By Lori Fry
The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) is a national not-for-profit organization of the blind, run by the blind and was founded in 1944 by blinded war veterans.
The CCB strives to promote healthy living through social, recreational and sporting activities. Many CCB members are also affiliated with individual sports organizations, including regional, provincial and national associations – the Canadian Blind Sports Association (CBSA), West Coast Blind Curling Association (WCBCA) and the Western Blind Curling Association (WBCA).
Players participate at the provincial level, which leads to the Westerns and the National CCB Canadian Visually Impaired Curling Championships (CVICC) held each year in Ottawa during National White Cane Week.
The WCBCA 2015 Provincial Play Downs will take place Jan. 9-11 and will be hosted by the CCB 100 Mile House & District Chapter White Cane Club.
This upcoming event brings the local blind curlers full circle as they hosted the 2011 Provincial Play Downs during their first season. It is anticipated this group will repeat history and, hopefully, take the trophy once again on home ice.
Teams from Vancouver, Kelowna and Prince George will visit 100 Mile House to compete to secure a spot at the 2015 WBCA Championships, which will take place in Kamloops March 18-21, 2015, or the Feb. 16, 2016 CVICC in Ottawa.
The winning team at this weekend's provincial play downs in 100 Mile House will have the choice of which event it wants to attend – the Westerns or the Nationals.
The general public is encouraged to come down to the curling rink to support the local team, which includes skip Jim Vinson, lead Katelyn Seiler, second Marilyn Vinson, third Lori Fry, and sighted guide Joey Seiler, and see what blind curling is all about.
• 100 Mile takes on Kelowna (winner of last year's Provincial Play Downs) at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday (Jan. 10).
• Then the local rink curls against Vancouver at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
• 100 Mile's last game of the round-robin play downs is against Prince George at 9 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 11).
The team that accumulates the most points wins the play downs.
Teams will receive two points for every end they win and 10 points for each victory.
We are always looking for new curlers in 100 Mile House. Anyone who is interested can call Jim or Lori at 250-395-2452 for more information.
Lori Fry is the National first vice-president of the Canadian Council of the Blind.
