U.S.
wheelchair teams ready for national championship
(STEVENS POINT,
Wis.) – Wheelchair curling teams across the nation are preparing for the
USA Curling Wheelchair National Championship slated Nov. 18-20 at the
Utica Curling Club in Utica,
N.Y.
Last year
marked the first official national wheelchair championship and featured
three East Coast teams. The team skipped by Wes Smith won the event and
earned the right to represent the U.S.
at the 2004 World Wheelchair Championships in Sursee,
Switzerland. The team finished fifth and netted six points for the U.S.
toward qualifying for the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, where eight
teams will compete.
The 2006
Paralympics will mark the first time wheelchair curling is featured as a
medal sport. The Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled
March 10-19, 2006, in Torino,
Italy. Competing nations began accumulating points last year, so the U.S.
is in pretty good shape going into the last qualifying event.
The Utica
Curling Club is a six-sheet club located at 8300 Clark Mills Road,
Whitesboro,
N.Y.
The club most recently hosted the 2003 USA Curling Men’s and Women’s
National Championships. More information about the club can be found at
www.uticacurling.org.
Organized
wheelchair curling in the United States
began in the 1990s at the Granite Curling Club in Seattle. Many of today’s clubs are wheelchair accessible or just need minor
modifications to become so.
There are
several types of delivery of the stone – one-handed over the side of
the wheelchair, two-handed with a delivery stick, and one-handed with a
delivery stick.
Teams must
be composed of a mix of men and women when competing at the national and
world level. No sweeping of the stone is allowed in competition. Rather,
athletes rely upon arm strength and true aim. Games at the national and
world level are six ends in length in accordance with the World Curling
Federation’s rules of play.
(30)
Local
contact: Gloria Petrie, Utica Curling Club, 315-853-6486, gapetrie@adelphia.net
For more
information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling, 715-344-1199, rickp@curlingrocks.net |
