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2006 Paralympic Curling Team to be selected
By Rick Patzke
// USA Curling
// November 22, 2005
STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Eleven athletes will compete for five roster spots on the 2006 U.S. Paralympic curling team Dec. 8-11 at the Utica Curling Club in Whitesboro, N.Y.
One team of five players will be nominated to represent the USA at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games March 10-19 in Torino, Italy. The team must consist of team members from each gender as per the World Curling Federation Rules of Play. In addition, two "sixth-players" will be selected as alternates.
Participants at the selection camp will take part in skill testing, drills, strategy sessions and game participation to determine curling skills, as well as interviews to determine team/player compatibility.
A selection committee consisting of Paralympic Coach Steve Brown (Madison, Wis.), Paralympic Team Leader Diane Brown (Madison, Wis.) and two other members will choose the members of Team USA. The team will then be ratified by the United States Curling Association Elite Programs Committee, and presented to the U.S. Olympic Committee for nomination to the 2006 U.S. Paralympic Team. The final team roster will be announced by Dec. 18.
Of the competing athletes, all but Tom Hansen and Augusto Perez, who are newcomers to the sport this year, have competed at one or more World Wheelchair Championships.
Wheelchair curling is making its debut as a medal sport at the Paralympics. The top eight nations from the past three World Wheelchair Championships make up the field. In addition to the U.S., the field features Scotland, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, Italy and Norway. Scotland has won the World Championship title each year since the event's inception in 2002. In fact, the team has yet to lose a game at the World Championships and enters the Paralympics as the heavy favorite.
Here is a list of the athletes competing in the U.S. Trials (name, age, hometown):
* Loren Kinney, 46, Hallowell, Maine
* Wes Smith, 65, Glenburn, Maine
* Sam Woodward, 60, Surry, Maine
* Melissa Keiser, 33, New Hartford, N.Y.
* James Joseph, 43, New Hartford, N.Y.
* James Pierce, 42, North Syracuse, N.Y.
* Mark Taylor, 46, Deansboro, N.Y.
* Bob Prenoveau, 39, Chittenango, N.Y.
* Augusto Perez, 33, East Syracuse, N.Y.
* Tom Hansen, 43, Yorkville, N.Y.
* Danell Libby, 36, Chatham, N.Y.
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More information about these athletes can be found at http://www.usacurl.org/events/2006Paralympics/PT_athletes.html.
USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies, Hilton and Nike, as well as by General Motors, The Home Depot, and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
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