We were never in the mix, admits British Paralympic curling coach

Posted: Friday 19th March 2010 | 8:20

BRITISH curling team manager Tom Pendreigh admitted Michael McCreadie's rink had failed to deliver after crashing out of the Winter Paralympics.

DISAPPOINTING: Thoughts already turn to Sochi after Great Britain finish Paralympic curling competition in a distant sixth (Getty Images)

Great Britain won silver four years ago but following a defeat to Italy and win against Japan, ended the group stages ranked a disappointing sixth in Vancouver.

"It is a great disappointment not to be in the mix," said Pendreigh.

"There were two games which, had we won just one of them, we would have been there.

"We lost both by the narrowest of margins, just a few millimetres either way on the final stone would have made the difference. In a week-long competition you do need a bit of luck and we were unlucky in both those games.

"The biggest disappointment is the feeling that we had so much more to give and although we saw glimpses of it, we never really showed consistently what we are capable of."

Pendreigh admits the rest of the world has raised their game since the sport made its Paralympic debut in Turin and acknowledges there will be no room for complacency in the build-up to Sochi 2014.

"We've seen a marked improvement in all of the teams that we were competing against the last Games," he added.

"The standard internationally has risen and it is important that GB keep on trying to match and beat those standards.

""In terms of looking forward to Sochi we are really fortunate that some of the experienced members of the team have indicated that they are happy to carry on as well and we have a number of athletes in development that we are aiming to fast track through.

"This is all dependent on funding and we hope that we are given the chance to continue to invest in the sport of wheelchair curling to make sure we give our best performances in Sochi."

Italy play Sweden in a tie-breaker for the right to play favourites Canada in the semi-finals while the USA take on Korea in the other final four match.

Comments

paralympicsG B

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/03/2010 - 13:01.

i dont think the blame should be laid on the coaches doorstep, afterall there was a lot of money and time spent on these athletes, and when the time came they just could not deliver so stand up and be counted,nothing wrong when they won in europe or winning scottish and british,these athletes know it was their own mistakes that cost them they were on the ice not the BOSS!!!!!SO WAKEN UP N HAVE A GOOD LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER COZ WERE RIGHT THERE READY TO TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE YOUR PLACES ARE NOW UP FOR GRABS AND WE ARE ALL READY TO GRASP THEM. BEWARE AND TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED

Paralympic curling

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/26/2010 - 15:42.

Best players were selected - maybe too much gym time and professionalism - maybe more balance required. I don't think the 2 games referred to would make any difference. We were 6-1 up in one match after 6 so pie in the sky assumption. It was apparent playing behind the 't' didn't work after team bought into idea.
Alas as in any sport if team fails coach must be questionned in full - if tactics wrong then he must go like Mowbray yesterday.