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Two Teams Remain Undefeated at the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship 

Through five draws of curling, it’s still anyone’s event to win at the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, but two teams have perfect records so far. Team Newfoundland & Labrador, skipped by Douglas Dean, and Team Saskatchewan #1, skipped by Gil Dash, sit atop the leaderboard with 4-0 records after three days of competition in Moose Jaw, Sask. 

“It’s great being in first,” said Dean. “Did I think we were going to be here? No.” 

Wearing Newfoundland & Labrador colours is a new experience for Dean. A Thunder Bay, Ont., resident, he skipped Team Northern Ontario at the 2023 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, ultimately losing the final game to Dash’s Saskatchewan rink.  

This year, Dean has teamed up with Cecilia Carroll (Torbay, Nfld.), Felix Green (Middle Cove, Nfld.), and Katie Hubbard (Orleans, Ont.). 

“It’s a different experience with a different team,” said Dean. “I had to learn their tendencies the first game and figure out the ice. We brought in a strategy of playing more controlled weights and taking more ice. They’ve been making some great shots.” 

This season, along with Team Newfoundland & Labrador’s Carroll, Dean was invited to join the National Program as a Senior B athlete. He represented Canada in Switzerland at the Wetzikon International Wheelchair Curling Tournament, where he won a silver medal with Jon Thurston, Ina Forrest, and Mark Ideson. From there, he went to Scotland to compete in the Stirling Wheelchair Curling International, winning bronze with Dennis Thiessen, Ina Forrest, and Marie Wright. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Dean and Forrest faced off when Team Newfoundland & Labrador played against Team British Columbia. Both teams entered the game with 3-0 records and fought a close match right to the finish. Dean made a difficult angle runback in the eighth end to score a point and win by a 6-4 score. 

Team Newfoundland & Labrador had a bye on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, they face Team Ontario #2, skipped by Chris Rees, at 1:30 p.m., (all times Mountain) and Team Quebec skipped by Carl Marquis at 6:30 p.m. They take on Team Gil Dash, the reigning champions from Saskatchewan, on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. 

In other results from Tuesday’s 1:30 p.m., draw, Ontario #2’s Team Chris Rees won 6-5 over Québec’s Team Carl Marquis; Team Saskatchewan #1, skipped by Gil Dash, won 6-4 over Ontario #1’s Team Doug Morris; Team Saskatchewan #2, skipped by Rod Pederson, won its second game of the championship with a 4-3 win over Alberta #1’s Team Martin Purvis; and Manitoba’s Team Dennis Thiessen had an 8-3 win over New Brunswick’s Team Michael Fitzgerald. 

On Tuesday evening in the second draw of the day, Gil Dash’s Team Saskatchewan #1’s record remained perfect with a 9-2 win over New Brunswick’s Team Michael Fitzgerald; Team Saskatchewan #2, skipped by Rod Pederson, lost 8-6 to Team Québec skipped by Carl Marquis; Ontario #1’s Team Doug Morris beat Manitoba’s Team Dennis Thiessen by a score of 9-4; British Columbia’s Team Gerry Austgarden stole multiple ends against Alberta #1’s Team Martin Purvis on the way to an 8-1 win; and it took an extra end for Alberta #2’s Team Donald Kuchelyma to defeat Ontario #2’s Team Chris Rees 9-8. 

The championship format includes a full 10-game round-robin with two draws each day until 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.