Just Try It!

Alberta’s Emma Nagel Inspiring Youth Participation in Wheelchair Curling

Emma Nagel is on a mission to get more young people take part in wheelchair curling.  

The 21-year-old second for Team Alberta #2 is the youngest curler at the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, and she wants to see more young people like herself discover the joys of the sport. 

Nagel started curling as an able-bodied player at the age of 12 but changed to stick curling because of a worsening muscle degenerative disorder. She was going to quit the sport completely, but a fortunate encounter at the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship in her hometown of Leduc, Alta., kept her in the game. 

“I was at the opening ceremony, and Team Alberta invited me on the ice after their game to practice with them,” Nagel said. “They wanted me to see what the sport is all about and that’s when my dream started in wheelchair curling.” 

After that, she was hooked. 

“I think it’s a fun sport and a great growth opportunity for many people to come together and play a sport that they love,” Nagel said. 

A dean’s list student at Lakeland College’s Child and Youth Care program, Nagel was a recipient of Curling Canada’s For the Love of Curling scholarship in 2022.  

“I heard that there was a scholarship for curling and thought I might as well give it a shot,” Nagel said. “When I got the call that I was a recipient, I thought that was the coolest thing ever! And when I heard I was the first wheelchair curler ever to get the scholarship, I knew that I was going to make a difference.” 

Each recipient of the scholarship holds a fundraiser activity, and for hers, Nagel created a curling “try-it” event last February aimed at introducing youth of all abilities to stick curling and wheelchair curling. Nagel approached Heather Nedohin, manager of the Sherwood Park Curling Club, for help in hosting her event. 

“Knowing Emma and her spirit, my answer was absolutely yes, how can we help you,” Nedohin said.  

Nagel hosted her event during a weekend ladies bonspiel at the Sherwood Park Curling Club. On the Saturday night, she addressed over 80 women at the banquet. 

“She brought everyone to a standing ovation,” said Nedohin. “Her speech, her delivery, and her story are extremely powerful. She ignited the room.” 

The following day during the bonspiel’s playoff games, Nagel hosted an adaptive try-it event. Not only did it bring youth with disabilities out to try the sport, but it had an impact on everyone in the club. 

“Most of the able-bodied players had never been on the ice alongside wheelchair athletes,” recalled Nedohin. “To hear Emma’s speech, then see her abilities and watch her teach and play on the ice was unique and powerful.” 

This week, Nagel’s focus is on the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, which is her second national competition. Inspired by the great success of her try-it event, Nagel is driven to find other ways to introduce youth with disabilities to the sport including organizing summer camp programming and U-30 try-it events. 

“Just try it, you never know if you’re going to like it until you try it,” said Nagel. “We’ll welcome you with open arms. It doesn’t matter if you want to be competitive or not, we’re very welcoming and we just want everyone to have fun.” 

After six games at the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, Nagel and Team Alberta #2’s Donald Kuchelyma sit tied for 5th with a 3-3 record. On Wednesday afternoon, they beat Team Saskatchewan #2, skipped by Rod Pederson, by a score of 10-5, and won 9-7 over Team New Brunswick’s Mike Fitzgerald. 

In other games Wednesday during 1:30 p.m., draw (all times Central), Team Ontario #1’s Doug Morris won 8-0 over Team Alberta #1’s Martin Purvis; Team Newfoundland & Labrador’s Doug Dean extended its winning streak with a 9-6 win over Team Ontario #2’s Chris Rees; Team Manitoba’s Dennis Thiessen picked up an 8-5 win over Québec’s Team Carl Marquis; and Team Saskatchewan #1’s Gil Dash stayed undefeated with an 11-1 win over Team British Columbia’s Gerry Austgarden. 

During the evening draw, Team Saskatchewan #1’s Gil Dash suffered its first loss of the tournament to Team Manitoba’s Dennis Thiessen. Manitoba stole three points in the eighth end to force an extra, which it also stole, to secure a 7-5 win. It took an extra end for Team Ontario #1’s Doug Morris to win 6-5 over Team Saskatchewan #1’s Rod Pederson; Team Ontario #2’s Chris Rees won by a score of 10-6 over Team Alberta #1’s Martin Purvis; and Doug Dean’s rink from Newfoundland and Labrador now sits alone atop the leaderboard after an 8-7 win over Team Québec’s Carl Marquis. 

The championship format includes a full 10-game round-robin, with two draws each day until March 29th. Only the top three teams will make it to the playoffs which will be played on Saturday, March 30.  

Day- and full-event passes are available for the 2024 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship and can be purchased by CLICKING HERE. 

Select games are available to watch on Curling Canada’s streaming platform Curling Canada+ (https://plus.curling.ca/).  

For scores, team lineups, schedule information and latest news from the championship, visit the event website, www.curling.ca/2024wheelchair.