CWCA's 2020 - 2021 Schedule
We play at Garrison Curling Club 2288 – 47 Avenue SW Calgary, from
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Calgary Wheelchair Curling Association provides an opportunity for individuals with disabilities
to participate in the sport of curling. Whether you have curled before or are new to the sport, all
levels of participation are welcome.
We host a Saturday afternoon fun league at the Garrison Curling Club where we teach
techniques and play games. Wheelchair curling provides the opportunity to improve physically
and emotionally through participation in sport with other wheelchair athletes on a regular basis.
We have a variety of curling delivery sticks for use to propel the curling stones down the ice
surface. So, you only need warm clothes and a desire to have fun. Come out and give it a try?
The COVID-19 pandemic has required the wheelchair curling community to implement a number of changes to return to play for the 2020-2021 season. Together with Curling Canada, Curling Alberta and the Garrison Curling Club, the Calgary Wheelchair Curling Association has implemented changes to safeguard the health and safety of all participants and to limit the further outbreak of COVID-19. We will be implementing screening protocols, mask requirements (exemptions excluded) off-ice, distancing and equipment sanitization.
While the CWCA is committed to doing all we can to keep you safe, this is a team effort. We expect all players and guests to adhere to the new policies, and to hold each other accountable. It is essential that our community work together to safely 'sport' again.
Our dates for the 2020 – 2021 season are:
October 17 and 24
November 7, 14, 21, 28
December 5, 12, 19
January 9, 16, 23, 30
February 6, 20, 27
March 16
Tournament Dates:
March 4 - 7, 2021
Curling Alberta has set the 2021 Provincial Wheelchair Championships for March 4-7 in Banff Alberta. From our members we hope to enter 2-3 teams to compete for the provincial banner. Unfortunately there are no Canadian Wheelchair Championships for 2021.
For specific details on the COVID-19 protocols at the Garrison Curling Club, please click here.
If you are interested in a fun filled day with friendly competition, we would
love you to take part. Family and friends are welcome to join us to make the
day a great success. If interested, please email
info@calgarywheelchaircurling.com or talk to our Saturday afternoon
organizers. We have plenty of curling equipment for everyone
Team Smart Wins Gold at Canadian Championships
May 1, 2019
Team Alberta, Canadian champions. From left, alternate Wendy Frazier,
lead Anne Hibberd, second Bruno Yizek,
vice-skip Martin Purvis, skip Jack Smart, coach Bridget
Wilson. (Photo, Défi sportif AlterGo/Jean-Baptiste Benavent)
Calgary Wheelchair Curling Association members skip Jack Smart, vice-skip
Martin Purvis, second Bruno Yizek, lead Anne Hibberd, alternate Wendy
Frazier and coach Bridget Wilson — turned back Manitoba’s Dennis
Thiessen 9-3 to capture the gold medal at the 2019 Canadian Wheelchair
Curling Championship at the Club de curling de Boucherville.
Team Alberta went into the Championships looking to medal and knowing they
had a good chance to make the podium. They started off strong posting a 4-0
record in the round robin which was good enough to secure a spot in the
playoffs, but not sure where with two round robin games remaining.
Finishing 4-2 and tied with Manitoba and Ontario 2, the playoff seeding went
in favour of Alberta who finished first overall in the Last Stone Draw
averages. Smart said “We had worked hard in the last four weeks prior
to the competition on our draws and tap skills…this helped us with LSD
results.”. Advancing to the semi-finals put Team Alberta into the
medal round and meeting the team’s first objective.
In both the semi-finals and the Gold medal game the team felt pretty good
about their play and focusing on getting some kind of result out of every
shot. In a close game, Team Alberta downed Northern Ontario 8-5 punching
their ticket to the gold medal game and securing a medal finish.
The final game got off to a conservative start with both teams playing
defensively and waiting for a miss. After a pair of blanks to open the
game, Alberta drew first blood as Smart made an open hit for two in the
third. In the fourth end with Alberta sitting two, Manitoba’s Dennis
Thiessen’s last-rock draw came up light, gifting the stolen deuce to
Alberta.
And then in the fifth, it got worse as Manitoba was gambling with rocks in
play to generate a comeback, but it was Alberta sitting three as Thiessen
attempted an angle raise for a single. But his stone was light, and the
stolen trey made it 7-0 for Alberta.
Manitoba would cut the lead in half with three in the sixth, but Manitoba
conceded defeat after surrendering two more in the seventh.
After 13 years of competition, Team Smart were finally Canadian Champions.
The team had won 5 silver and one bronze but never the gold – until now.
Smart said “You win five silver medals, and you can only say so often
that there are a lot of other teams who’d love to to be where,”
he said. “So this is the icing on the cake. It’s a great way for
us to celebrate our long friendship. It’s camaraderie — playing a game
we love with people we love.”
Team Smart would like to thank all those have helped them get to this level
and experience including past coaches, spouses, wheelchair league
volunteers, tournament volunteers and sponsors Big Chief Meat Snacks and
Alberta Distillers and supporting curling clubs.
Smart said “We are so excited our banner will be at the Garrison
Curling Club and to celebrate with our wheelchair league players and
hopefully motivate players to keep playing and having fun. It certainly
does take a team of players on and off the ice to win.”
Well done Team Smart and we look forward to seeing you in the fall when our
Saturday curling program starts up in October. Have a great summer
everyone.
