organization was contacted by the Canadian Curling Association in July, 2001, asking if they could organize a Canadian team for the championships.

"It was a daunting task," recalls Wintonyk. "There was no program at the time." Not to mention any Canadian wheelchair curlers. But after coach Tom Ward and provincial development coordinator Pat Reid "put the word out through various wheelchair sports... a number of individuals came forward" in London, Toronto and Ottawa.

After Ward and other coaches did training, a tryout camp was held in Toronto last December and five players (four regular and one alternate) were selected for the international team. They were Chris Daw, Don Bell, Jim Primavery, Karen Blachford and Richard Fraser. Fraser was the only one who had ever curled - before his disability from a farm accident.

Wintonyk says wheelchair curling has been played in Europe for about two years, but is even more recent in Canada. Wheelchairs on the ice "actually work really well. It’s really simple," says Wintonyk.

The Canadian team, which Wintonyk describes as the "most severely disabled" of those who competed in January, used a delivery stick attached to the rock. Wintonyk says this device was invented in Canada to assist seniors and others unable to bend down to the ice. The delivery stick impressed other teams, and Wintonyk expects to see it more widely used by other countries in the future.

Unlike conventional curling, there is no sweeping in wheelchair curling. Because of that, Wintonyk says play requires great eye-hand coordination. "You have to be able to throw that rock and position it where it’s supposed to be... It takes a lot more skill in terms of the actual delivery because you don’t have anyone controlling the rock for you like you do with sweeping. I’m not sure I could do it."

With funding from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Curl Ontario is currently developing a "grassroots wheelchair program" and encouraging more people to take up the sport. Technical written material has been drafted, and the organization is preparing a technical video to train coaches and instructors in wheelchair curling.

Team member Karen Blachford is a wheelchair athlete who has competed in track and field events and sledge hockey. She is also Canada’s only paraplegic hockey referee. But curling has quickly become her favourite sport.

"I prefer the cold-weather sports," says Blachford. She especially relishes the "very good chemistry" of the curling team. Plus, "it’s an incredible experience and honour to represent the country... and uphold the ethics of curling" at an international event. "I look forward to doing it again," she adds.

The team is hoping to raise funds to compete in an international event in Scotland in January, 2003. Another world curling championship will be held in 2004, and wheelchair curlers will compete at the 2006 Paralympics in Italy.

(Lynne Swanson is a freelance writer living in London, Ontario.)

RESOURCES:

Karen Blachford
E-mail: karenb@braille.uwo.ca
Contact Karen for more information about a new wheelchair curling association that has been established.

Curl Ontario
Phone: (905) 831-3699
Website: www.ontcurl.com
E-mail: information@ontcurl.com