Prior to taking the ice at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Richmond, B.C. this week, Moose Jaw Curling Club competitor Gil Dash had plenty of ‘welcome to the show’ moments.
One of the biggest came hours before Team Canada’s first practice prior to the event, when Curling Canada presented the rink with their team apparel. Seeing that maple leaf emblazoned on jerseys and jackets with his name on the back for the first time just helped things sink in that much more.
All the hours of pratice and preparation, all the time spent refining his game, had finally paid off.
“I have six jerseys and two jackets with maple leafs on them sitting on my bed that they just gave me… that’s a great feeling, you feel pride and honoured to get to wear a real maple leaf and that’s probably the biggest thing about all this,” Dash said from Richmond prior to the tournament. “Now I’m seeing all these people from other countries and it’s really starting to hit home.”
As it turns out, Dash, skip Jon Thurston, third Ina Forrest and lead Mark Ideson have looked the part on the ice, too -- heading into the second-last round-robin draw on Friday afternoon, Canada had put together an 8-2 record and already booked their spot in the playoffs.
It’s all been the culmination of a long journey for Dash, beginning when he suffered a spinal cord injury ski jumping in B.C.
“I’d been heavily involved in curling in Kipling before that, and when I was in Wascana rehab in Regina one of the doctors was into curling and wheelchair curling came up,” Dash said. “Then that started happening in southern Saskatchewan and I went to a camp, then Lorraine Arguin got involved and before you knew it, we were at our first Nationals with Team Saskatchewan.”
Not just at nationals, winning at nationals -- and before long, Dash was following the path of another Moose Jaw wheelchair curling luminary in 2018 Paralympic bronze medalist Marie Wright, who is the fifth player with Team Canada in Richmond.
Like Wright, Dash spent many an hour on the ice at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, including playing in the highly competitive Original 16 Cash League on Wednesday nights. That all helped him hone his game, to the point that Team Canada came calling in 2022 and named Dash and Wright as Canada’s representatives for the World Mixed Doubles championship.
Alas, Dash fell ill just before the tournament, leading to Oak Bluff, Man.’s Jamie Anseeuw taking his place.
Dash kept at it, though, and when it came time to name Team Canada for the World Championship, there he was, listed as the team’s second.
And all the time and effort had reached its fruition.
“I just said to the guys earlier, when I first got onto the ice in the Cash League, it was like ‘oh man, I have to perform here’ and just playing in that league it was trying to visualize and trying to be at the point that I’m past the feeling of it being a new job and a new thing,” Dash said. “I’ve been wheelchair curling since 2009, so it’s been a few years now with a lot of practice and a lot of time on the ice and it’s great to finally reach this level.”
Wright has been a major part of Dash’s wheelchair curling career, and having her along for the ride at Worlds has been a perfect fit.
“We travel together, we spend a lot of time together and that’s great,” Dash said. “We have a good relationship and we know each other’s backgrounds so well and know how to help each other. It’s special, and the dedication Marie and I have put into it, it’s a good thing and a lot of commitment we’ve had. It means a lot and it’s definitely important having her around.”
One of the biggest advantages comes in the training side of things, with the unique aspect of having a fellow Team Canada player around to work with.
“You go to these training camps and there’s something you have to work on and you have a teammate right there with you? That’s huge, no one else has that,” Dash said. “Two heads are better than one, I feel like Marie has helped me and I’ve helped her, it’s been a two-way street.”
That all led to this past week, where things have gone incredibly well for the local crew. While Dash was wary of the level of competition he and Team Canada were to face, he was still plenty confident in their ability to succeed.
“Curling has advanced all over the world so fast and so rapidly, it’s hard to win for any team now, but the goal is always to medal and hopefully that medal is gold, Dash said. “It isn’t going to be easy, though, so we’re going to have to play well and make a lot of shots.”
That’s exactly what Canada has done throughout the round robin, including their two games Wednesday. After surrendering five points over the final three ends in a 7-3 loss to Korea, Canada put up a five-ender in the sixth against Sweden and went on to a 13-1 victory to book their spot in the playoffs.
Team Canada closes out the round robin against Denmark on Thursday before hitting the ice in the qualification round on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and medal games on Sunday.
You can follow along with all the action at www.worldcurling.org.
