Scotland’s Jo Butterfield after their win against China © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

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World Curling Media

1 March 2025

Stellar start for hosts Scotland at World Wheelchairs

The World Wheelchair Curling Championship began on Saturday 1 March in the Auchenharvie Leisure Centre in Stevenston, Scotland.

The first day of competition featured two sessions of round-robin play.

Hosts Scotland had only one game; they played Paralympic champions China in the afternoon. The score was tied at 2-2 after seven ends. In the eighth, China skip Wang Haitao couldn’t remove the shot Scottish stone with his last, giving the hosts a single point and a stolen opening win, 3-2, in front of the enthusiastic home crowd.

In the evening, China played Sweden in the re-match of last year’s bronze medal game. China showed strong form, and won by 7-4, mainly due to a score of three in the fourth and a steal of two in the fifth.

Team China © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

With this loss, Sweden finished their day with a 0-2 record as they had lost against Japan in the afternoon, 5-8.

Title-defenders, Norway had a half-and-half day. In the afternoon, they lost against Italy, 6-9, mostly due to five stolen points over the course of the game.

After their big win, Italy lead Angela Menardi said, “Now we feel very well! I think it’s the first time we beat the Norwegian team. So it’s beautiful for us. It’s a good start for this championship!”

Team Italy © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

In the evening, Norway played England in an attempt to pick up their first win. That game went all the way to an extra end. Norway capitalised on their hammer in that end, scored two, and won by 8-6. It was England’s second loss of the day as they got defeated by Latvia, 5-8, in the afternoon.

Last year’s silver medallists, Canada, had only one game on Saturday, against neighbours, United States. Canada shook up their line-up in preparation for the upcoming Paralympic Games, and long-time skip Mark Ideson and third Ina Forrest are not part of the current four-player team. The Canadians still showed world-class curling and won by 8-6 against Matt Thums’ team.

Canada celebrate their win over United States © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

Also in the evening, Korea met Slovakia and won by 10-3 in six ends. After the game, Korea third Nam Bongkwang said, “I’m so excited! It was our first game, and we have a mixed record against Slovakia, so it could go either way. We have many games left, so we will continue to figure out the ice, learn by each game.”

Opening Ceremony

Before the first draw, the official Opening Ceremony took place in the Auchenharvie Leisure Centre. The Provost of North Ayrshire, Anthea Dickson, CEO of Scottish Curling, Vincent Bryson and World Curling Board Director, Rob Niven all gave welcome speeches. The first stone was delivered by Paralympic bronze medallist and four-time world championship medallist Aileen Neilson, supported by Paralympic silver medallist, two-time world champion Michael McCreadie.