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Friday, December 13, 2013

Five athletes nominated to Team USA for 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

           
By US Curling | Dec. 12, 2013, 9:30 a.m. (ET)

Patrick Mcdonald of United States releases the stone during the Wheelchair Curling Round Robin game between Korea and the United States on day two of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympic Games at Vancouver Olympic Centre on March 13, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) - Led by 2010 Paralympian Patrick McDonald (Madison, Wis.), USA's wheelchair curling athletes have been nominated to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team to compete in Sochi, Russia, March 7-16.

McDonald and his team of David Palmer (Mashpee, Mass.), Jimmy Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.), Penny Greely (Green Bay, Wis.), and Meghan Lino (East Falmouth, Mass.) are seeking USA's first-ever Paralympic medal in wheelchair curling. The team is coached by Steve Brown (Madison, Wis.) and Rusty Schieber (Portage, Wis.) and is assisted by Marc Deperno (New Hartford, N.Y.), team leader.

"The USA Curling wheelchair team program has come a long way since the inception of the international championships in 2002, guided by the expertise of National Coach Steve Brown," said Rick Patzke, USA Curling chief operating officer. "The athletes have put their hearts and souls into training and competition, and had a medal within their grasp at the 2010 Paralympics. Having come so close before has surely increased their hunger for success in Sochi, and we and all of America will be firmly behind them as they chase their dreams in 2014."

Team USA finished fourth at last year's world wheelchair event in Sochi, Russia, and is currently ranked sixth in the world. Wheelchair curling was added as a Paralympic medal sport in 2006. This will be the third straight Paralympic Games appearance for Joseph, 51, and second for McDonald, 46. Greely, 42, was a member of the bronze-medal winning sitting volleyball team at the 2004 Paralympic Summer Games in Athens, Greece. This will be the first Paralympic Games for both Palmer, 53, and Lino, 29.

"Congratulations to these five outstanding athletes for their nomination to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team," said U.S. Chef de Mission Julie O'Neill, team leader for Paralympic sport performance at the United States Olympic Committee. "I have no doubt that when Patrick, David, Jimmy, Penny and Meghan compete in the red, white and blue on the world's biggest stage this March, in Sochi, Russia, they will make all of us proud. I look forward to supporting them as they compete for our country's first Paralympic medal in wheelchair curling."

Canada has won gold at the past two Paralympic Games. The U.S. begins round robin play on March 8 with Canada, China, Finland, Great Britain, Korea, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, and Sweden. The top four teams after the conclusion of the round robin will move on to the semifinals.

NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine to air 50 hours of television coverage for March's Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, starting on March 7 with the Opening Ceremony. It will be followed by daily coverage of all five Paralympic sports in the Sochi program, before the Games' Closing Ceremony is broadcast on March 16. In addition to the unprecedented U.S. television coverage, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will provide live online coverage at TeamUSA.org. 
USA Curling is sponsored by AtomAmpd, Nike, Brooms Up Curling Supplies, Sitrin, and The RAM Restaurant & Brewery, BalancePlus, and is partnered with Hilton, United Airlines, RJM Licensing Inc., and CurlingZone.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Your Town Greater Wausau Area: Meet Wausau West's First Wheelchair Curler


 


 

 
 


You could say curling is in 15 year old Matt Hass' blood. His aunt and uncle are part of a curling team and Matt? Well, he just loves it too, so he joined Wausau West's curling team.

"I just had to talk to the coach and then we had to like accommodate with getting onto the ice..." said Hass.

While Matt is like anyone else on the team, he's dealing with a disability called Spina Bifida that's left him in a wheelchair. "I'm paralyzed from my waste down so I can't feel my legs," said Hass, but you better believe the disability isn't stopping this young man from heading out onto the ice and throwing rocks.

"Matt is very motivated and he seems very excited about curling," said Wausau West Head Curling Coach, Jim Wendling.

Matt is Wausau West's first wheelchair curler. Wendling says, "It's been very good to get him out here and hopefully many others can follow."

Wendling says Matt approached him in the fall with an interest in curling, so he made it happen, calling up one of the coaches for the U.S. Paralympic Curling Team. "We went down to Madison and learned from the Olympic curlers themselves, which was a very cool experience," said Wendling. It was an opportunity to learn from the best and Matt loved every bit of it.

To be a curler, adjustments also had to be made to Matt's wheelchair. "This is basically just PVC pipe that we just decorated it and then my dad added the wood and this, it's velcro on there and then my curling stick it's just a regular painter's stick, and then this end is like $260 bucks," said Hass.

He can actually throw the rocks, thanks to the help of his fellow Warriors. Hass said, "They help me get the rock in the position and they tell me like when I can push the rock and they just help so I get like the best shots I can." Coach Wendling said, "They're doing fabulous and I appreciate everything they done."

But at the end of the day, Matt is teaching his fellow Warriors, his coaches...
"Just cooperation, working with others, determination to do stuff, not letting obstacles stand in your way, doing what you have to do to get out there and making the best of your situation," said Coach Wendling.

... Even the Greater Wausau Area about so much more than just curling.

Hass said, "Even though I have a disability I'm still able to do what other people can do."
He's teaching us all that he can be apart of a curling team too, just like anyone else.http://gray-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/captures/743/E9D/743E9D27C7BA4DE1A65D4EA0B3F19DB3.mp4

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Scotland WINS Utica US open!


Fab result for team Scotland winning the gold at the U. S. Open today with coach Tony Zummack

Final Results are:

1. Scotland
2. Russia
3. USA 1
4. Quebec

Veteran-laden Canadian wheelchair curling team nominated for Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

 

Published: Friday, Dec. 6, 2013 - 9:50 am
  

/CNW/ - It will be a battle-tested team that that has been nominated to play for a third consecutive wheelchair curling gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, March 7 to 16 in Sochi, Russia, it was announced today by the Canadian Curling Association and Canadian Paralympic Committee.

It's the same team that claimed gold at the 2013 World Wheelchair Curling Championship last February at the Ice Cube Curling Center in Sochi — the official test event for the Paralympics.
The team will consist of skip Jim Armstrong (Cambridge, Ont.), vice-skip Dennis Thiessen (Sanford, Man.), second Ina Forrest (Armstrong, B.C.), lead Sonja Gaudet (Vernon, B.C.) and alternate Mark Ideson (London, Ont.).

Joe Rea (Prince George, B.C.), will be the Coach while Wendy Morgan (Burlington, Ont.) will be the Team Leader. Biographies are available here: http://tinyurl.com/kueukgz

The Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Curling team for Sochi 2014 will open its schedule on March 8 against Great Britain. The full Canadian Paralympic Team will be officially unveiled in February 2014.

"We couldn't be happier with the team we've nominated to send to Sochi, and we're confident this group of athletes gives us our best possible chance to win an unprecedented third Paralympic gold medal," said CCA Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw. "The next three months will focus on the finer details to be at our best come March 7."

Armstrong, Forrest, Gaudet, Rea and Morgan were all part of the team that won gold at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, while Gaudet, Rea and Morgan were part of Team Canada when wheelchair curling made its debut as a Paralympic medal sport in 2006 in Turin, Italy. Thiessen and Ideson will be making their Paralympic debuts in Sochi.

"I feel very good about this lineup going into the Paralympic Winter Games," said Rea. "Prior to the 2013 World Championship, we knew there was some exceptional talent, but there's always a question about how a new lineup will come together. The group worked extremely well together in Sochi, and since then the commitment, on and off the ice, from all five athletes has been amazing."

Sonja Gaudet is the world's most decorated wheelchair curler. Inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2013, Gaudet will be seeking her third Paralympic gold medal to go along with three World Championship titles (2009, 2011, 2013). She is the only wheelchair curler in Paralympic history to have won two Paralympic gold medals.

Armstrong also is a member of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, having played in six Briers — the Canadian Men's Curling Championship — before severe knee issues prompted him to take up wheelchair curling in 2007. He, too, is a three-time Word Wheelchair Curling Champion, as is Forrest.

"This is without a doubt the most experienced and accomplished squad that Canada could possibly field in wheelchair curling," said Team Canada Chef de Mission Ozzie Sawicki. "They have proven consistently that they are at the top of their game and I can't wait to watch them take on the world in Sochi."

"Congratulations to the curlers who have been nominated to represent Canada in wheelchair curling at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games," said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). "Canada's wheelchair curling teams have a proud history of success at the Winter Games, and have proven time and time again that they are among the best in the world. Our government is proud of your accomplishments and wish you the best of luck as you prepare for the Games in Sochi."

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 7 to 16, 2014. With a goal of placing in the top three nations in the gold medal count, Canada will send 50 athletes to compete in sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, para-Nordic skiing, biathlon, para-alpine skiing and para-snowboard.

Upcoming Canadian Paralympic Team nomination announcement events include sledge hockey on Jan. 18, para-alpine skiing on Jan. 21 and para-snowboard on Jan. 26.

With 100 days to go to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) unveiled an unprecedented, fully accessible broadcast and electronic media plans for the most comprehensive coverage ever offered in Canada for a Paralympic Games - more than 65 hours of broadcast, up to 350 hours of digital streaming, and rights free news access highlights connecting Canadians via multi platforms. CPC will lead the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium partners in creating coverage on five broadcast/digital platforms: CBC/Radio-Canada, Sportsnet, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), Yahoo Sports Canada and SendtoNews.

About the Canadian Curling Association

The Canadian Curling Association (CCA) is the national sport governing body responsible for the development, promotion and organization of curling in Canada. In cooperation with its Provincial and Territorial Member Associations from across Canada, the CCA provides programs and services to curlers ranging from the youngest 'little rocker' (age 7 and up), to those participating at ages 70 and over - and from aspiring Olympians to Canadians with special needs, coaches, curling facility operators, ice makers and officials. The CCA also oversees and provides the comprehensive management of the Season of Champions event portfolio; develops and administers the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) for Olympic qualification; and organizes and operates the championship system for Juniors (under 20), Seniors (over 50), Mixed, Women, Men, University and Wheelchair.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee

The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 25 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee's vision is to be the world's leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca

SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)

Image with caption: "Veteran-laden Canadian wheelchair curling team nominated for Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games: skip Jim Armstrong (Cambridge, Ont.), vice-skip Dennis Thiessen (Sanford, Man.), second Ina Forrest (Armstrong, B.C.), lead Sonja Gaudet (Vernon, B.C.) and alternate Mark Ideson (London, Ont.). (CNW Group/Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC))". Image available at:
 http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131206_C8373_PHOTO_EN_34639.jpg

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/06/5976746/veteran-laden-canadian-wheelchair.html#storylink=cpy

Armstrong to lead Canadian team with a smile and a big stick

 

Waterloo Region Record
By
           
To absolutely no one's surprise, one of the planet's most-decorated wheelchair curlers will lead Canada into the Sochi Paralympics.
                           
Cambridge resident and Galt Country Club member Jim Armstrong, a Canadian Curling Hall of Fame inductee, will skip the red and white's foursome as Canada vies for an unprecedented third consecutive gold, it was announced at a Friday news conference.
                           
Armstrong, a wise-cracking six-time Brier contestant through his able-bodied curling career, was forced out of the game temporarily because of a car accident and subsequent knee troubles in 2004.
It's his healthy sense of humour which has helped him prevail, Armstrong said over the phone from Winnipeg.
                           
"It was quite a surprise, ha, ha," Armstrong said Friday of his selection to the Canadian team, though he has known he would be going to Sochi for months.
                           
After his accident and at the request of a friend, Armstrong tried wheelchair curling, where players use a stick to send stones down the ice. There is no sweeping.
                           
The retired dentist, now 63 and originally from British Columbia, was forced to retire from his profession after that fateful car accident, too.
                           
He takes aim at his second straight Paralympic gold after capturing the top prizes in Vancouver in 2010 and at the world wheelchair curling championship in Sochi at the Paralympic venue last February.
                           
Armstrong's world championship team — including vice Dennis Thiessen of Sanford, Man., second Ina Forrest, of Armstrong, B.C., lead Sonja Gaudet, of Vernon, B.C., and alternate, London, Ont. resident Mark Ideson — returns intact for the upcoming Paralympics.
                           
"This is without a doubt the most experienced and accomplished squad that Canada could possibly field in wheelchair curling," Team Canada Chef de Mission Ozzie Sawicki told reporters at the Winnipeg news conference held during Canada's Olympic curling trials.
                           
"They have proven consistently that they are at the top of their game and I can't wait to watch them take on the world in Sochi.
                           
Armstrong said his bond with his teammates is a deep one.
                           
"The wheelchair culture is a special group. It's a tight club. It's a fairly new sport so (his teammates) are young.
                           
"I try to keep them loose and laughing and if that fails, I could always let the air out of their tires," he said.
                           
Armstrong was unwittingly embroiled in a fake Viagra smuggling scheme across the American-Canadian border in 2010.
                           
He was fined $30,000 by a Seattle judge at the time and chose not to answer questions about the matter on Friday.
                           
Armstrong did thank the Canadian Curling Association for its unwavering support through the ordeal.
crivet@therecord.com

Athletes compete in international wheelchair curling competition


                 

Athletes compete in international wheelchair curling competition

By WKTV News

(WKTV) - Athletes from five different countries were in town Friday for the eighth annual U.S. Open and International Wheelchair Curling Competition.

Athletes from 12 teams, including five paraolympic teams played against each other Friday at the Utica Curling Club in Whitestown. The matches will continue all weekend.

The event is a preview for the Paraolympic games set for March in Sochi, Russia.
Marc Deperno of Sitrin Stars says the event is a great thing for the community and Sitrin to be involved with.

This is the largest wheelchair curling competition ever at the Utica Curling Club and features about 60 athletes. The event is free and open to the public.