Curling: Scots outclassed by controversial Canadians at Wheelchair World Championships

Mar 10 2011 by Cameron Hay, Paisley Daily Express

THERE was a silver lining for three members of Braehead Curling Club as they flew the flag for Scotland at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships in the Czech Republic.

Aileen Neilson, Tom Killin and Angie Malone were part of a five-man Scotland squad that also included Moray duo Gregor Ewan and Michael McKenzie.

And, having recorded a convincing 12-1 victory in the semi-final against Norway, hopes were high that the Bravehearts would come home with gold medals.

However, the Scots were outgunned 7-3 by Canada in the final, meaning they had to settle for silver medals.

Neilson, who was the Scotland skip, said: “Canada played really well and we are absolutely delighted with silver. It’s beyond our wildest dreams.

“This was the first major championship in which the five of us have played together. We knew we could come out here and give it our best shot.

“I think it’s obvious that we’ve really gelled well together.”

The Braehead trio were all part of the UK team that competed at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, last year, when they were joined by Lochwinnoch ace Michael McCreadie, who skipped the team on that occasion.

Wheelchair curling was first introduced during the 2000 World Handi Ski Championships at Crans Montana, Switzerland.

At that time, Switzerland and Sweden were the only countries taking part in the sport at that level.

The following year, the first International Wheelchair Curling Bonspiel took place in Sursee, Switzerland.

This proved to be a test event for the first World Wheelchair Championships, which took place in January 2002.

In March that year, the International Paralympic Committee granted official medal status to wheelchair curling for mixed gender teams.

And the organising committee of the Torino Paralympic Winter Games in 2006 agreed to include wheelchair curling in their programme.

Since then, the sport has gone from strength to strength, with local man McCreadie winning two world championship gold medals and a Winter Paralympics silver medal.

And the performance of the Scotland team at the world championships in Prague has provided another boost to the sport in the country.

Their semi-final win over Norway set up a mouthwatering final showdown with a Canadian side featuring the talents of controversial skip Jim Armstrong, who is a Paralympics gold medalist.

He made headlines of a different kind after the Paralympics when, together with his son, he was caught taking part in a fake Viagra smuggling scheme.

Armstrong was fined $30,000 in the United States, while his son Gregory was given a jail sentence of one year and one day.

Scotland fought hard against the Canadians but it was the team from across the Atlantic who secured victory.