From April 10-15, 2021, USA Curling’s Wheelchair National Team, consisting of Matt Thums (Weston, Wis.), Steve Emt (Hebron, Conn.), David Samsa (Green Bay, Wis.), Pam Wilson (Denver, Colo.), and Bat-Oyun “Oyuna” Uranchimeg (Burnsville, Minn.), will be competing in the 2021 World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship in Lohja, Finland.

The Championship, initially scheduled for January 2021, was postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic. In thanks to the continuous efforts of health authorities and federations, event organizers can confidently host a safe event that begins in just five days. Additionally, USA Curling has been working closely with medical personnel to ensure the Team’s health and safety remain top priority throughout the duration of the competition.

The 2021 World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship will host the following 10 curling countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States.

The format of the Championship is a 10 game round robin (eight end games), with semifinals of 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3. The winners of the semi-finals will qualify for the gold-medal game, and the losers of the semi-finals will play in the bronze-medal game.

The medal winning (top three ranked) teams from the 2021 World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship will qualify their country for the 2021 World Wheelchair Curling Championship, scheduled to take place in Beijing, China from October 23-30, 2021. At the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, teams will have an opportunity to earn qualification points for the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

To qualify for the 2022 Games, 11 places will be offered to the Member Associations of the World Curling Federation who have gained the most qualifying points from the World Wheelchair Curling Championships held in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The field at the 2022 Games will be 12 teams in total, as China will earn a berth as the host nation.

Click here to view Paralympic qualification points standings.