Competition

The World Wheelchair Curling Championship is the most important event of the annual calendar of the World Curling Federation WCF for wheelchair curling. The World Championship 2020 also counts towards the qualification for the Paralympics 2022 in Beijing, CHN.

Schedules and Results

The competition schedule and the results you will find here: WCF Website (results by CURLIT)

> You will find the competition schedule here: Schedule WWhCC 2020

 

Follow the matches live here: Live Stream

 

 

General Program

27.02.2020 Arrival of the Teams
28.02.2020

Opening Ceremony

Training, Classification, Technical Meeting
29.02.2020 - 07.03.2020   Competition
07.03.2020 Prize Ceremony and Closing Ceremony
08.03.2020 Departure of the Teams

Game mode

Round Robin (everyone plays against everyone), followed by play-off games and semi-final. 4 teams can qualify for the semi-final. Then match for 3rd place and final match. The 3 last placed teams will relegate.

Rules

The field of play – curling ice

Curling is played on a very long strip of specially prepared ice called a sheet. A sheet of curling ice is over 45 metres long and a maximum of five metres wide. At each end of the sheet there are two circles that look like target, known as houses. Each house consists of four rings which help define which curling stones are closest to the centre, commonly known as the Button.

 

Most curling clubs have an ice maker whose main job is to care for the ice. A key part of the preparation of the playing surface is the spraying of water droplets onto the ice, which form pebble on freezing. The pebbled ice surface resembles an orange peel, and the stone moves on top of the pebbled ice. The pebble, along with the concave bottom of the stone, decreases the friction between the stone and the ice, allowing the stone to travel farther. As the stone moves over the pebble, any rotation of the stone causes it to curl, or travel along a curved path. 

 

  

 

Delivery

The process of sliding a stone down the sheet is known as the delivery or throw. The stone is delivered either by hand or may be aided by the use of delivery sticks (called 'extender'). Players must release the stone before the Hog Line for the stone to be considered in play. Unlike the pedestrian curling, wheelchair curlers do not slide from the Hack to the Hog Line. They deliver the stone stationary. The other big difference is that there is no sweeping.

 

 

Team

A team consists of 5 players and the coach. 4 of the 4 players are on the ice, the 5th player is a substitute player. The coach trains and leads the team, but during competition he is only allowed to coach the team on the ice during half time or a time-out. A time-out can only be chosen by the team. Unlike pedestrians, wheelchair curlers must have a mixed team, i.e. at least one woman or man must play in the team.

 

Each player delivers 2 stones per end. In contrast to the pedestrian curling a whole game lasts only 8 ends. If the game is a draw after 8 ends, additional ends are played until the decision is made.

 

 

Are you interested in knowing more about curling?

Further information you will find here: About Curling

Detailed information about the rules are published on the WCF website: Rules & Regulations

Classification

In Wheelchair Curling the sport class allocation is either

  • WC-E > Eligible
  • WC-NE > Non eligible

 

The Athlete must meet one of the following eligibility criteria to take part in international competitions:

  • Loss of power in the lower limbs (ex. Spinal Cord Injury, Poliomyelitis, Spina Bifida, Polyneuropathy).
  • One or double leg amputation.
  • Hypertonia (Spasticity), sufficient to prevent all ambulation or limit it to very short distances indoors.
  • Incoordination in the lower limbs (ex. Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy).
  • Severe permanent loss of movement in both legs (ex. Arthrogryposis).
  • Any combination of above impairment, which is severe enough to confine athlete to wheelchair for daily activity.

 

Would you like to find out more about classification in wheelchair curling? Click here for a detailed description: Classification Rules WCF