Tag: winter

World Champions Norway Headline the 2024 Stirling Wheelchair Curling International

Norway, the 2024 World Wheelchair Curling Champions, return to Stirling to compete in the 9th Stirling Wheelchair Curling International which will be held at the Peak from 15th to 18th October.

The event, whose main sponsor is Allanwater Homes and is hosted by Stirling Wheelchair Curling Club, will feature eight international teams.  Game times are 10am and 2.30pm from Tuesday to Thursday with an earlier start of 9.30am on Friday 18th October.

Andy Hemming, Chair of the event, said: “We are delighted to welcome the eight teams who will take part this year. Our overseas visitors are coming from Canada, Italy, Korea, Norway and Switzerland with the entries being completed with teams from England and Scotland. Teams will be building towards the World Championships in Auchinharvie, Scotland, next year and the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games and with that in mind we look forward to some top quality wheelchair curling.”

 

2024 Stirling Wheelchair Curling International – Draw: 

Table of the draw for the wheelchair curling international competition

 

All details of the event including the draw are on the Stirling Wheelchair Curling website and social media: Facebook and X.

Stirling Wheelchair Curling Club holds sessions every Wednesday from 12.30pm to 2.30pm at the Peak.  Please contact Jacky McLaren if you would like to try out the sport: jackymclaren@yahoo.com

 

Portrait photo of Hugh Nibloe. he is wearing ParalympicsGB team kit and sitting in his wheelchair, smiling to camera.

Nine Scots on British Curling’s World Class Programme

British Curling announced last week their biggest ever cohort of Para athletes to be selected for the World Class Programme 2024-2025 season, and nine Scots made the cut.

The 12 strong squad includes five Scottish Paralympians: Hugh Nibloe, Gregor Ewan, Robert McPherson, Gary Smith and Meggan Dawson Farrell, alongside Jo (Joanna) Butterfield, Gary Logan, Charlotte McKenna and Martin Sutherland as World Championship representatives. England’s Stewart Pimblett completes the set of the experienced athletes.

Newcomers to that squad are England’s Mixed Doubles world champs Karen Aspey and Julian Mattison, who have moved up from Paralympic Performance Foundation (PPF) level.

Three more of last season’s PPF squad join the Programme: Scotland’s Keith Gray and England’s George Potts and Jason Kean have graduated to national level support, a group that is completed by a third English player Jean Guild.

“Congratulations to all of those who have been selected to the world class programme this season after a rigorous selection process,” said British Curling Paralympic Head Coach Sheila Swan.

“This is the largest squad we have recruited to the Paralympic programme and consists of many familiar faces and experienced athletes along with lots of fresh blood, demonstrating how effectively our Paralympic pathway is now working, enhanced by our recruitment campaigns north and south of the border, with more English athletes on board than ever before.

“International wheelchair curling has never been so competitive, which is being felt ever more keenly with just two years to go to Mila Cortina in 2026 with two medal opportunities available from the team and mixed doubles disciplines in the Paralympic programme for the first time.

“We believe having a large squad will not only boost our chances in 2026 and beyond, we also know it will help everyone at different stages of the pathway to develop well in order to win well when it counts in 2026.”

 

Selected athletes for 2024/25 – Paralympic Squad:

Charlotte McKenna

Gary Logan

Gary Smith

Gregor Ewan

Hugh Nibloe

Joanna Butterfield

Julian Mattison

Karen Aspey

Martin Sutherland

Meggan Dawson-Farrell

Robert McPherson

Stewart Pimblett

Charlotte McKenna