South Korea, Norway qualify for curling World Champs

South Korea and Norway have qualified for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2016 after winning their semi-final games on Thursday (12 November) at the World Wheelchair-B Curling Championships at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja, Finland.

South Korea took five points in the opening end of their semi-final game against the Czech Republic and went on to extend their lead against their opponents to win the game 9-3.

In the other semi-final, Norway had the upper hand, stealing four points to lead Sweden by 5-0 after three ends. A further break gave the Norwegians four points in the fifth end and set them up for a 10-3 win.

In winning the semi-finals, South Korea and Norway secured the final two spots at the 2016 World Wheelchair Curling Championship (WWhCC 2016) set to take place in Lucerne, Switzerland, from 21-28 February.

They join Russia, China, Finland, Slovakia, the USA, Canada, Germany and Switzerland as host who have already qualified for the event.

On Thursday afternoon, South Korea and Norway played for the gold medals at the qualification event with the Norwegians stealing two points in an extra end for a 7-5 win. South Korea took silver.

Sweden won bronze at the event, beating the Czech Republic 5-4.

A record 15 teams took part in the World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship 2015.

The final standings are:

1. Norway - Gold and qualification for the WWhCC 2016

2. Korea - Silver and qualification for the WWhCC 2016

3. Sweden - Bronze

4. Czech Republic

5. Japan

5. Scotland

7. Italy

8. Denmark

9. Latvia

10. Slovenia

11. England

12. Lithuania

13. Poland

14. Estonia

15. Israel

The World Wheelchair B-Curling Championship is an open entry event. Any World Curling Federation Member Association can enter a team if they have not already qualified for the next World Wheelchair Curling Championship. Teams must be comprised of male and female players. The game is governed by the Rules of Curling with only one modification - no sweeping is allowed. Games are eight ends in length. Currently there are around 30 of the World Curling Federation’s 54 Member Associations that are wheelchair curling.

More information about the World Wheelchair Curling Championships can be found at World Curling’s website.

The World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2015, 2016 and 2017 serve as the qualifiers for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

In June, the International Paralympic Committee announced that the 2018 event would be extended to allow 12 wheelchair teams to compete, rather than 10, as in previous Paralympics.