- UK Sport Investment 2010-14 (Sochi) - £350,200
- UK Sport Investment 2006-10 (Vancouver) - £445,000
- Number of Podium Potential Funded Athletes - 8: Ian Donaldson, Gregor Ewan*, Jim Gault*, Gill Keith, Tom Killin, Angie Malone*, Robert McPherson*, Aileen Neilson*
- Sochi Performance Target - 0-1 Medal
The Sochi Journey
Wheelchair Curling was introduced to the Paralympic programme at Turin 2006, where Great Britain won the silver medal. Since then, the team has been consistently competitive on the world stage, finishing sixth at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games and claiming silver at the 2011 World Championships.
Awarded over £350,000 of investment from UK Sport for the Sochi Cycle, the wheelchair squad share a training venue with the Olympic medal winning teams in Stirling. The same ethos as their Olympic counterparts also prevails, with the team working fulltime to individualised performance programmes, set by Canadian coach Tony Zummack
Former ice hockey player and curler Zummack has been working with the squad for three years and has introduced detailed player and tactical analysis, allowing the athletes to focus on their strengths and weaknesses as they prepare for the Sochi Games.
Aileen Nielson, the only female skip among the elite wheelchair curling nations, has been part of UK Sport’s National Lottery funded World Class Performance Programme since 2008, alongside Sochi 2014 team mate Angie Malone. Another veteran of the programme, Tom Killin, was also selected for the 2014 Games but was unfortunately withdrawn due to illness and replaced by Jim Gault. The final member of the Paralympic squad is Gregor Ewan, who will make his Paralympic debut in Russia.
The team head to Sochi off the back of an impressive run of form, having won a medal in all five major international tournaments they have played in the past season, but face the daunting task of taking on defending champions Canada in their opening group match.