New Talent in the Spotlight at the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship

How do you recruit more athletes into wheelchair curling?

For Team Saskatchewan #1 coach Lorraine Arguin, it’s all about giving people opportunities to try the sport.

“Every year in September in collaboration with CURLSASK we put on give-it-a-go camps,” said Arguin. “We did them in Regina, Saskatoon, and Moose Jaw to try to recruit more curlers who will come and stick with it.”

This year’s camps were particularly successful, with four of the athletes who attended the camps now competing in Moose Jaw at the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship as part of Team Saskatchewan #2.

Zahra Ehsani is one of those athletes. She came to Canada from Iran in December 2019 as an international student and took part in the Regina give-it-a-go event in October.

“I not only enjoyed curling, but I enjoyed the people. They were super nice and friendly. My boyfriend and his family are curlers too and that was a good push to get into the sport.”

Arguin said that Ehsani stood out right away.

“She has such a great enthusiasm for the game. She had played other parasports in Iran and had that athlete mentality.”

At the age of nine, Ehsani was hit by a car. After two months in a cast, she was told that she had bone cancer, and her leg was amputated. In Iran, she took part in many sports, including swimming, track and field, and sitting volleyball.

Since coming to Canada, she learned about Terry Fox. They had the same cancer, and she considers him one of her role models. Ehsani herself is now in a position to be a role model and shares her story through her Instagram account in the hopes of inspiring others.

“I’m hoping I can do something for amputees and people with disabilities to enjoy their life more. To have more hope. To join sports because it’s important for us.”

Her goals at the Canadian Championship are simple: to do her best, make more friends, and learn from others.

Her advice for anyone thinking about taking up wheelchair curling?

“Try it! Do it! I promise you’ll enjoy it. And I’ll do my best to help.”

In curling action on Monday at the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, athletes played in two draws and took part in the opening ceremony.

In the 1:30 pm draw, the game between Ontario #2’s Team Chris Rees against New Brunswick’s Team Mike Fitzgerald was a high-scoring affair, with Team Rees opening with a 6-ender, and Team Fitzgerald answering with a 7-ender of their own. Team Rees stole a total of four points during the game, leading to an 11-9 win.

In the other games, Manitoba’s Team Dennis Thiessen defeated Alberta #2’s Team Donald Kuchelyma 15-1; it took an extra end for Newfoundland & Labrador’s Team Doug Dean to win over Alberta #1’s Team Martin Purvis by a score of 11-9; Quebec’s Team Carl Marquis scored a trio of three-enders on the way to a 13-6 win over Ontario #1’s Team Doug Morris; and British Columbia’s Team Gerry Austgarden won 10-4 over the host province’s Team Rod Pederson.

After the 7 pm draw, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Saskatchewan #1 remain undefeated. Ehsani and Saskatchewan’s Team Rod Pederson picked up their first win of the tournament, with a strong 14-1 performance over Manitoba’s Team Dennis Thiessen. Saskatchewan #1’s Team Gil Dash beat Ontario #2’s Team Chris Rees by a score of 12-3; British Columbia’s Team Gerry Austgarden won 11-1 over New Brunswick’s Mike Fitzgerald; Team Doug Dean from Newfoundland & Labrador won 8-6 over Alberta #2’s Team Donald Kuchelyma; and Alberta #1’s Martin Purvis stole ends six and seven on the way to a 9-6 win over Team Carl Marquis from Quebec.

The championship format includes a full 10-game round-robin, with two draws each day from Monday to Friday, March 29th. Only the top three teams will make it to the playoffs which will be played on Saturday, March 30.

Day- and full-event passes are available for the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship and can be purchased by CLICKING HERE.

Select games are available to watch on Curling Canada’s streaming platform Curling Canada+ (https://plus.curling.ca/). 

For scores, team lineups, schedule information and latest news from the championship, visit the event website, www.curling.ca/2024wheelchair.