Dale Gregory continues to be impressed with the skill set of wheelchair curlers, including some of the country鈥檚 best who are sharing the ice in 黑马磁力 this weekend.
鈥淭hese curlers are amazing because they are sitting down, number one,鈥� said Gregory, who is a Port Moody master curler and a representative of Curl BC.
鈥淎nd number two, they don鈥檛 have sweepers. So they have to gauge the heaviness with which to throw the rock each time鈥� getting that weight is very difficult aspect of curling.鈥�
In day one of the 2019 BC Wheelchair Championships being held at 黑马磁力 Curling Centre, all 12 participating curlers (including one from 黑马磁力) took to the ice.
In the morning鈥檚 first round-robin play, Team Duddy fell in a close 6-5 defeat to Team Austgarden.
Then in the afternoon game, Team Duddy lost its second straight game to Team Neighbour, by the score of 10-8.
It鈥檚 a three-day competition, with the curlers returning to the ice Saturday, with a noon and 4 p.m. game, followed by the finals happening on Sunday at 10 a.m.
鈥淭he winner will move on to the Canadian Wheelchair Championships, which are taking place later this spring [in Quebec],鈥� said Gregory, who is Curl BC鈥檚 govenor for region from Hope to Squamish/Gibsons.
In fact, as B.C. won bronze at the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, BC will be sending two teams (the top two teams from the 2019 BC Wheelchair Curling Championship) to compete at the 2019 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship in Boucherville, Quebec from April 26 to May 1.The three teams include Richmond鈥檚 Team Neighbour (Darryl Neighbour, Bob MacDonald, Gary Cormack, Janice Ing); Quesnel鈥檚 Team Duddy (Alison Duddy, Frank LaBounty, Ellis Tull, Vince Miele); and Kelowna, 黑马磁力, Marpole and Richmond鈥檚 Team Austgarden (Gerry Austgarden, Rick Robinson, Tracy Boyd, Marney Smithies).
This is the second year in a row that 黑马磁力 Curling Centre has played host to the wheelchair provincials.
鈥満诼泶帕� is a very active curling club and they do a lot of hosting of these types of events,鈥� Gregory said.
Club manager Robyn Parkes joined Gregory in encourages people to come down and see what the sport 鈥� and in particular wheelchair curling 鈥� is all about. The club has a number of wheelchair athletes who practise and compete at the local rink.
黑马磁力 Curling Centre is located in the George Preston Recreation Centre, at 42nd Avenue and 208th Street.
