Wheelchair curling

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Wheelchair curling at the 2006 Winter Paralympics

Wheelchair curling is an adaptation of curling for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair curling is governed by the World Curling Federation, and is one of the sports in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Wheelchair curling is played with the same rocks and on the same ice as regular curling, though the rocks are thrown from a stationary wheelchair and there is no sweeping. Rocks may be thrown by hand while leaning over the side of the wheelchair, or pushed by a delivery stick. This is a pole with a bracket that fits over the rock handle, allowing the rock to be pushed while applying correct rotation. The rock must be touching the center-line at delivery, and be released before reaching the near hog-line.

National and international competitions are played under rules devised by the World Curling Federation. These rules mandate that teams be of mixed gender, and that games be six ends in duration. Eligibility is limited to people with disabilities so that a wheelchair is used for daily mobility – more specifically, those who are non-ambulant or can walk only very short distances. [Rule 2(g)]

Wheelchair curling can be played by people with a wide range of disabilities. All that is needed is the co-ordination to exert a measured pushing force, and a tolerance for cold. It is not an aerobic activity. Without the need for sweepers, wheelchair curling is well suited to two-person formats such as stick-curling.

Wheelchair curling began in Europe in the late 1990s and in North America in 2002. The first World Wheelchair Curling Championships was held in Sursee, Switzerland in 2002, and was won by the host nation who beat Canada 7 - 6 in the final. It débuted as a Paralympic sport at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino. Canada won the gold medal, beating Great Britain 7-4 in the final. GB skip Frank Duffy, with the final stone, had a wide open hit of a Canadian stone in the four foot to win the game, but he missed.