Wheelchair Curling Blog 2

2012 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championships

2012-03-16T21:24:00.002-04:00

Well, it is that time of year again for Canada to crown the 2012 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Champions.

10 teams will compete in Thuder Bay , Ontario over the next week for the honour of the title.

This year we see British Columbia, Alberta, Sasskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario, Northern Ontario Host, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador via for the annual crown.

The list of winners is long since the championship started in 2004; they include:

YEAR	Winner Prov/Terr	WINNING TEAM (skip to alternate)	HOST CITY
2011	Man	Chris Sobkowicz, Dennis Thiessen, Melissa Lecuyer, George Hornning, Don Kalinsky	Edmonton
2010	BC	Gary Cormack, Rich Green, Vince Miele, Corinne Jensen, Samantha Siu	Kelowna
2009	BC	Jim Armstrong, Frank LaBounty, Whitney Warren, Jacqueline Roy, Darryl Neighbour	Halifax
2008	BC	Jim Armstrong, Frank LaBounty, Whitney Warren, Jacqueline Roy, Vince Miele (r to l)	Winnipeg
2007	BC	Darryl Neighbour, Frank LaBounty, Whitney Warren, Jacqueline Roy, Jim Shannon	Ottawa
2006	Can	Chris Daw, Gerry Austgarden, Gary Cormack, Sonja Gaudet	Richmond
2005	Can	Chris Daw, Bruce McAninch, Jim Primavera, Karen Blachford, Gerry Austgarden	Richmond
2004	CAN	Chris Daw, Bruce McAninch, Jim Primavera, Karen Blachford	London

In the history of the Championship their have only been 4 players who have won back to back to back titles: Chris Daw (Skip), Frank Labountry (3rd), Whitney Warren (2nd) and Jacqueline Roy (lead).

Can Manitoba place its name again on the trophy?

Follow along on the Canadian Curling Associations website for Standings, Scores, Pictures and of course a first for the championship - live streaming of selected games.

See you there!

UPDATED: SCOTTISH WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONSHIPS - March 16-18

2012-03-16T15:54:00.001-04:00

We we see the start of the 2012 Canadian National Wheelchair Curling Championships starts this weekend in Thunder Bay we also see the start of the Scottish Wheelchair Curlign Championships starts this weekend.

8 Teams from thoughout Scotland will be competing for the title. We will take the results, post the scores and at the end the winner by up dtaing this page each day.

Good Luck to all!

Rank	Team	Wins	Loses	Points For	Points Against
1	Angie Malone	1	1	11	8
2	Paul Webster	2	0	16	7
3	Rosemary Lenton	1	1	14	13
4	Allan Spence	0	2	9	22
5	Gregor Ewan	1	1	17	15
6	Tom Killin	1	1	19	12
7	Aileen Neilson	2	0	21	7
8	James Brown	0	2	2	25

Friday March 16 – 10am

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1	Malone	3	Webster	4
2	Lenton	10	Spence	5
3	Ewan	11	Killin	8
4	Neilson	14	Brown	1

Friday March 16 – 2pm

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1	Killin	11	Brown	1
2	Ewan	6	Neilson	7
3	Webster	12	Spence	4
4	Malone	8	Lenton	4

Saturday March 17 – 9:15am

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1	Ewan	-	Spence	-
2	Malone	-	Brown	-

Saturday March 17 – 11:30am

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1	Neilson	-	Lenton	-
2	Webster	-	Killin	-

Saturday March 17 – 2:30pm

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1	Lenton	-	Killin	-
2	Neilson	-	Webster	-
3	Malone	-	Ewan	-
4	Brown	-	Spence	-

Sunday March 18 – 10am

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1	1	-	4	-
2	2	-	3	-

Sunday March 18 – 10am

Sheet	Team	Score	Team	Score
1		-		-
2		-		-

UPDATE: Article removed!

2012-03-16T13:28:00.000-04:00

Ok...So since the news broke of the doping violation of Jim, I have seen maybe 30 articles from around the country all saying this and that about what has gone on. Most of these articles are based on of 2 pieces which first broke the news. The Al Cameron story in the Calgary Herald and our story here at the Wheelchair curling blog 2. With that I have taken countless emails as to why I have not been posting all these articles on the website.

Emails like:

"...you should at least post the articles so we can get all the information from all the prespectives."

Well folks, you have all the information, nothing is being held back by us and prespective is what it is...What ever you the reader makes of it. But in all fairness I did post one of these articles (removed) It told nothing more than what we told you, in fact it is one of the more cruder stories I have seen posted, moreover the references and language we posted it and we made a bad choice. I want to be fair to all both the good articles and the bad ones. The circumstances are what they are and everyone will or does have an opinion, just read the comments but rememeber one thing best said by a famous quote:

There is no such thing as public opinion.

There is only published opinion.

Winston Churchill

UPDATE:

Ok, for those which think I have bad taste I have removed the article. I meant no harm in the posting. I simply wanted to show how screwed up the prespective was getting on the story. I had nor have no other reason for doing it. Jim is a friend of mine and I do support him in his efforts of appeal.

I guess I will aplogize for my choice of article publishing, I stand behind the comment above; public opion is what is published.

Any one anywhere can read the article just search the goolge news postings.

Talented team heads to nationals

2012-03-16T13:06:00.005-04:00

Team Alberta

CURLING . Bruno Yizek's Calgary team opens play on Monday at the Canadian wheelchair curling championship in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Yizek, who'll be making his seventh straight trip to the nationals, will take aim at his first gold medal backed up by teammates Jack Smart, Martin Purvis, Anne Hibberd and Bridget Wilson, along with coach Andy Jones.

It's a talent-laden, experienced team; Yizek was a member of Canada's gold-medal Paralympic team from 2010, while Smart and Hibberd played for Team Canada at the wheelchair world championship last month in South Korea.

McCreadie Wins Shotmaker

2012-03-16T09:27:00.002-04:00

Link Provided by;© Skip Cottage.

Michael in action at the Four Nations at Greenaces in January. Photo © Skip Cottage.

Michael McCreadie may have retired from international play, but he hasn't lost his touch! The Braehead curler won the 'Shotmaker' final at Kinross with 30 points. Second was Jim Sellar (South Lanarkshire) 26 points, third Marie Duncan (Kinross) 23 points, and fourth Seamus McCardle (Inverness) 20 points. The 'Shotmaker' is an individual competition and is made up of six tests: Draw through a port; Take out through port; Guarding; Tap up; Drawing from halfway; and Beat the Shot.

Prizes will be presented at the Scottish Wheelchair Curling Championship this weekend. Eight teams line up for this event, see here. Michael is competing at Curl Aberdeen in the Aileen Neilson team with Mo Simpson and Seamus McCardle.

CCA official release to Jim Armstrong Doping Violation

2012-03-15T12:45:00.004-04:00

The CCA has officialy release a response to the doping violation handed down to Jim Armstrong.

1660 Vimont Court, Cumberland, Ontario, K4A 4J4/ Phone: (613) 834-2076 / Fax: (613) 834-0716/ Website: www.curling.ca

CCA STATEMENT

The Canadian Curling Association (CCA) has learned that one of our national wheelchair athletes, Mr. James Armstrong, has been sanctioned by the World Curling Federation (WCF) following a WCF Doping Hearing Panel’s ruling of an anti-doping violation. This sanction is a suspension which is applicable to James Armstrong for a period of 18 months from the date of the panel’s initial ruling (February 17, 2012).

As the National Governing Body associated with the athlete, we have been notified of the finding as published on the WCF website. The out-of-competition testing had been administrated by the international federation and its dealings direct with the athlete.

The CCA has a formal agreement with the WCF and we abide by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) protocols as it relates to doping and potential subsequent sanctions. The CCA’s policy is to respect sanctions imposed by other agencies, such as the WCF, to the extent of their authority. To this avail, the athlete is no longer a member of the National Team Program subject to a pending appeal to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, which we are informed, is imminent.

The CCA believes doping has no place in sport and furthermore fair and equal competition is an essential tenet of sport and why our Association makes significant efforts to see that effective national and international anti-doping education and doping control programs are in place.

That said, and having read through the comprehensive report, we can certainly empathize with the athlete as there appear to be some extraordinary circumstances related to this matter.

The sport of curling is recognized as a very low risk sport as it relates to doping and given the "non-intentional" and "non-competitive advantage" nature of this infraction, and the surrounding circumstances, we believe such a status will be maintained.

The CCA’s National Team Program will continue to strive for podium results and we will continue to invest in Team Canada and our National Team Program athlete pool as we move forwards from this, with the best interests of the sport front of mind.

Armstrong suspended on doping violation: a Canadian explanation

2012-03-15T12:22:00.000-04:00

EXCLUSIVE: Armstrong suspended for dopingviolation: a Canadian explanation

The news was fully explained to me this morning andfrankly, I was in shock. Not so much by what has happened but of how.

2010 Paralympic champion skip JimArmstrong was not, as we all know, leading Team Canada at this year’s 2012World Wheelchair Curling Championship in South Korea.

The question has always been – why?

We know that the CalgaryHerald released the story prior to us, prior to the offical WCF annoucement with documents (found here) and prior to the CCA response announcements.However in an exclusive interview with Wheelchair Curling Blog 2, Armstrong hasexplained his story in greater detail.

In fact, Armstrong approached us, as he felt the need for a non-biased forum. A story which ultimately willaffect both the Canadian program and, of course, himself personally.

The remains of a tragic story are theroot of Jim’s current dilemma. In December of last year, as required by WADA(World Anti-Doping Agency) and the WCF (World Curling Federation), all nationalteam athletes are required to submit to drug testing, including random testing.As a high-profile competitor, Jim was often called upon to submit to the dopingpolice. On an average day in December, Jim submitted his samples to CCES (CanadianCentre for Ethics in Sport) for testing, and thought nothing of the routinesubmission.

In January, a call came to Jim,informing him of the news: aviolation.

I can just imagine the look on Jim’sface when he was told he had failed the test, but more shocking when he heard the nameof the substance that had raised the red flag. No, it was not cocaine, whichable-bodied curler Joe Frans was caught with a few years ago. Nor was itsteroids – Lord knows, Armstrong does not need steroids.

Tamoxifen

The drug Tamoxifen is, an antagonistof the estrogen receptor in breast tissue via its active metabolite. In other tissues, such as the endometrium, it behaves as an agonist, and thus may be characterized as a mixedagonist/antagonist. Tamoxifen is the usual endocrine (anti-estrogen) therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in pre-menopausal women, and is also a standard inpost-menopausal women… although aromatase inhibitors are also frequently used in thatsetting.

And now, let us all say what we’re allthinking – what the heck?

This was my reaction, of course, andthen it hit me: Jim’s tragic loss of his long-time love Carleen, his wife of 29years, who died in September of 2009. She had battled cancer since 2006.

See the fit?

According to Jim, hismedications come in 3 month batches with some bottles large which make it nearimpossible for travel. He inadvertently used a smaller old medication bottlewhich had been contaminated with one of Carleen’s cancer medications.

Has Armstrong claimed foul? No.

Has he tried to skirt the results? No.

In Jim’s words, a mistake occurred, andit seems a rather obvious mistake – the man, after all, ingested a female-basedcancer treatment drug. But this error is now costing Armstrong part of thefoundation of a new life he has been trying to rebuild. Moreover, this mistakehas cost a curling-crazed country.

Jim states: " I know I really hurt the Team andthe Program, and will be making an appeal as soon as practicable."

So what does this all mean?

In both the long and short term thereare obvious consequences.

Right now it means immediate suspensionand 18 months is the fact of what Jim – and the Canadian wheelchair curlingprogram – now faces.

The World Curling Federation (WCF) hashanded down and enforced the 18-month decision which means that Armstrong, inno way, shape or form, may curl or coach curling until July of 2013.

Naturally, Armstrong is appealing thedecision to which the details are still unfolding.

What are the best- and worse-caseoutcomes?

The best is easy: the CAS (The Court of Arbitration forSport) hears Jim’sexplanation and understands it, and decides to remove or reduces the suspension.

The worst is that the appeal is deniedin full, everything stays in place and all of a sudden Canada is has tofigure out how to rebuild a national team, with the next worlds less than ayear away.

What will probably happen, based on myexperience with WADA, CCES and the CAS, is a reduction of the suspension tosomewhere between six and 12 months based on a precedent set ruling for Glen Ikonenof Sweden, when he had a violation for blood pressure medication that occurredat the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games.

What does this means for Jim Armstrong?

Well, it gives him some down time;specifically, time to experience a life without curling (again). Will he losehis on-ice touch, or even his knowledge? Absolutely not, and when (or if) hewants to come back, he should perform better than ever.

Now, as for the program??
I’m sure that Armstrong will havesomething to say about direction and future. I, for one, cannot see thenew/interim skip not working with Armstrong in some type of advisory capacity.It make sense to have the replacement skip start working with Armstrong as soonas possible and then, in 2014, have him or her play third for Armstrong inSochi.

Post- 2014, Armstrong is still going to be the mostexperienced and knowledgeable wheelchair curler who can lead the pack on theice, or step into a coaching role, and/or be a talent scout, and so on.

The next question, of course, is whereto find the replacement skip?

Does the CCA vault a current nationalprogram member into that position?

Do they grab an up and comer?

Do they look to the past, and grab aformer national team member?

The CCA has some interesting choices toconsider and decisions to make, and Wheelchair Curling Blog 2 will followthe details as the story develops... and it will develop.

Quebec lead - Johanne Daly to throw first stone at Canadian Masters

2012-03-14T16:35:00.000-04:00

Johanne Daly

Quebec Lead - Johanne Daly with have the honour of throwing the first stone at theCanadian Masters Championships that will be held in our Province at the BouchervilleCurling Club from March 26th to April 1st, right after the openingceremonies.

The Boucherville Curling Club's president stated: "Many candidates were presented and among those candidates, her name was voted unanimously."

Johanne is "I'm deeply touched by this announcement"

Yet another wheelchair curler making there mark on the AB game! Way to go Johanne, enjoy your moments!

Thoughts for a difference maker

2012-03-14T16:21:00.002-04:00

2010 John McCrae Trophy
Retrieved from N. Ontario by Ontario skip Bruce Cameron

I met BruceCameron several years ago at a little bonspiel in the middle of nowhere. Rightoff the start I knew Bruce was a voice and person to be reckoned with. Bruce Cameronhas been the corner stone in the Ottawa region in wheelchair curling for as many years as I can remember.He has worked tirelessly to be a difference maker for the region so they canenjoy his passion for the sport of curling. He has been noted for having avoice in the sport when others have not be as bold. If taking on theopinions or comments on the Wheelchair Curling Blog or Blog 2 he has always signed his name.

It was a little saddeningwhen I heard that Bruce was been ill as of late. Ill is saying the least. Brucehas been diagnosed with Leukemia. In his own words: “I wasn't feeling well for acouple of days so decided to go to emergency on 20 Feb. I was admitted to thehospital with a diagnosis of Leukemia…”

Hisspirits as all those who know Bruce is high and I am happy to say so does hishealth appear to be.

“… I responded well withstrength returning and blood levels stabilizing. I remained in hospital for 10days and received my first "light" chemo there before sending me homewith meds. ..“

Weall know players but very often forget the people behind the players; the reallife which often and sometimes surprisingly sneaks up on those players. As always Bruce drifts his thoughts back tohis teammates, the ice and share his wit:

“ I am convinced I couldstill curl except they inserted a PICC catheter in my upper right arm and theydon't want any strenuous activity with that arm. I wasn't thinkingfast enough, should have had them put it in the left arm”

Bruce also wanted to clear the air on a couple of missquotes on the Blog and the newspapers as of late;

“ I attended neitherHuntsville or Collingwood so that wasn't me who drew the button but it was acumulative team thing done early in the competition and Christine actuallycovered the pin so that is how we got bronze. At Huntsville, Katie curled withthe team and in Collingwood they curled with either three or a couple of gameswith Frank. “

So Bruce we all here wish you the best in your recovery and anticipateseeing you in fine form in the fall.

Local rinks having an impressive season

2012-03-14T14:09:00.002-04:00

By ALAN ARKILANDER

Monday night , I attended the send-off party for our newest Northern Ontario senior men's champions, who curl out of the Sudbury Curling Club.

Team Levesque

I could not help but notice the number of present and past provincial champions, numbering about 20, and two past national champions, Chris Johnson and Raylene
D'Agostino, who were present to celebrate with these men.

One of our most prominent curling champions, and a Sudbury Sport Hall of Fame member, Chucker Ross was also on hand. He has won the Idylwylde Golf and Country Club men's championship at least 13 times and has long been one of my mentors in this sport.

His wife, Sheila Ross, has done him one better by winning the 1995 Canadian Senior women's Championship, but, like Sheila, he has been an inspiration to many of the curlers who were present. He is well known for his support of Sudbury's junior curlers, together with his partners at Sostarich, Ross, Wright, Cecutti LLP, a prominent accounting firm.

While there, I met Rick Prudhomme and Denis Duclos, members of the Sudbury CC wheelchair curling team. I learned that the team only recently formed. After playing basketball for many years, they learned about the opportunity to curl at the Sudbury Club. I told them I had been trying to form a wheelchair team since the club became wheelchair-accessible back in the days of VHS tapes.
They recently competed at the Ontario Winter Games, where they finished fourth with a 3-2 record, and were getting ready to go to the Canadian National Championship at Thunder Bay on March 18-25.
Earlier, they had competed in a Spiel at Ottawa where they played against the Norwegian national team and other top teams for some valuable experience.
Dave Kawahara, a longtime advocate of wheelchair curling through the NOCA, has been working the last five years to set up the championship.
I also learned the Tanner Horgan rink, from the Idylwylde, had finished third at the Ontario Winter Games last weekend. Tanner and his brother, Jacob, were joined by Owen Sheppard from Manitoulin and Connor Lawes from North Bay.

I then checked the OWG website to see how the Krysta Burns Idylwylde team fared.

Team Prud'homme

In 2011, her team had won the NOCA Bantam Championship. This year, they finished third in Northern Ontario, but qualified for the 2012 Games, where they won the gold medal, i.e. the Ontario Bantam Championship. The team consists of skip Krysta Burns, vice Monica Graham, second Sara Guy lead Michela Nero and coach Rodney Guy.

Krysta is the younger sister of Kaitlynd Burns, a two-time junior champion.
All of these girls started their curling careers in the Little Rock program at the Idylwylde and now form that club's second Ontario championship team this year, with Tracy Horgan, another Little Rock graduate. All of these youngsters have about two more years of bantam-aged curling, which bodes well for the future of competitive curling in Sudbury.

Last weekend also saw the Region five Dominion Curling Club Championship playdowns held at the Idylwylde.

The winners were the Sudbury CC team of skip Tom "The Icemaker" Leonard, vice Scott Thom, second Mike Tessier and lead Ray Joanisse.

They will now curl in the NOCA championship at the Horne Granite Club in New Liskeard on March 29-April 1.

They will be joined by the Copper Cliff women's champs, with skip Meri Bolander, vice Monique Schler, second Deb Beitschat and lead Deb Viau.

In order to qualify for these championships, the club must belong to the NOCA, meaning members each paid the $15 NOCA fee, so that in Sudbury we are missing the Onaping Falls CC and Falconbridge CC champions.

Those folks are missing the chance to play for a provincial and national championship in a competition, which features only club level curlers.

The event is sponsored by The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, which is also the official insurer for the CCA and the OCA, and sponsors curling competitions and camps at the provincial and/or national level for high school, university, men's, seniors and wheelchair curlers.
As well, The Dominion sponsors many charity spiels, such as the Hard Times Charity Funspiel held recently at the Idylwylde to raise money for a much needed MRI for Health Sciences North.
"It's a branding exercise for us and we wanted to be branded with a sport that Canadians love and that shares the same values that we have as a company," George Cooke, president of The Dominion, said recently.

Well said, but do not retire any time soon George.

Alan Arkilander's Between the Sheets curling column appears every Wednesday in The Sudbury Star during the curling season.

Together by chance, the Levesque rink is now the squad to beat

2012-03-14T14:05:00.000-04:00

By Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com

Submitted photograph
Northern Ontario Wheelchair Curling Champions (from the left): Skip Carl Levesque; third Rick Bell; coach Dave Kawahara; second Mel Prairie; lead Sharon LaFroye and alternative Doug Dean.

In 2008 they were teammates by chance.

Four years later skip Carl Levesque, third Rick Bell, second Mel Prairie and lead Sharon LaFoye are a finely tuned wheelchair curling juggernaut, looking to power their way to a national championship on home ice.

The foursome, chosen in 2008 by the Northern Ontario Curling Association when the organization was asked at the last minute to enter a team into the national tournament, this time around earned their way in on the ice, going 4-0 at the recent provincial play-downs held in January in Sudbury.
Approached in Wal-Mart and asked if he wanted to try the sport out, ultimately earning a berth on the inaugural 2008 Northern Ontario squad, Levesque said the team is firing on all cylinders heading into nationals, which will take place at the Fort William Curling Club.

“I think everybody is shooting very well,” he said before a recent practice. We have just got to be positive and stay in good spirits,” Levesque said.

Prairie said based on their results in Sudbury, he’s expecting big things on the weekend, a chance to qualify for the world championship in South Korea on the line.

“To be honest, I think we’ve really gelled together as a team,” he said. “Sudbury really proved we’re cooking. Everybody’s getting along, everybody’s got the team spirit.”

Wheelchair curling differs from the traditional game in two significant ways. Curlers can either throw stones using their hands or by pushing them down the ice with a delivery stick. There are no sweepers, so learning to read the ice in a hurry is the key to success.

Bell, who said this weekend’s championships should open the public’s eye to a sport that is just starting to catch on in Northern Ontario, where they could barely form a team half a decade ago.
“You have to be precise and use the proper weight,” Bell said. “If you’re too hard it will go through. If you’re soft it will come up short.”

There’s also the matter of how much the rock with curl. With no sweepers to guide the stone into the rings, a shot that starts on one side of the sheet can often finish on the other.

LaFoye, who turned to the sport in 2006, called playing at home a dream come true.

“I don’t even have the words to describe it,” she said. “It was a team effort to make it and I honestly see us in the final, I think, if we play as well as we did in Sudbury.”

A member of the 2008 squad, she said this time around feels a bit more satisfying than simply being picked to go at a selection camp.

“This is a totally different feeling, to know that we played our way here as a team.”

Coach Dave Kawahara, is tempering his expectations for the squad, though he knows the talent is there to compete for a title.

“We curled very well in Sudbury. If we can curl like that, we’re hoping to make the playoffs. I’m quietly optimistic,” he said.

Team Northern Ontario opens the championship Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. against Newfoundland and Labrador.

A second Northern Ontario team, Rick Prudhomme’s rink from Sudbury, will act as tournament hosts. They landed the spot when Team New Brunswick withdrew.

They open against Manitoba.

The final is set for March 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Area athletes make impression at Ontario Winter Games

2012-03-13T12:25:00.004-04:00

Bruce Cameron

National capital athletes made a significant impression at the Ontario Winter Games across the Georgian Bay region on the weekend, winning a total of 54 medals in 24 sports.

Wrestlers led the parade to the podium, capturing three of Ottawa's 15 gold medals, while badminton players, speedskaters and synchronized swimmers earned two each.

Ottawa and area athletes also brought home 21 silver and 18 bronze medals.

Torin MacFayden of the Tsunami Wrestling Academy, Quinton Walker of the National Capital Wrestling Club and Lily Lafonte of the Renfrew Amateur Wrestling Club struck cadet class gold on the wrestling mats.

MacFayden breezed through his first three matches before edging Pavel Lovtsov of the Matmen in the boys' 54-kilogram final. Walker posted three victories in the boys' 76-kilogram division for first place. Lafonte was unchallenged in her class.

The wrestling bronze medallists were Taylor Robinson of National Capital, girls' 75 kilograms; and Ida-Yates Lavery of Renfrew, girls' 43 kilograms.

The Ottawa and District Badminton Association won its gold medals in the men's singles 2 and women's doubles 2 team classes. Its silver medals came in the team competitions for women's singles, and men's and women's doubles. Bronze medals were earned in men's singles team and women's singles 2 team.

Gloucester Synchro's Kiera Hughes was the figures 13-15 champion and joined teammates Leena Barisa, Emilie Caron, Chloe Cook, Marie-Eve Dorval, Sarah Healy, Deanna Masur and Angelica Tilli to finish second in team as well as land drill figures. Caron also was second in 13-15 solo. Barisa, Jacqueline Sokoli and Dorval were one-two-three respectively in 16-20 flexibility testing.
Benjamin Yang and James McGuire, both of Ottawa, joined Kevin Sun of Toronto to win the men's A open short-track speedskating 3,000-metre relay, while Jasmine Chase of Ottawa was a member of the winning women's A relay bronze medal mixed-athlete team.

Jessica Robitaille of Ottawa also won gold in the women's open B relay. Bethany Mc-Kinley-Young and Gabriella Arno, both of Ottawa, were women's open B relay silver medallists, and Charlotte Bolger of Ottawa took a bronze in the same race.

Jason Lawton of Chelsea Nordique was the winner of the boys' junior biathlon 4.5-kilometre sprint biathlon race. Clubmate Kaitlyn Mikitish was second in the girls' senior six-kilometre sprint and 7.5-kilometre pursuit.

Minto Skating Club's Zoe Gong was first in novice girls' singles, while silver medals went to Minto's Sophie Fu in girls' pre-novice, Andriyko Goyaniuk of Rideau Lakes in boys' pre-novice and the Petawawa Skating Club in prenovice synchro. Minto's Jeff Hough was a bronze medallist in boys' novice and Hugh Brabyn-Jones took the same coloured medal in boys' prenovice.

Forward Alyssa Baker and head coach Randy Mar were part of Team Irwin, which defeated Team Agosta 2-1 in the girls' hockey final. Top players from throughout Ontario were spread over eight different teams. Samantha Bouley of Stittsville, Cassidy Mac-Pherson of Ottawa and Vanessa Saucier of Rockland were on the silver-medal-winning Team Agosta. Bronze medals went to Jordyn Pimm of Kanata and Serena Weaver of Ottawa, after a 1-0 Team Apps victory over Team Kellar.

The Ottawa Valley Silver Seven minor peewee AA team defeated the Brampton Battalion 4-3 for the bronze medal in boys' hockey. Logan Buchanan and Rocco Barresi scored two goals apiece.
Ottawa's Channel Villeneuve was the kickboxing winner in the girls' minus-52kilogram class. Eastern defeated Central 4-2 in the ringette final for its fifth win in seven games.

A team of Ottawa and Kingston players gave the East the gold medal in sledge hockey, after a 5-1 decision over the West. The East had a 4-1 overall record.

Ottawa Judo Club's Auguste Koh and Florence Grenapin took U16 silver medals in the boys' minus-50-kilogram and girls' minus-44 kilogram classes respectively. Bronze medals were presented to Takahashi Judo Club athletes Dimitri Palombo, boys' U16 minus 42 kilograms; Marco Peluso, boys' U16 minus-50 kilograms; and Liam Mac-Fadyen, boys' U16 minus-55 kilograms. Almonte's Matthew Church, boys' U16 open class, and Ava de Pater, girls' U16 minus-52 kilograms, won bronze medals.

The Ottawa Valley men's team won a five-pin bowling silver medal, losing to Metro Toronto 6-2 in the final. Lauren Horton and her Almonte rink of Jessica Armstrong, Jordan Mark and Leigh Gustafson finished second in women's curling at 4-1 for the silver medal.
Table tennis player Sonia Qin of Ottawa was second in the girls' U18 singles and also helped Ottawa to a silver medal in team. The other Ottawa table tennis medal was a bronze in boys' U15 team.
Region Six, which covers Ottawa, picked up the boys' volleyball silver medal, after losing the final to Region Three, which is southwestern Ontario.

Bruce Cameron of the R.A. Curling Club skipped his rink of Doug Morris, Jamie Eddy and Christine Lavallee to the bronze medal in wheelchair curling. After finishing in a four-way tie at 2-3 for third place, he pushed a stone closest to the button for the bronze.

World 'split' over Olympic Games merger

2012-03-12T18:20:00.001-04:00

People from 19 nations are split on whether the Paralympics should be integrated into the Olympic Games, according to a global poll of 10,294 people for the BBC World Service.

Some 47% of those polled were in favour of merging both Games, while 43% said the Paralympics should stay separate.

It is a controversial issue within the Paralympic movement with some athletes concerned the Games would "disappear".

Eight countries wanted to merge the Games while six wanted them separate.

The remaining five countries were divided on the issue.

Many of the countries with the most impressive medal hauls to date wanted to keep the Games split; they included China (67% separate, 27% integrated), the US (64%, 29%), and Australia (54%, 42%).

Poll results: Should the Paralympics stay separate?

Canada - Yes: 55% No: 42%
US - Yes: 64% No: 29%
Chile - Yes: 19% No: 75%
Peru - Yes: 43% No: 51%
Mexico - Yes: 39% No: 46%
France - Yes: 26% No: 70%
Spain - Yes: 32% No: 64%
UK - Yes: 50% No: 46%
Germany - Yes: 46% No: 45%
Turkey - Yes: 23% No: 42%
Russia - Yes: 46% No: 39%
Egypt - Yes: 39% No: 57%
Kenya - Yes: 48% No: 51%
Nigeria - Yes: 46% No: 50%
India - Yes: 26% No: 47%
Australia - Yes: 54% No: 42%
Pakistan - Yes: 41% No: 37%
Indonesia - Yes: 51% No: 37%
China - Yes: 67% No: 27%

However Germany, which also does well at the Olympics, broke away from this with 46% wanting to keep the Games separate while 45% wanted them to merge.

Nations preferring to merge the Games included France (26% separate, 70% integrated), Chile (19%, 75%), Egypt (39%, 57%), and India (26%, 47%).

This year's Olympics host, the UK, was divided over combining the Games, with 50% wanting them separate and 46% keen for a merger.

Polling was conducted for BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan and its research partners in each country. In five of the 19 countries, the sample was limited to major urban areas.

GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller said: "The poll results suggest that integrating the Olympics and the Paralympics would be a controversial decision, with most of the nations who have won the lion's share of gold medals over recent years opposed to the change."

Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson said in December she was against a merger between both sets of Games.

The former Paralympic medal winner said the Paralympics would "disappear off the face of the earth" if a merger with the Olympic Games took place.

"That way we wouldn't have an opportunity to showcase the vast majority of sports like we do now," she said.

Grey Thompson, Britain's most successful Paralympian with 11 gold medals, added: "There is not a city in the world that could host a Games the size of the two combined.

"I'd rather invest time and effort in making sure that the Paralympics can be as parallel to the Olympics as possible."

A poll in January suggested that a majority of people in 18 out of 21 countries felt that the way their team performed at the Olympics was important to their national pride.

People in developing and middle-income countries get the greatest lift from Olympic achievements, according to the BBC Global Poll.

IPC Athlete of the month - Oksana Slesarenko - Russian Wheelchair Curling Team

2012-03-12T13:36:00.004-04:00

February 2012'Athlete of the Month'

Oksana Slesarenko
27th April 1970 Ekaterinburg, Russia




LATEST TRIUMPHS:: Won gold as Russia's team captain at the 2012 World Wheelchair Curling Championships

Slesarenko led Russia to gold at the 2012 World Wheelchair Curling Championships

It took us nine years to have this victory. And finally, thanks to the unity of our team, will power and great aspiration, we have become the best.”

Oksana Slesarenko, captain of Russia’s Wheelchair Curling team, has been voted the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athlete of the Month for February after leading her squad to the 2012 World Championship title in Chuncheon, Korea.

In honour of International Women’s Day on 8 March, all of the finalists for the award were women.

Slesarnko paid tribute to her mother and daughter on the day, who she says have been her biggest inspiration throughout her career.

“My mother put her heart and soul into me, and my daughter has supported me during my entire sport career,” she said.

Slesarenko easily captured the Athlete of the Month title with nearly 43 per cent of the votes, finishing ahead of American alpine skier Laurie Stephens (24%) and British para-cyclist Sarah Storey (14%).

German alpine skier Andrea Rothfuss, Nigerian powerlifter Grace Ebere Anzoie and Thailand’s women’s Wheeelchair Tennis team were also up for the honour.

Not only did Slesarenko help Russia win gold, but she led the squad to its first-ever Wheelchair Curling medal on the international stage – all after an unfortunate series of events.

Russian coach Vladimir Shevchenko passed away during the Championships.

“We are very happy that in such a hard struggle we won,” Slesarenko said. “It took us nine years to have this victory. And finally, thanks to the unity of our team, will power and great aspiration, we have become the best.”

The win was quite bittersweet for the entire Russian delegation.

“This victory is dedicated to him – the coach who put his efforts, experience and patience into our success,” Slesarenko said. “We were feeling his support during the Championships.”

The Russians won nine of their 12 contests in total at the Championships, easily defeating the Koreans, 9-1, in the finals on their home ice in Chuncheon.

“We have reached just the first goal,” Slesarenko said. “The next one is Paralympic Games in Sochi. We will strive to win and make a fierce effort to defend our world-champion title.”

The rest of Russia’s team included Andrey Smirnov, Marat Romanov and Svetlana Pakhomova.

Team Rees WINS Ontario Winter Games - Ideson unable to finish again.

2012-03-11T08:53:00.000-04:00

Team Rees

Congratulations to Team Chris Rees out of Toronto for winning the Ontario Winter Games.

The last few days saw the last of the seasons wheelchair curling in Ontario and with that we saw 6 teams from throughout both southern and Northern ontario compete at the Ontario Winter games in Collingwood, Ontario.

At the start of the games Team Ideson seemed to be in winning form once again following up on their championship performance and capture of the Ontario provinical title however long time representative of the Ontario crown - Team Rees would have something to say. After 2 days we saw Ideson and Rees going into the final tied for the lead. By the end of the day only 1 team would stand on top; that being Rees by gathering 2 solid wins on the final day and a 8-6 win over former Northern Ontario Champion Team Ficek in their final game.

As for Ideson and his championship crew it seemed that the fate of finish would not be on their side once again. Ideson lost both games on the final day finsihing second in the win/loss record at these games. Ideson faced Rees in the morning game and although a close game was unable to close the win losing 7-4. Then in the afternoon game which would have seen them win the title, they faced Gino Sonego; lead for Prud'homme at Nationals in just a few days. Ideson seemd to have it well in hand after taking a big 5 ender in the second but that would be the last point he would score for the rest of the game as Sonego would then steal 6 unanswered points to win 7-6 in 8 ends.

This is the second time that Ideosn and his crew have been in the lead at major tournament over the last few weeks only to end up in the silver spot. Just 2 weeks ago he lost to Team Greorgory at the other Ontario Winter games.

Let's hope Ideson can rest and relax over the next week letting these prep games remining just that prep games prior to Nationals which start next weekend in Thuder Bay. Go Ilderton.

Rank	Team	Wins	Loses	Points For	Points Against
1	Chris Rees	4	1	34	18
2	Mark Ideson	3	2	36	21
3	Bruce Cameron	2	3	28	27
4	Wayne Ficek	2	3	27	35
5	Rick Prud’homme	2	3	28	44
6	Gino Sonego	2	3	36	45

Sheet 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Rick Prud’homme	0	2	0	1	0	1	1	1	-	6
Bruce Cameron	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	-	4

Sheet 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Gino Sonego	0	0	1	1	1	2	1	1	-	7
Mark Ideson	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	6

Sheet 3	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Wayne Ficek	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	0	-	6
Chris Rees	4	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	-	8

Ideson wins the battle - Can he finish the war?

2012-03-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

The battle for top spot happen this afternoon with Mark Ideson coming out on top of Wayne Ficek 9-3 at the Ontario Winter Games. being held in Collingwood, Ontario. This is the last opportunity for Ideson to tune his crew up before nationals and I am a little shocked the we have not seen Carl Levesque from Northern Ontario do the same. There have been 2 opportunties for either Ideson or Levesque to compete and only Ideson has taken the opportuntiy to compete. With 9 days before Nationals we now need to see if Ideson can close the deal at these winter games. 2 weeks ago we saw Ideson sits in first place only to lose to Ken Gregory from Bradford.

Now Ideson has 2 games tomorrow to close out these games. In what seems to be a bit of an odd schedule Ideson now faces 6th place team Prud'homme at 9am and then assuming he wins would then face the fifth place team to finish out the games at 4:30pm. Not sure how that works but we will see how things finish out tomorrow and then follow this team into nationals.

In other games we saw Chris Rees win over Pru'homme and Bruce Cameron win over Gino Sonego who is playing lead at Nationals for Prud'homme as Host team. More tomorrow.. good curling to all!

After Draw 4

Rank	Team	Wins	Loses	Points For	Points Against
1	Mark Ideson	3	0	26	7
2	Wayne Ficek	2	1	21	17
3	Chris Rees	2	1	27	14
4	Gino Sonego	1	2	16	26
5	Bruce Cameron	1	2	14	21
6	Rick Prud’homme	0	3	9	29

Sheet 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Bruce Cameron	2	3	0	0	3	0	1	x	-	9
Gino Sonego	0	0	3	1	0	2	0	x	-	6

Sheet 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Rick Prud’homme	0	0	3	0	0	0	x	-	-	3
Chris Rees	4	1	0	2	1	2	x	-	-	10

Sheet 3	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Wayne Ficek	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	x	-	3
Mark Ideson	0	3	1	0	2	0	3	x	-	9

Ficek & Ideson locked for lead at Ontario Games

2012-03-09T12:10:00.001-05:00

VS.

After 2 games Ontario Champ, Mark Ideosn is locked in a tie with former Northern Ontario Champ Wanyne Ficek. Next game takes place at 4:30pm today at the Ontario Winter Games in Collingwood Ontario.

After Draw 2

Rank	Team	Wins	Loses	Points For	Points Against
1	Wayne Ficek	2	0	18	8
2	Mark Ideson	2	0	17	4
3	Chris Rees	1	1	17	11
4	Gino Sonego	1	1	12	18
5	Rick Prud’homme	0	2	6	19
6	Bruce Cameron	0	2	5	15

Sheet 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Mark Ideson	0	2	3	1	1	1	3	x	x	11
Rick Prud’homme	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	x	x	1

Sheet 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Wayne Ficek	0	0	0	1	3	4	2	X	-	10
Gino Sonego	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	X	-	3

Sheet 3	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Bruce Cameron	0	1	1	0	0	0	x	-	-	2
Chris Rees	3	0	0	2	3	1	x	-	-	9