Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia in a four-way tie for the lead

Another day is in the books from Edmonton at the 2011 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship. This afternoon saw Bellerose Composite High School send in their curling team to be the on-ice helpers, and their choir to entertain curlers, prompting team sing-a-longs. More excitement arrived during the afternoon draw in the form of a City Building Inspector. Impeccable timing, but Jasper Place Curling Club passed inspection anyways. Not an hour later, a call was received from a Fire Alarm Inspector hoping to schedule an appointment, , much to the amusement of the coaches, but the club manager managed to delay the visit until all the excitement is over. Draw 2 in the afternoon saw a number of games end early. Alberta dominated again, defeating Saskatchewan 11-3 in 7 ends. Coach Andy Jones commented on the Alberta winning streak by saying “They’re all throwing really well. We’ve got a five player team and they are all playing well. Plus they’re all having fun.” You can follow Andy on Twitter at @Curling_Guy for live updates on all of the Alberta games. Also during draw 2, Nova Scotia pulled out a big 8-1 win over Northern Ontario, who shook hands in the 7th end. Newfoundland was down 10-0 against Ontario after 4 ends, went on to score or steal 4, but still ended the game after 7 ends at a 10-4 loss. Manitoba skip Chris Sobkowicz made two beautiful shots to lie 4, prompting handshakes from Quebec to end the game in 7 at a score of 8-5 for Manitoba. Down by 4 going into 8 against the Alberta Host team, Team British Columbia came back with a big end to tie the game, sending it to an extra end. Last year’s winner, skip Gary Cormack from BC and his team, pulled out the win in the extra end, handing the Alberta Host team a disappointing 8-7 loss. The evening draw, Draw 4, kept the officials on their toes with close ends requiring a number of measures. Three games finished in 7 ends, with Northern Ontario defeating Saskatchewan 11-4 and BC taking down Newfoundland 10-1. Alberta also managed a win in 7 ends over Quebec, though narrowly lost the game in the 6th when Quebec was lying 3 – forcing skip Bruno Yizek to make a circus shot for 2. The final score was 6-2 for Alberta. The only game to go to 8 ends saw Manitoba beat Ontario 9-4. In an exact repeat of the afternoon draw, the Alberta Host team, up by 4, came up light on their last shot in 8, allowing Nova Scotia skip Michael Fitzgerald to draw for 4 to force the extra end. Nova Scotia stole 2 in the extra end to win the game 9-7. After 3 draws Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia are all undefeated. The Alberta Host team, Northern Ontario and Ontario are 1-2 and Newfoundland, Quebec and Saskatchewan are still waiting for their first win. Gary Cormack commented after the evening draw that the event was going really well saying “I think it’s A #1 for accessibility on and off the ice. The school kids helping out on the ice is a wonderful thing. Volunteers helping with the meal – it’s relaxing.” Follow all the action from Edmonton by also following the local organizing committee on Facebook and Twitter.