Canada's First World Wheelchair Curling Championship

Introduction

Canada's first World Wheelchair Curling Championship begins February 21. Championship serves as inaugural Paralympic sport event for VANOC's operational testing. The newly opened Vancouver Olympic Center/Vancouver Paralympic Center, the final competition venue for the 2010 Winter Games to be completed on time and on budget, will host its first-ever competition starting Saturday, February 21, as the world's best wheelchair curlers take to the ice.

Main Item

Canada's first World Wheelchair Curling Championship begins February 21. Championship serves as inaugural Paralympic sport event for VANOC's operational testing.

The newly opened Vancouver Olympic Center/Vancouver Paralympic Center, the final competition venue for the 2010 Winter Games to be completed on time and on budget, will host its first-ever competition starting Saturday, February 21, as the world's best wheelchair curlers take to the ice.

As fifty athletes from ten different countries compete at the first World Wheelchair Curling Championship ever held in Canada, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will test its operational readiness for wheelchair curling - the first Paralympic sport event - in preparation for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

"This will be a great opportunity for the public to witness the new sport of wheelchair curling and also for VANOC to test itself in advance of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games," said Dena Coward, VANOC director, Paralympic Games. "Spectators will get a chance to try out the sport themselves through our Play Like a Paralympian program, which will be set up on the spectator plaza. We will ensure that, for the athletes, the field of play is up to the world-class standards they expect in 2010."

Competition takes place daily from February 21 to 28, 2009. Tickets are $5 during preliminary rounds and $10 for semifinals and finals, and can be purchased at the venue. The venue will hold the World Junior Curling Championships taking place one week later, from March 5 to 15.

VANOC will focus its operational testing on the following areas: ice maintenance, venue systems and spectator and athlete accessibility.

Field of Play

VANOC will concentrate on testing the ice and ice maintenance in order to provide a suitable field of play befitting the athletes' high standards. VANOC's world-renowned ice technicians, Hans Wuthrich and Dave Merklinger, began the first ice build in the facility a week prior to the event. During the competition they will continue to monitor and test the ice and ice makers.

A new ice layout will be installed, along with new "in-ice" logos for the World Curling Federation, Canadian Curling Association and Heritage Canada. The water system will be tested for quality and flow rate, while equipment such as ice scrapers will be tested for the first time.

The Eye on the Ice monitoring system - a state-of-the-art system that allows ice technicians to monitor all systems to ensure that any concerns can be addressed immediately - will be used during both curling sport events.

The building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system will also be monitored for the first time during competition, as adjustments to the temperature, relative humidity and air flow will be made continuously to react to external weather conditions.

In addition to ice, VANOC will also test new competition curling stones - used by all competitors - which feature two different running surfaces as well as a new handle design.

Venue Operations

Spectator flow will be monitored in preparation for 2010 when the venue will provide the largest seating capacity for wheelchair curling in Paralympic Winter Games history. In addition, accessible spectator seating will be tested.

Spectators will also get a chance to learn more about wheelchair curling as VANOC implements its Play Like a Paralympian program, offering spectators a chance to test the Paralympic sport and feel like world-class athletes for a day. This program will also be available for spectators at other competition venues during the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

A workforce of approximately 600 (of which around 400 will be volunteers) will work during the wheelchair curling sport event. Most of the workforce will consist of technical sport volunteers and event services personnel, along with other groups including food and beverage services, sport production (such as announcers and DJs), transport and parking staff. Processes such as volunteer check-in, training and scheduling will also be tested.

In keeping with previous sport events, VANOC will also test its Press Operations, Timing, Scoring and Results, Medical Services and Sport Production functions.

The next sport event in the Vancouver Olympic Center/Vancouver Paralympic Center will be the World Junior Curling Championships, taking place from March 5 to 15. For more information on the remaining sport events taking place from February to September 2009, including how to purchase tickets, visit www.vancouver2010.com.

Remaining sport events taking place from February to September 2009 include:

Hockey Canada Cup - Sledge Hockey
Date: February 24-March 1, 2009
Location: UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver

IPC Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon World Cup Final
Date: March 4-7, 2009
Location: Whistler Paralympic Park, Whistler

World Junior Curling Championships
Date: March 5-15, 2009
Location: Vancouver Olympic Center, Vancouver

IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals
Date: March 9-14, 2009
Location: Whistler Creekside, Whistler

IBU Biathlon World Cup
Date: March 11-15, 2009
Location: Whistler Olympic Park

ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships
Date: March 12-15, 2009
Location: Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond

Hockey Canada Cup - Women's Hockey
Date: August 31-September 6, 2009

Location: UBC Thunderbird Arena and Canada Hockey Place, Vancouver

Reference: VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

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Cite This Page (APA): VANOC. (2009, February 21 - Last revised: 2015, March 18). Canada's First World Wheelchair Curling Championship. Disabled World. Retrieved December 1, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/sports/paralympics/2010/wheelchair-curling-championship.php

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