Barbara Roden
Free Press
The blind curling team from 100 Mile House will be competing in the West Coast Blind Curling Association Provincial Play Down from Jan. 8–10, and will then travel to Ottawa for the National Canadian Visually Impaired Curling Championship from Feb. 7–13.
Lori Fry, First Vice-President of the Canadian Council of the Blind and one of the three 100 Mile members of the team, says they’ll be borrowing Bill Mah from Kelowna to make up the team for Kelowna, and will be adding a fifth member—Vancouver’s Rob Camozzi—for the nationals, where an additional sweeper is allowed. Marg Gammie will act as the sighted coach, while Linda Peterson will be the guide on the ice.
“It’s a pretty big time, especially the national competition,” says Fry. There are hopes that curling could one day be recognized as a Paralympic sport, and Fry says that anything they can do to show and teach the sport will encourage others to get more involved.
“There’s a lot of excitement that goes with it, but it’s a lot of work, mentally and physically. The different settings lead to a different level of exhaustion. But it’s always icing on the cake to meet new people and see others that we know.”
Fry encourages anyone with a visual impairment to come out and try curling with the team. “And it’s not just for the visually impaired; there could be others who have an impairment that prevents them from curling.”
With the team down to three members, this support is crucial. “We’re in our sixth year, and we’ve had such grand community support; it would be a shame to let it go due to a lack of numbers. Anyone who’s curious should come and try it.”
