Go Canada Go!

National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Team Canada beat NPC Team Great Britain Saturday, 7 to 4, and wins the Gold Medal. Great Britain wins the Silver Medal.

Congratulations Skip Chris Daw and the rest of Team Canada for their win.

Source

Go Canada Go!

After the Tie Breaker games .. these were the final standings before the play-offs ..

1st Place – Canada
2nd Place – Great Britain
3rd Place – Sweden
4th Place – Norway …
The rest, in standing order .. (5th) Denmark, (6th) Switzerland, (7th) Italy and (8th) United States in last place

Semi-Final Games

1st vs 4th – Canada beat Norway and advanced to the Final, Norway advanced to the Bronze Medal Match
2nd vs 3rd – Great Britain beat Sweden and advanced to the Final, Sweden advanced to the Bronze Medal Match

Bronze Medal Match

Losers of Semi-Finals – Norway lost to Sweden, and Sweden gets the Bronze Medal!

Gold Medal Match

The winners of the Semi-Finals, Great Britain and Canada play in the Gold Medal Match at 11:00 local time Saturday March 18, 2006 .. (5:00am ET) The winner gets the Gold .. loser gets Silver!

* Get all the Wheelchair Scoring and Game Statistics here

Go Canada Go!

Meet the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Team .. from the Canadian Parlympic Committee Website … (click to enlarge into a new window)

Canadian Press
3/17/2006 9:37:34 AM

PINEROLO, Italy (CP) – Skip Chris Daw made two clutch shots in the final end to steal a single point for a 5-4 win over Norway on Friday that sent Canada to the gold medal game in wheelchair curling at the Paralympics.

The game was tied 4-4 in the sixth and final end. Daw, from London, Ont., first did a raise that tapped his own rock into the four-foot ring to count as shot. On his second stone, he threw a perfect guard.

Daw, born without muscles in his legs, then had to hold his breath as Norway’s Rune Lorentsen missed on his final stone to give Canada the win.

Daw and his team of Gerry Austgarden of Westbank, B.C., Gary Cormack of Surrey, B.C., and Sonja Gaudet of Vernon, B.C., will face two-time world champion Britain in Saturday’s final.

Britain defeated Sweden 7-3 in the other semifinal.

This is wheelchair curling’s debut at the Paralympics.

There is no sweeping and rocks are delivered from just in front of the house. Most of the curlers use an extender stick to propel the rocks down the ice.

It’s a game of finesse not strength. If you’re off the line, or don’t have the right weight, there are no sweepers to help you.

The teams are mixed and must have at least one female.

The 2,000-seat arena at Pinerolo, site of the Olympic curling, was about two-thirds full for the semifinals. The crowd was largely comprised of school-aged children, many who continually chanted “Go Canada.”

In other sports Friday, Kimberly Joines of Edmonton finished seventh in the women’s sit-ski giant slalom.

Source

© 2006 Bell Globe Media Inc.

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Memo: Here are the final statistics before the Bronze and Gold Matches

Source

2006 Winter Paralympic Games – Wheelchair Curling – Results after 6 Sessions

After 6 sessions .. here are the results .. there is only 1 more session before the playoffs!

Canada and Denmark are still tied in first place.

There are 4 games left to play in Session 7 …

CAN vs ITA
USA vs GBR
NOR vs SUI
DEN vs SWE

Results can be seen .. HERE

The IX Paralympic Winter Games (10-19 March 2006) is currently on. Just like the ‘Regular’ Torino 2006 Winter Olympics, there are many similar events to what we seen on T.V. and familiar with

There are events for:

* Alpine Skiing
* Biathlon
* Cross-Country Skiing
* Ice Sledge Hockey

and our favorite ..

* Wheelchair Curling

THIS IS HOW IT WORKS WITH THE WHEELCHAIR CURLING

Here are the basic rules to Wheelchair Curling:

The Team - At the beginning of the competition, the team is made up of 4 people of both sexes. If 5 players are enrolled, players can have the same position and can be used in every shot according to regulations, and at the discretion of the captain or coach. At least one player on the ice must be of the opposite sex.

The Delivery of the Stone - The players throw the stone from a wheelchair near the central playing line. Every player throws two stones, alternating with his direct opponent. Every throw can be performed through the traditional movement of the arm and hand or through the use of an appropriate extension handle. The use of the broom in the normal phases of the game is not allowed.

Requirements – Wheelchair Curling is reserved for those people with a significant disability of the lower limbs, marrow, with multiple sclerosis, double amputation and people who normally need a wheelchair. The determination of minimum disability and as a consequence the appropriate classification is set out by authorised international sport markers.

Equipment – The substantial difference between Wheelchair Curling and Curling for able-bodied athletes is the use of the actual wheelchair.

Shoes – Due to the need of athletes to play in a wheelchair, the regulation shoes with special soles for sliding and braking are not necessary.

Broom – Since the World Curling Association rules in Wheelchair Curling forbid sweeping, the broom is not used in this discipline.

Throwing – In order to launch the stone the use of an appropriate extender is allowed.

The Game – Six ends are played in Wheelchair Curling, and if necessary, extra ends will be played.

(The official curling rules are HERE)

See the Schedule Here

Here are the eight (8) countries (or rather the National Paralympic Committees “NPC”) participating this year:

> Canada (CAN)
> Denmark (DEN)
> Great Britain (GBR)
> Italy (ITA)
> Norway (NOR)
> Sweden (SWE)
> Switzerland (SUI)
> United States (USA)

Currently, after Session 2 .. this is the standings, which can be obtained .. HERE .. Canada and Norway are currently undefeated ..

I personally have not had a chance to watch any games yet, but I have seen some other wheelchair curling being played and hope to get a few games in!

Tie-Breakers, if necessary, will be played March 16, 2006 and the playoffs start March 17, 2006.

KATU 2 – Portland, Oregon – Nine-day Winter Paralympics opens in Turin

March 10, 2006

TURIN, Italy – Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and a crowd of 30,000 on Friday attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics, which features 486 athletes from 39 countries.
Fifty-eight medals will be contested in five disciplines – Alpine skiing, ice sledge hockey, Nordic skiing, biathlon and, for the first time, wheelchair curling – over nine days.

Organizers expect 200,000 fans at the Paralympics venues in Turin, Sestriere, Pragelato and Pinerolo.

Former Olympic ski champions Alberto Tomba and Stefania Belmondo, and Juventus coach Fabio Capello and some of his players were at the two-hour ceremony at the Olympic stadium.

A human chain of athletes representing all countries took the Olympic torch to the cauldron, which was lit by Silvia Battaglio, a blind 11-year-old Italian girl.

Random anti-doping tests will be performed, while the medalists in each event also will be tested .

“There are no worrying signals … but doping is a threat also for disabled sports,” said Miguel Sagarra, vice president of the International Paralympic Committee.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)