Moose Jaw’s Marie Wright will soon once again be representing Canada at a world championship.
Curling Canada recently announced that Wright will be joining Winnipeg’s Jamie Anseeuw as the country’s representative at the World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Lohja, Finland from Apr. 30 through May 3.
It’ll mark the latest run at a world-calibre event for Wright, who remains one of the top wheelchair curlers in the country.
“I’m super excited for this opportunity,” she said. “It’s the best feeling to wear the Maple Leaf on your back and be able to represent your country. I’m very grateful for another chance to represent Canada.”
Wright and Anseeuw played together on Canada’s bronze-medal winning team from the 2018 Paralympic Games and had remained in the national team selection pool, making their selection a perfect fit.
“A big part of it was we had played together before, and in mixed doubles it really makes a difference if you know how the other person throws,” Wright said. “It’s the first time they’ve had mixed doubles for wheelchair curling, so it’s pretty exciting that we get to be the first ones to go to that and we’re really looking forward to seeing how things turn out.”
Had things gone completely according to plan, Team Canada would have an all-local look -- Wright would have been joined by fellow Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre competitor Gil Dash, but he recently underwent emergency surgery and was unavailable for the competition.
Since the change, Wright and Anseeuw have been gearing up for competition, even if ice time might be hard to come by at this point in the season. With all rinks in Saskatchewan having removed their ice as of the end of March and their former training base in Edmonton also out of ice, the duo will be practicing in Winnipeg during the Apr. 4 week and will follow with a few days of practice before heading out to Finland.
Once there, Wright and Anseeuw will be one of 19 teams vying for world championship gold, a deep field that Wright expects will offer plenty of challenge.
“I’m guessing there are some countries that are going to send players from their Paralympic teams, so it’s going to be a tough field,” she said. “We feel like we’re getting prepared to be up for the challenge and if we play like we can, we’re hoping we’ll be able to get to the playoff round and contend for a medal.”
One thing to their advantage is while the competition itself is in its first year, the hubbub surrounding an international competition won’t be anything new for Wright and Anseeuw, given their previous experience on the world scene.
Wright expects understanding the ice and what to expect in Finland in that regard will be the biggest takeaway from their international experience.
“I’ve even been to Finland a couple of times, so I know (the ice is) going to be a lot different than anything we see here,” Wright said. “We’ve been trying to work on that, practice on a little bit slower ice and a little bit swingier ice, and with mixed doubles, it’s more of draw game than anything else and you have to know that kind of game really well.”
Another interesting wrinkle will be the time clock. With 30 minutes to play, there won’t be a lot of time to go over shots -- especially when it takes a bit more time to get up and down the ice -- and Wright and Anseeuw are already preparing for that.
“It takes us a little bit more time because you can’t go to the other end of the house and take a look at things and then get back to throw your rock like an able-bodied person,” Wright explained. “So we’ll probably have me in the house until it’s my turn to throw, I’ll throw the first and last rock and Jamie will throw two, three and four… that’s something we’re going to have to work on and prepare for, not taking too much time.”
One thing that’s for certain is it’ll be another wonderful experience playing on the world stage.
“It’s always exciting when you get a chance to do something like this, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do, especially since this is the first one ever,” Wright said.
For the latest on the World Wheelchair Curling Mixed Doubles championship, including the final draw in mid-April, be sure to visit www.facebook.com/WorldCurlingFederation and check out the World Curling Federation’s website at www.worldcurling.org.
