February 18 - Visually Impaired Curling

Last week in a post I mentioned the Visually Impaired Curling Championships held in Ottawa. I have since heard from Louise, Skip from the Sydney, Nova Scotia team.  I am including the following comments from her email.

Louise wrote: “We had a great experience again this year. We enjoyed ourselves and met some new people to add to our curling friends list. The caliber of curling is improving every year. Many of the spectators were amazed at some of the shots that were called and executed as planned. The fellowship of everyone involved was a wonderful experience.  We are all looking forward to next year.”

Louise also forwarded this link to an interview she did before the National Championship event. The interview gives a better idea of just how a visually impaired or blind curling team goes about the game. You will find answers to such questions as:

How does the blind curler read the ice?

What function does a guide have in the game?

How are the various positions allocated?

If the curler is visually impaired, who sweeps?

I encourage you to investigate this link:

http://www.ccbnational.net/documents/cbc%20curling.mp3