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Wheelchair curling growing in popularity
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Wheelchair curling is beginning to see more and more nations taking part, and with the games in Canada, where curling is very popular, the event is enjoying some time in the spotlight.
Wheelchair curling at the Vancouver Paralympics is proving to be as attractive as curling was at the Winter Games.
The game is played with the same rocks and on the same ice as regular curling, though the rocks are thrown from a stationary wheelchair and there is no sweeping.
Rocks may be thrown by hand while leaning over the side of the wheelchair, or pushed using a stick.
6-time Brier competitor Jim Armstrong says the biggest difference between the Winter Games and Paralympic Games is that there is no sweeping.
Wheelchair curling comes with four athletes and one substitute. The rules mandate that teams be of mixed gender, and that games be eight ends in duration, rather than ten ends compared to the Winter Games. After winning the gold at the last Winter Paralympics four years ago, the 59-year-old Canadian says he is looking for a gold.
The first World Wheelchair Curling Championships was held in Swizerland in 2002. It started as a Paralympic sport at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino.
