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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Athletes from around the world at Utica Curling Club this weekend


 Athletes from around the world at Utica Curling Club this weekend

By WKTV News

(WKTV) - Athletes from around the world will compete this weekend at the Utica Curling Club for the Ninth Annual Wheelchair Curling Competition.

There are teams from Korea, Russia, Scotland and Canada. This year, 14 teams are competing, making it the second-largest competition in the world.

This competition is one of the final events in preparation for the world championships that take place in Finland in February.

The event is free and open to the public. Games are scheduled for 8 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. Saturday. Finals will be Sunday.

Nanaimo curler eyes national selection

 

Ellis Tull was part of a provincial team that was narrowly beaten by Paralympic bronze medalists

Ross Armour / Daily News
December 5, 2014 12:00 AM

  Six years ago, Ellis Tull didn't see curling as his thing and had never practised the sport in his life — but a call from Spinal Cord Injury B.C. changed everything.
 
 
These days, he's a provincial champion, a member of Team B.C. and has recently been invited to a training with Team Canada's Paralympic gold medalists.

Back in 2008, Tull received the call asking for him to show up at a wheelchair curling invitational at the Nanaimo Curling Club.

"I wasn't really into it," Tull admits. "I was into more action type sports like skiing but I promised them I would show up, so I curled this one day." Tull, who has been confined to a wheelchair since 2003 following a motocross accident where he broke his back and lost the use of his legs, was one of 12 people who showed up.

That number dwindled week-to-week, but it didn't stop him. "I wasn't any good at first, but I could see where the sport was going and I always like to have a goal to achieve, so I kept going back," he said.

"I just started curling recreationally once a week for something to do and I got better. "I figured if I really wanted to apply myself I could continue to progress, so I gave myself a four-year plan."
In 2012, Tull won the provincial championship in Thunder Bay, Ont., and was dnamed a member of Team B.C. Nowadays, he remains a provincial champion but on a different team and thus a different Team B.C.

Last weekend, Tull and his teammates were in Richmond to compete in the 2014 Canadian Open, which featured Canada's gold medal winning team from the Sochi Olympics in February.
Also present was Team Russia, who lost to Canada in the Paralympic final, and Team Scotland, who took bronze.

"We ended up playing Team Canada twice at the Canadian Open," Tull said. "We played them in the last game of the round robin and then 45 minutes later in the bronze medal game, where we didn't lose by much."
Tull and Team B.C. lost in the final end.

"After we were done, their coach came up to me and asked me if I'd like to come and train with them," Tull said. "I obviously said 'of course.'" Tull will now head to Vancouver next week as part of a four-day training camp with Team Canada, beginning Thursday. "My hopes are to learn from them and get better, but make an impression at the same time," he said. "I've had some curling instruction over the years but not a whole lot. I've basically learned by myself. What I can learn in a year, I can learn from them in 10 minutes."
Now that he has caught the eye of the sport's elite, Tull fancies his chances of making it onto Team Canada one day.

"Everybody on that team originally went as an invite to a camp," he said. "Once they showed good at the camp, they were invited to a tryout a year or so down the road and then they make the team.
"I'm hoping this is a natural progression to that level but if not, I'm totally fine with staying on the great team I'm on."

Tull praised the now "fully accessible" Nanaimo Curling Club and said "it's just a great place to be."
He has also formed Shock Therapy Suspension in 2005, a Nanaimo-based company that services and modifies motorcycle, ATV and snowmobile suspensions of all types, which he operates out of his home.
 
- See more at: http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/sports/nanaimo-curler-eyes-national-selection-1.1651702#sthash.feu41KJR.dpuf

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Team Cowan Win the 2014 National Wheelchair Pairs Curling Championship


Team Cowan Win the 2014 National Wheelchair Pairs Curling Championship


Glasgow, UK
The much-loved competition saw 16 pairs of curlers competing for the grand prize this year, with teams hailing from all over Scotland. After making it through the round robin stages, John Doyle from East Kilbride and Daniel Cowan from Locherbie managed to claim victory in their High Road final against Paul Webster and Angela Higson, taking the crown from two time winners Mo Simpson and Ian Donaldson.

Alan Walkinshaw, Star's Director of Sales, attended the championships to present the prizes to the lucky winners. Speaking about the event, he said: "It was a pleasure to attend the finals again. The standard of play seems to improve with each year and it was great to see new winners in John and Daniel come to the fore this year.
Star Refrigeration has been proud to sponsor the National Pairs competition for the last 9 years in a period when participation levels and performance levels have increased, as has the profile of wheelchair curling."
As well as Team Cowan, the curlers were also celebrating another team's win after the success of Team GB at the Winter Paralympics earlier in the year. The bronze win of the Scottish curling team in Sochi propelled the sport into the spotlight, and tribute was paid to their victorious friends (with skip Aileen Neilson having previously won the Star Championships herself) in the form of a Sochi 2014 banner hung up at the event.
David Morgan, Chairman of the Scottish Wheelchair Curling Association, said: "I would like to thank Star Refrigeration for all the support afforded to the Wheelchair Curling Championship by sponsoring us over the past nine years at Braehead Ice Rink.

Interest levels in our sport have been soaring after Sochi. This has been a landmark year for wheelchair curling, and Star have really been a tremendous contribution to the promotion of wheelchair curling in Scotland."
For more information about the weekend's matches, visit the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.
For an inspiring interview with Sochi Medalist Aileen Neilson encouraging Star Refrigeration personnel to follow their dreams check http://tinyurl.com/sochimedallist.
 

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Russia wins 2014 Cathy Kerr

2014 Cathy Kerr Results


Final Standings

Main Event Winner – Team Russia

Consolation Event Winner – Team Canada

Second Event Winner – Team Kenora

Third Event Winner – Team Ottawa 1 (Joseph)


Main Event Results

 Team Canada
 Team Saskatchewan
 Team Saskatchewan
 Team Russia
 Team Russia
 Team Russia
 Team Manitoba
 Team Russia
 Team Scotland
 Team Scotland
 Team Peterburough
 Team Scotland
 Team Quebec (Lessard)
 Team Newfoundland & Labrador
 Team Newfoundland & Labrador

Consolation Event Results

 Team Canada
 Team Canada
 Team Manitoba
 Team Canada
 Team Peterburough
 Team Quebec (Lessard)
 Team Quebec (Lessard)

2nd Event Results

 Team Ottawa 1 (Joseph)
 Team Ilderton
 Team Ilderton
 Team Kenora
 Team Kenora
 Team kenora
 Team Toronto
 Team Kenora
 Team Lennoxville
 Team Lennoxville
 Team Victoria CC
 Team Nova Scotia
 Team Nova Scotia
 Team Nova Scotia
 Team Ottawa 2 (Eddy)

3rd Event Results

 Team Toronto
 Team Ottawa 1 (Joseph)
 Team Ottawa 1 (Joseph)
 Team Ottawa 1
 Team Ottawa 2 (Eddy)
 Team Ottawa 2 (Eddy)
 Team Victoria CC

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