It might seem like a bit of a broken record at this point, but things are once again rolling into high gear for the upcoming Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship this coming March at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre.
The teams are picked, early preparations are coming together and things are moving forward for the high-level event, just like they were in 2021 and 2022. Both those events were cancelled due to the pandemic, but hosting duties were simply rolled over into 2023 and 2024 for the Moose Jaw crew.
As a result, players were on the ice on Sunday afternoon for the one-day team selection camp, with the two rinks that will represent the province in just over four months time now in place.
There will be plenty of familiar names playing for Saskatchewan, too -- while positions have yet to be finalized, Paralympic bronze medalist Marie Wright will be joined by Gil Dash, Darwin Bender and Moose Gibson on one rink while Cheryl Pederson, Rod Pederson, Russell Whitsitt and Stewart McKeown will see action on the province’s second team.
“It was a busy day, for sure, we had eight people who were interested in playing and trying to improve their skills, so that was very positive,” said coach Lorraine Arguin. “We’ve been the three nationals for the core group of them, so it’s a pretty good line-up. We have a big few months coming up ahead of us, lots of work, but we’re looking forward to it and looking forward to the competition.”
McKeown, who hails from Saskatoon, is a newcomer to the group and the sport, but is no stranger to the scene as a competitive wheelchair athlete -- he represented Canada at the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul, winning silver in the discus and bronze in the shot put. He also played wheelchair basketball for Canada at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, reaching the quarter-final.
“We’ll try and incorporate working with him in Saskatoon and having him come down as often as he can,” Arguin said. “And he’s going to try and get some extra arms twisted to curl in Saskatoon, so hopefully he’ll be our little lightbulb that’ll get things going up there and we can eventually have a provincial championship."
While the two teams plan to practice as a unit as much as they can, things are complicated by Wright and Dash as members of the Canadian national team program. The duo are away for two weeks at events in B.C. and Ontario, and will also be away for parts of December, January and February. That might mean fewer sessions as a full rink, but being part of Team Canada and training at that level is a bonus in Arguin’s eyes.
“They pick up a lot of different skills at the national camps as well, which ripples over to our other players since we can share that information with them,” she explained. “So that’s really helpful. On the other hand, they’re not around for practices, but they get a lot of time on the ice at the national level, so that works out well for them and it’s definitely nice that they get to play at that level.”
For now, it’s a matter of the teams simply getting on the ice as much as they can in the coming months and making sure things are as sharp as can be when the tournament begins on Mar. 19.
The call for volunteers and further preparations will be taking place closer to the date, and be sure to keep an eye on www.moosejawcurling.com and their Facebook site at www.facebook.com/CurlMooseJaw for more information.
