Chess On Ice

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics the American media got a lot of mileage out of the oddities of curling, which for the first time was a full medal sport. While spectators from the host country pondered the sights and sounds of the game – particularly the vocal outbursts and unfamiliar vernacular – Canadian fans cheered their skips, vice-skips, seconds and leads with typical zeal... Sweep! Hard! Hurray!


Today, curling for participants with disabilities has never been more popular. Barriers to the sport are rapidly disappearing. And while competitions for curlers with disabilities continue to grow, perhaps the game’s biggest attraction for wheelchair users is that, unlike many sports, it can be played in any rink, with anyone — disabled or able-bodied.



Social, fun, and open to all fitness, age and income levels, wheelchair curling has quickly become one of the hottest up-and-coming winter sports. Whether you play recreationally or competitively, curling offers something for everyone, and can accommodate most limitations. “A little ingenuity goes a long way,” says Tom Ward, provincial development assistant with Curl Ontario. “It’s a sport where you adapt to whatever your ability is.”

Curler Bruce Cameron agrees. “There are sports that are adaptive for people in wheelchairs, but you still have to be quite athletic, like downhill skiing, swimming, or rugby. Regardless of the disability, curling seems to be something that almost anyone in a wheelchair can do.”

Getting in Gear

Wheelchair curling is the perfect sport for budget-conscious athletes. Unlike other sports that require expensive adaptive equipment or even a specialty wheelchair, wheelchair curlers can use their everyday chairs, and the cost of adaptive equipment is nominal.

The biggest innovation in wheelchair curling is the throwing stick (also called a delivery stick, or extender stick). With several brands of sticks now on the market, they can be purchased at many local curling club stores. Originally used by curlers with knee problems, the throwing stick was adapted for wheelchair curling. Curlers simply sit upright in their chairs, fit the stick over the rock’s handle, and propel or “throw” the 44-pound granite orb toward the “house” that way. The stick, essentially, lengthens the player’s arm.

Wheelchair curler Ken Gregory, who conducts curling clinics for organizations such as Paralympics Ontario and the Ontario Curling Association, maintains that the stick has revolutionized his game. “When I first started, we used to do hand-to-rock. I wasn’t very good at it, but with the stick, it just sails.” Some curlers also use gloves to help them grip the stick more securely.

Both manual and electric wheelchairs are welcomed on the sheet (playing surface). Yet, unlike ambulatory curlers who push off fixed blocks and release the rock while in a gliding motion, the chairs must be stationary (note to the uninitiated: the chairs are not spun across the ice). And so, manual wheelchairs especially, require good brakes.

Using a different set of wheels while curling can also help performance. Some curlers use wheels without push rims to attain a better shot.

Fun for All

Wheelchair curling follows the same rules as able-bodied curling, with only a few differences. Wheelchair curlers play six ends (like innings in baseball), instead of eight. All teams must be comprised of mixed-gender players. In addition, there is no sweeping (brushing the ice to affect the movement of the gliding rock), and wheelchairs must be stationary when throwing. In all-wheelchair competitions, players can also request for a volunteer to position and clean the rock if needed.

It’s common for able-bodied and wheelchair curlers to curl together in recreational games. “It’s a natural sport for wheelchair curlers to integrate with able-bodied curlers,” says Ward. “This is a game that family and friends can enjoy together. It’s ideal for integrative purposes.”

Getting Started

Interested in getting involved in wheelchair curling? Contact your provincial or state curling association, attend a clinic, and quickly get “hooked” on wheelchair curling. Hurry! Hurry!


Curl Ontario:
(905) 831-3699 or (866) 800-7293
www.curlontario.com


Ontario Curling Association:
www.ontcurl.com


Paralympics Ontario:
(416) 426-7187 or (800) 265-1539
www.paralympicsontario.ca


Canadian Curling Association:
www.curling.ca


U.S. Curling Association:
www.usacurl.org/Wheelchair%20curling/wheelchair_main.html


World Curling Federation:

www.worldcurlingfederation.org/curlhome/Federation/Development/WheelChair.asp


The Extender Stick
The EXTENDER consists of a plastic device which fits on the handle of the curling stone allowing the curler to remain upright while still performing a better controlled delivery and release. Visit www.drew.on.ca or call (613) 966-7907.