Wheelchair Curling Worlds: Norway, Switzerland unbeaten

The World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2016 being held at the Lucerne Curling Club, in Lucerne, Switzerland continued with two sessions of round-robin play on day four (24 February) that saw Norway and hosts, Switzerland remain the only undefeated teams.

The morning session of play saw Switzerland claim victory over Germany 7-3. The teams went into the break tied at 2-2 before Switzerland took advantage of the first clear opening in the sixth end to score three points. They would go on to steal a further two points in the seventh end.

"Winning four games is like the final for us,” said Swiss vice skip Claudia Huettenmoser. “It means we’re staying in the group and we get some points for the Paralympic Games.

“We know Germany very well and we’re at the same level. You have to stay focused and when you have the chance you have to take it."

Norway added to their undefeated run with a 6-2 victory over South Korea. After leading 3-1 at the break, Norway went on to score a single point in the fifth before stealing two points in the sixth end. South Korea would score a single point in the seventh end but the lead would prove too great to overcome.

In the other games of the session, Russia defeated Finland 7-4, and Slovakia won a close fought game over China 5-4.

Both undefeated teams would take to the ice again in the afternoon session and would both add further wins to their record.

Norway held on to defeat Finland 6-4 when Finland skip Markku Karjalainen was light with a draw into the house with his final stone in the eighth end, missing the opportunity to level the scores at 5-5 and instead allowed the steal of one point for Norway.

Switzerland’s run continued with an 8-2 victory over the USA. After leading 4-1 at the break, Switzerland would steal a further two points in the fifth end and score one point in the seventh end before running the USA out of stones for the win.

Canada picked up their first win of the competition when they defeated Slovakia 9-3. Slovakia scored a single point in the first end, but Canada responded with five points in the next four ends to take a strong lead. A score of four points in the seventh end for Canada was enough to seal the victory.

“It’s so nice to get that monkey off our back,” Canadian skip Jim Armstrong said. “We’re not used to losing, we’re certainly not used to stringing them together but we’ve been struggling, there’s no question about that. Really the only difference [Wednesday] was we got a break early and got a two or three point lead.

“We’re just not used to struggling either so it’s been a new experience for the team,” Armstrong continued. “What we’re seeing is that we’ve got the fortitude to hang in there and grind.”

In the final game of the afternoon session, South Korea defeated Germany 7-4. After the first end was blanked, both teams traded two point scores until the sixth end when South Korea scored a single point. They would go on to steal two further points in the seventh end for the win.

Competition continues Thursday (25 February). The medal matches will be held Sunday (28 February). The World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2016 and can be followed at the event website, Facebook and Twitter @worldcurling using the hashtags #curling #WWhCC2016 #Roadto2018 #WWhCC2016 #Roadto2018.

Day four results

Session 7

Finland 4-6 Norway; South Korea 7-4 Germany; USA 2-8 Switzerland; Slovakia 3-9 Canada

Session 6

Switzerland 7-3 Germany; Russia 7-4 Finland; China 4-5 Slovakia; Norway 6-2 South Korea

STANDINGS after 7 sessions (W-L):

Norway (6-0)

Switzerland (5-0)

Russia (4-1)

South Korea (4-2)

China (2-3)

USA (2-3)

Slovakia (2-4)

Canada (1-4)

Germany (1-4)

Finland (0-6)

Day three review

Day two review

Day one review