Some of the top wheelchair curling teams in the world will be at the Richmond Curling Club this week for the 10th annual Canadian Open.
Hosted by the Richmond Centre for Disability, the 14 rink event gets underway on Wednesday and concludes with the final on Sunday at 10 a.m.
An outstanding field includes Team Canada and Russia — gold and silver medal winners respectively at the Sochi 2014 Paralymic Winter Games. There will also be teams representing Switzerland, Korea and across Canada.
At the 2016 World Wheelchair Championships held earlier this year in Lucerne Switzerland, Russia took gold, followed by Norway and Korea. The current world rankings in order are: Russia, Canada, China, USA and Norway.
This year’s Canadian Open has expanded from 10 teams with a deeper talent pool of international presence.
“The RCD strives to make this event nationally and internationally acclaimed and hope to attract quality competitors worldwide and bring the global stage to Richmond,” said RCD chair Vince Miele.
Wheelchair curling debuted at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin.
Round-robin action begins Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., followed by draws on Thursday (9 a.m., 1 p.m.), Friday (8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m.) and Saturday (8:30 a.m.).
The playoffs get underway at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
