Following the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, which was won by Canada (see linescores and stats here, and reports here and here) the World Curling Federation has confirmed the Olympic points table to show which ten countries will compete in the wheelchair curling event at the Paralympics in Vancouver next year. Points are allocated according to performances in the past three World Wheelchair Curling Championships, as explained here.
WCF 2010 PARALYMPIC QUALIFICATION
1. Norway - 28 points 2. Canada - 26* 3. United States - 20.5 4. Korea - 19 5. Scotland / Great Britain - 18** 6. Sweden - 16 7. Switzerland - 14 8. Germany - 8 9. Italy - 8 10. Japan - 7.5
* Canada as host country has guaranteed qualification ** Points for Great Britain are gained by Scotland at the WWhCC
The Paralympic Games are March 12-21, 2010. The official website is here, is full of content already and well worth a browse. I was particularly taken with the original graphics, such as that at the top of this page.
Scotland has finished in fifth place at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Vancouver. Aileen Neilson, Michael McCreadie, Tom Killin and Jim Sellar beat Norway in a tiebreaker. Mike Haggerty's game report is here. All the results and stats are here, by Curlit. For more insight from someone who knows the game backwards, check out Eric Eales' wheelchair curling blog.
Last year, the rules in place were that ties in ranking for relegation would be determined by the pre-event draw shot challenge. Japan were relegated by the smallest of margins, blatantly unfair. The WCF rules were changed, a result I reported in a blog post in which I was able to use the famous Vulcan quotation by T'Plana-Hath, see here! (A blog highlight of 2008 to enjoy and treasure)
Now, no team can be relegated except by losing a match. As it should be. And of course in Vancouver this year no fewer than five teams ended with 5-4 records! Just the situation that the use of DSC ranking was trying to avoid. China, Italy, Korea, Norway and Scotland were involved in a three-level series of tiebreak games to determine who would be in ninth place and join Switzerland, who finished bottom of the table, in the qualifying tournament for the World Championship in 2011. There is no World Championship in 2010 as this is a Paralympics year.
Scotland's win over Norway has secured our place at the Wheelchair Worlds in 2011. Tiebreaks continue today, Korea v China and Italy v Norway, and the losers then play to avoid ninth place. Scotland's Ian Addison is chief umpire - he will have had the job of sorting this all out!
Aileen Neilson, seen here in Yadranka McAulay's photo, has assumed the role of Scotland's skip.
Having enjoyed a great week's curl watching, taking pics and blogging from Perth, being shackled to the computer this week is hard! But the March 'Championships Issue' of the Scottish Curler is just about ready to go to print.
But curling is continuing out there. Our teams at the Winter Universiade in Harbin have had a difficult time, looking at the results. But Sarah Reid's team are still fighting. They finished the round robin on five wins and four losses, jointly fourth in the ranking. They now have a tiebreaker against the Czech Republic to get into the playoffs. That will be tomorrow. Canada, China and Russia are the top three.
John Hamilton's team have three wins, having played eight of their nine round robin games, and cannot make the playoffs.
I've been following the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Vancouver, online here. The playing stats are interesting. I note that Aileen Neilson is throwing last stones now. Mike Haggerty will now be in Vancouver, and his reports will be on the Royal Club website here.
I'm sorry not to be able to get over to the Border ice Rink, Kelso, this week where the Henderson Bishop trophy is being contested, the premier event in the Ladies' Branch calendar. The results are here.
Top: The GB girls who are at the WUG in China. L-R: Sarah Macintyre, Vicki Adams, Sarah Reid, Kay Adams, Laura Kirkpatrick. Photo by Hugh Stewart.
Michael McCreadie's team have won one and lost two at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Vancouver. You can find all the results here, and the WCF reports here.
Michael McCreadie's pic is by Dallas Bittle, courtesy the WCF
Rosemary Lenton, Jim Sellar, Tom Killin, Aileen Neilson, and Michael McCreadie (above) get down to business today when the 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championship begins in Vancouver's new Olympic/Paralympic Centre which was only officially opened on Thursday.
The Scots play Canada in their first game later today (Saturday).
Real-time results will be available at wwhcc.curlit.com. Daily match reports and photos will be available at the main WCF website, and there will be reports on the RCCC website from Mike Haggerty from early next week. The event website, with the draw, is here.
I liked the wording on the official press release from VANOC about the new arena, and I share this with you:
"Six thousand spectators can watch the rocks curl and twist at the venue, the largest seating capacity for wheelchair curling in Paralympic Winter Games history. The Government of Canada and province of British Columbia contributed $40.25 million to the centre via VANOC. The curling venue is perched on one of the highest point of land in the city, with views of downtown’s glass towers and the snow-capped peaks of the North Shore mountains. Construction started in February 2007 – the last competition venue for the Games to break ground. The Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre is targeted for the gold standard in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. This eco-friendly venue captures rainwater and siphons it into the building to flush toilets and urinals. The toilets, showers and sinks also use low-flow water systems, reducing water usage by up to 30 per cent. The building is wrapped in a high-performance envelope that helps keep temperatures just right inside for the perfect ice sheet. Heat is reused during the ice-making process and the building is powered by a mixture of electricity, natural gas and solar energy."
So, there you are, watching the rocks curl and twist! Let's Twist Again. The new venue will also host the World Juniors, March 5-15. There's a pic of the arena ready for play here.
The Scottish wheelchair curling team flies out tomorrow to compete in the 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Canada. Rosemary Lenton, Jim Sellar, Tom Killin, Aileen Neilson, and Michael McCreadie, seen above with coach Tom Pendreigh, will spend the time before the championship begins at a holding camp in Richmond, just south of Vancouver itself. Bon voyage and good luck to our team!
The World Wheelchair Championship, February 21-28, is the first event to be held at the new venue which has been built in Hillcrest Park, Vancouver, for the curling competitions at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. More information about the Vancouver Olympic Centre is here.
I've taken the following from the official WCF press release. "The 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championship features ten teams from three continents vying for wheelchair curling supremacy, including two-time defending champions Norway, skipped by Rune Lorentsen; 2008 world finalists Korea, led by Hak Sung Kim; and the 2008 world bronze medallists from the United States, skipped by Augusto Perez.
Canada will be skipped by Vancouver's Jim Armstrong, an accomplished able-bodied competitor from the 1970s and 1980s who will represent Canada at the event for the first time.
Other teams include Sweden's 2006 Paralympic bronze medallist Jalle Jungnell, Germany's Jens Jaeger, Italy's Andrea Tabanelli, China's Haitao Wang and Switzerland's Daniel Meyer.
The championship features two daily draws from February 21-26 with tiebreakers and the Page Playoffs scheduled for Friday, February 27. The semifinals take place Saturday, February 27 at 9:00am local time with the championship and bronze medal games taking place the same day, at 2:30pm local time."
Well, for wheelchair curler Jim Taylor (above at the National Pairs Championship), the big day has finally come round. Today, December 17, Jim will attempt to push a ton of granite over a mile of ice to support the Hearts and Heroes Challenge, run by the Sportsman's Charity, PoppyScotland, and Hearts and Balls (Scotland's rugby charity for disabled players).
It is thirty years since a rugby injury put Jim into a wheelchair. He says, "Please support to help others aspire to great achievements despite their disability." You can too. Jim has a page where you can donate safely online. Last time I looked he was nearing his target. Please help him do so here.
I hear too that Braehead has donated the ice for Jim's challenge free of charge. Way to go. Good luck Jim, and power to your arm this evening!
Other wheelchair curling news sees the announcement of Scotland's team which will take part in the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Vancouver, BC, February 21-28, 2009.
Michael McCreadie will be skip. With him will be his Braehead Club colleagues Aileen Neilson and Tom Killin. Jim Sellar of the Hamilton based South Lanarkshire Club and his (club) teammate Rosemary Lenton make up the curling quintet. Rosemary also curls for the Lockerbie Wheelchair Club.
Tom Pendreigh is the team coach, and has worked with the athletes at home and abroad. He is confident this team will compete effectively. Pendreigh says, “It is going to be tough for us with not just long term rivals like Norway and Canada, but new challengers like South Korea. The squad has shown huge commitment, and the Scottish wheelchair curlers will contest every end with vigour and skill.”
Scottish Wheelchair Curling Association Chairman Arthur Bell wishes the squad all success. He says, “I’ve curled with Jim and Rosemary for some years at club level, and know just how talented they are. Two years ago I had the privilege of curling under Michael’s leadership, and was stunned by his drive and skills. If we are going to pick up the World Championship it needs a team with something very special, and we all hope these five are the ones to do it."
The World Wheelchair Championship will be held in the new venue that is being constructed for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2010, the Vancouver Olympic Centre. Here's a video which shows how construction is progressing!
Ladies' Cup, Villars, 1920-21
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The resort of Villars-sur-Ollon (commonly just called Villars) lies in the
south west of Switzerland. It first became known as a winter holiday resort
in 1...
Following the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, which was won by Canada (see linescores and stats here, and reports here and here) the World Curling Federation has confirmed the Olympic points table to show which ten countries will compete in the wheelchair curling event at the Paralympics in Vancouver next year. Points are allocated according to performances in the past three World Wheelchair Curling Championships, as explained here.
