Playing in front of a packed hometown crowd at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre, Saskatchewan won the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship for the second year in a row.
Team Saskatchewan defeated Team Newfoundland and Labrador 7-6 in a thrilling extra-end final.
The Sask. team — consisting of Gil Dash, Marie Wright, Moose Gibson and Sheryl Pederson — started the game with the hammer.
“Doing it in front of our home crowd, with lots of friends and family, it’s just a great feeling,” said Dash, who also won a silver medal this year as second on Team Canada at the 2024 World Wheelchair Curling Championship.
Saskatchewan scored one in the opening end and added a stolen point in the second. Newfoundland and Labrador’s skip Douglas Dean made no mistake in his draw for a point against one Saskatchewan counter in the third end.
Dash scored two to take a 4-1 lead at the halfway point and added another point in the fifth before Dean and his teammates Felix Green, Katie Hubbard, Cecilia Carroll began their comeback.
They answered with a deuce in the sixth end, bringing the score to 4-2. Dash scored a single in the seventh end to lead by three heading into the final end.
Team Newfoundland and Labrador scored three and sent the game into an extra end, but Team Saskatchewan nailed down the last score and secured their gold.
It is a historic fifth gold medal for Dash, Wright and coach Lorraine Arguin, giving them the record for the most wins at the championship.
This is also Gibson’s fourth national wheelchair curling title and Pederson’s first.
Wright says winning the gold this year means a lot to the whole team.
“We wanted to do it for [Arguin] and with her because she’s been an amazing coach,” she said.
Arguin, who is a physical therapist by trade, started coaching the team in 2008 and is retiring this year.
“Seeing their success and seeing that even though they’ve all had struggles in their lives with whatever injuries, they have overcome all of that and come out with positive attitudes and shown us what they could do … I have learned a lot,” she said.
This game was held at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre, which is a fully accessible facility, for the second time in two years.
Next year, the championship will take place from April 25 to May 4 in a location yet to be announced.
