Germany, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland will compete against each other and teams from Canada, China, Korea and the USA for medals at the championships, which begin on Saturday 21st February with the opening ceremony.

Following the ceremony, competition will take place at 12:30 and 18:00 until Wednesday 25th February. Tie-breaker games will be held on Thursday and Friday and the semi-finals and medal games will take place on Saturday 28th. An Awards Ceremony and Closing Ceremony will follow the final matches to end the 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championships.

The event will be held at the new Vancouver Olympic Centre.

The first World Cup in curling for wheelchair players was held in January 2000 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Wheelchair Curling made its debut at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games.

The sport is open to male and female athletes with a physical disability in the lower part of the body. This includes athletes with significant impairments in lower leg/gait function (e.g., spinal injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, double leg amputation, etc.), who require a wheelchair for daily mobility. Each team must be comprised of male and female players.

For more information about the 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championships, please visit www.wwhcc2009.com.