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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Major title win for Moray wheelchair curling rink


Wheelchair curling in Moray took a huge boost when the local rink emerged victorious in Lanarkshire.


Orginal article here

Moray’s wheelchair curling team have rounded off the season in some style by emerging victorious at the Tunnock’s Trophy event in Lanarkshire.

The team, led by Elgin-based curler Gregor Ewan and including Jim Gault, Mike McKenzie and Jackie Cayton, emerged undefeated from their eight games.

Their victory came against eight other rinks including Stirling, Wales, Lockerbie and the eventual runners-up, South Lanarkshire.

Gregor and Jim, who is from Lossiemouth, are members of the national World Class Wheelchair Performance Programme squad that is coached in Aberdeen by Albert Middler.
They were part of the Scotland squad in this year’s World Wheelchair Curling Championships in South Korea where they finished in eighth place.

The pair only took up the sport less than five years ago following industrial accidents – but it did not take long for them to become hooked. Jim said: “I’ve always loved competition and taking up curling has allowed me to travel to places I’d never been to and make some wonderful friends.

“We must enjoy it as we travelled around 24,000 miles in the car in the last nine months for training and competitions.”

Former stonemason Greg is just as enthusiastic about the sport, adding: “It’s a marvelously strategic game involving move and counter-move - after my accident is really has given me a new focus in life when it would have been easy just to feel sorry for myself.”

The trip to the world championships was funded by Scottish Disability Sport while Sportscotland support ice and coaching time, however, the pair are always seeking out much needed private sector sponsorship. Jim explained: “We travel the length and breadth of the country and would be absolutely delighted to promote a business as we are doing so!”

Founded 12 years ago, Wheelchair Curling has grown enormously in popularity and will always welcome newcomers to the sport.

Anyone interested in learning more and where they can participate in a ‘come and try’ sessions are invited to visit the Try Curling website.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Ideson to throw first rock @ 25th anniversary of the Timbits Provincial Elementary School Curling Championship.


Mark Ideson

Orginal Article found here

PARRY SOUND - This week about 300 elementary school students will flock to Parry Sound to participate in the 25th anniversary of the Timbits Provincial Elementary School Curling Championship.

The tournament began and was first hosted here in 1989 with eight elementary school teams.
While organizers joke that the math may seem a little off, Ray Pavlove, one of the event's founders explains that initially the province was broken into two parts, and some years, championships were held in both northern and southern Ontario - hence, the 25th anniversary of the event.

Starting Thursday morning at 8 a.m., curlers will take to the ice at both the Bobby Orr Community Centre and the Parry Sound Curling Club with the finals on Sunday.

Opening ceremonies begin 5:30 p.m. Friday at the BOCC.

"The public is welcome to watch any of the curling events, anywhere," said one of this year's organizers Deanna Jackson. "The curling games are going to be going on all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday at either the Parry Sound Curling Club or the Bobby Orr Community Centre. The public is welcome to come any time and there's no cost to come and watch."

Pavlove explained that curling is more than just a game. It fosters relationships and encourages teamwork among students who may not otherwise interact within their school.

"Curling is a game where the whole team has to participate. When you throw your rock, the other two guys have to sweep it for you," he said. "They're on your side. So some kids, with little self-esteem, all of a sudden they have got people who are on their side. And they have to do the same thing (sweep) for somebody else who's throwing. All of a sudden the kids are put in a position where they have to work together in a friendly way."

During the opening ceremonies, provincial wheelchair curling champion and former Parry Sounder Mark Ideson will throw the ceremonial first rock.

"I love the social aspect of it - meeting new people," said Ideson, who has been playing from a wheelchair for the last two years, but played casually during his early teens and again in his mid-20.

"I love the combination of skill and strategy - I love playing chess. It's a game that just suits my mind. I like the fact that you're only in control of your own two rocks, and you rely heavily on your teammates for the other six, so it's a true, team sport."

One of the event organizers, Trudie Johnson, said she and other members of the organizing committee of 14 have been working for the last two years to bring the event back for the 25th anniversary.

"We're really fortunate, the key players in this are Al Bourgeois, manager of the Parry Sound Curling Club, Phyllis Harris, who is a retired teacher and she's just mega-organized and she's in charge of all the volunteers, Laura Thompson who retired from teaching last year and has done running - those are the people who have done all the ground work in making sure things get done and Ray, of course. (And) Nanci Beers has worked since last September on the website and program. She was integral to the scheduling of 80 teams an getting information out to coaches and schools across Ontario. Thank goodness for her amazing organizational skills.     
                           

Italy hosts Championships!

Norway has NEW Coach - Thoralf forced to throw in the towel


Cato Zahl Pedersen congratulations Rune Lorentsen
 Rune Lorentsen has a NEW job taking over coaching the Norway program after Hognestad Thoralf was forced to throw in the towel. Rune which has participated in 6 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and 2 Special Olympics will work as player-trainer/coach. He has two WORLD CUP gold and 1 bronze at WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.

We wish him  good luck!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Article 1 Part 2 – Strategy & Tactics (cont.)


As we move along in our series,  we will continue with the strategic planning process.

 A Strategic Profile determines your team’s central philosophy and perspective on the game,              and has the potential to shape all aspects of your strategic decision-making.  With this we MUST understanding if your team forms to a standard of the 3 profiles or can you mix it up and use the profiles when needed? The 3 standard strategic profiles are:
Colleen Jones (Defense), .
1.       Defense First

This profile centre’s around the “Patience is a virtue” philosophy. You use simple and basic shots while utilizing take outs mostly. Your game will be comfortable in close and is low in the scoring.  Defense first takes a great amount of patience and a lot of mental toughness.

 The Ferbey four (Offence) 

2.       Offence First

On the other hand; offense first takes the “No guts, no glory” approach. Shots will be knotty and complex with a lot of finesse shots having to be made. Aggression is the name of the game and you better have great resilience.

 The Great Schmirler team (Balanced)
3.       Blended/Balanced Attacked

So what about this blended/balanced attack concept? Well we have all heard it “Time is everything”; your success will come from playing the odds. You won’t care if the shots are take-outs or finesse, you can do it all but remember timing and communication is going to be everything.

Hey and if you think I am full of it or you have to choose in order to be success; Wrong. Each type of these profiles have produced champions; Colleen Jones (Defense), The Ferbey four (Offence) and of course the great Sandra Schmirler team was balanced attack.

Remembering that your specific performance  capabilities are every bit as important as your collective preferences, which Strategic Profile seems to be best suited to your team, and why? Only you and your team can decide and I would suggest if you don’t know ASK…ask before you throw one more rock.

You can change the profile any time you want but communicate that. You can change end to end if you want but you and your skip need to be one the same page. Communication of the profile is the key to even the simplest success.

A Game Plan represents your team’s general blueprint for the upcoming game, previewing the basic strategies that you intend to employ as the game progresses from one stage to the next.  When making a game plan you will need to establish clear targets but make sure you establish challenging but realistic goals. You will need to structure every game in a consistent, communicated and logical manner.

So what does that lead us to next? Well; if you ever wondered what Jim Armstrong is great at and how his success is so profound, then you would have noticed his ability to control the game.  Game Control represents a potentially sustainable scoreboard advantage that, without guaranteeing it, clearly enhances a team’s odds of eventually winning the game and you have seen it!

To understand game control you have to understand there are degrees of game control. Basically there are 3 simple degrees of game control.

1.       Definite Control  - 3 up with or 4 up without

2.       Limited Control – 1 to 2 up with or 2 or 3 up without

3.       Potential Control – tied with or 1 up with out

Now the game of wheelchair curling is ever evolving and the fact is I have seen a team that is up 4 with still end up losing, so save your comments and emails these are only guidelines not gospel.

The other major aspect to Game Control is End staging. End staging is establishing your team in correct throughout the ends in order to win. Simple right! So in the 8 end game there should be 4 stages. Stage 1 takes place over end 1 and 2. Stage 2 takes place over ends 3 and 4. Stage 3 takes place over, guess what; end 5 and 6 and finally and not to insult anyone stage 4 of course over ends 7 and 8.

In our next article we will get into more specifics about what should be occurring in the game and end plans as it relates to each of our strategic profiles.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Article 1 Part 1 – Strategy & Tactics



Ok folks, you asked for it so here it comes. As we move into summer and look forward to a little time away from the ice we wanted to present a series of articles surrounding Strategy, Tactics, Equipment and whatever else comes to mind.  We have recruited a few friends to provided input, articles and feedback but before we can run we need to go over the basis, so everyone is talking the same language at the end of the day.

So bare with us as we go over Strategy & Tactics 101

So let the lessons begin:

So what is Strategy?

 Strategy is about Playing the Right Shots

And what are tactics?

Tactics are about Playing those Shots Right



Strategy represents your team’s basic means of achieving its intended outcomes in any given end,   and provides direct and tangible guidance as to the various shots that you should select.

Tactics on the other hand are an arsenal of skills and systems designed to enhance your team’s capacity to execute the your selected shots as successfully as possible.

The other major terms we need to understanding before proceeding is Risk & Reward. We so often hear about it but do we really understand it?

Risk & Reward are integrated concepts that capture all relevant threats and opportunities in any given situation, and together should form the foundation for every strategic decision that you make.

So what does this all mean? Well for most of us who have been playing for more than 10 minutes we get the concepts but do we understand them?  We often relate this risk & reward to 3 basic types’ strategy – Protecting, Probing (+/-) and Pursue.

Protecting strategy is the lowest risk & reward strategy available. You will try to minimize the number of rocks in play while giving yourself the best chance to limit opposition scoring. This protecting strategy is often common without last rock and also limits your scoring chances.

Probing strategies are a little different in the fact that there are different inclinations and are common with and without last rock. You will gain the opportunity for a reasonable amount of rock to get into play but you will need to decide if you want to protect or pursue as the end unfolds; in other words you need to read and react.

Pursuing strategy this is the highest risk & reward strategy out there. You will maximize the number of rocks in play while giving yourself the best chance of scoring.  Pursuing strategy is common with last rock but it also enhances your opponent’s chance of scoring.

All top competitive teams know a few major simple foundations and have developed Strategic Profiles, Game Plan, End plan, and Shot Selection.

Another item to which your team will need to know is your Strategic Profile. This determines your team’s central philosophy and perspective on the game, and has the potential to shape all aspects   of your strategic decision-making.  Combine this with your team’s Game Plan representing your general blueprint for the upcoming game, reviewing the basic strategies that you intend to employ as the game progresses from one stage to the next.

An End Plan represents your team’s specific blueprint for the current end, clearly defining your intended objective(s), along with particular strategy that you will use to achieve them. Shot Selection should be a natural by-product of the various strategic decisions that have preceded it, and must be fully consistent with the particular strategy that is currently in place.

So ends the lesson.
I know this seems a little Mickey mouse but as we proceed these terms will be essential in understanding.

Resources – Chris Daw, CCA

From the Winninpeg Press...Coaching awards on tap

Orginal Article found here

Caoch R. Lamb

Coaching awards on tap

Sport Manitoba’s Coaching Manitoba Excellence Awards will be presented by Manitoba Lotteries at the awards brunch on April 15 at 9 a.m. at the McPhillips Station Casino.

The finalists for the Vince Leah Award (grassroots) are Brigitte Smutny (sailing), Neil Kornberger (cross-country skiing) and David Gowriluk (Badminton). The finalists for the Dr. Jack Hunt Award (developmental) are Craig Bachynski (football), Jayson Gillespie (cycling) and Andy Tough (athletics). For the Peter Williamson Award (high performance), the finalists are Brian Timmerman (ringette), Bill Johnson (wheelchair basketball) and Robert Lamb (wheelchair curling). For the Peter Dick Award (school system athletes), the finalists are Don Thomson (basketball/volleyball), Jon Zilkey (basketball) and Jim Schreyer (volleyball).

Congratulations Rob!