Rock & Roll Glenburn man to represent U.S. on wheelchair curling team at Winter Paralympics in Italy

When the U.S. Wheelchair Curling Team goes for the gold at the Winter Paralympics in Italy, Wes Smith of the Belfast Curling Club will be wheeling down the ice wearing the red, white and blue.

The Glenburn man is the only Maine curler to have been selected to the five-person Team USA.

Although world curling championships have been held since the beginning of the decade, this is the first year for curling as an Olympic sport.

“The Paralympics is the ultimate world sporting event, so obviously we certainly feel privileged to be able to represent the country in this first Paralympics,” Smith said during a break in practice Sunday. “We’re honored and proud.”

The Winter Paralympics will be held March 3-19 in Turin, Italy, and will have all the pageantry and excitement of the Winter Olympics, which will take place starting Feb. 10 in the same Italian Alps community.

Joining Smith, 65, on the team are New York residents James Joseph, 43, Augusto Perez, 33, James Pierce, 42, and Danell Libbey, 37.

Libbey used to live in Gray and curled with the Belfast club’s wheelchair team when it won National Championships in 2002 and 2004 and represented the United States at the world championships. Alternates are Tom Hansen and Melissa Keiser, also from New York. The team is headed by coach Steve Brown, assistant coach Bill Rotton and team leader Diane Brown.

Smith said the team was chosen after a runoff competition. He was the only Belfast curler selected. Since his selection last month, the father of three and grandfather of eight has been spending a lot of time shuttling between Maine and Utica, N.Y., for practice.

Smith has competed against many of the other teams that will represent their countries at Turin, and he knows that some, such as those fielded by Scotland and Switzerland, will be formidable.

He knows that Team USA, which is seeded sixth in a field of eight, faces a big challenge. “We have the strongest team the United States has ever put together in international play,” he said. “If we play up to our potential, we definitely have a chance. If we play to our potential, we could take the gold.”

In curling, two teams of four players each slide 42-pound stones, or “rocks,” down a 146-foot-long sheet of ice toward a concentric circle target at the end. Wheelchair curlers are not allowed a moving start (unlike other curlers), and there are no sweepers to control the path of the stone. The stones are sent down the ice from a stationary position using a push pole. It requires upper body strength and stamina over the course of a day of matches.

When historians trace the origins of wheelchair curling, the trail doubtless will lead to the Belfast Curling Club. The club introduced Smith to curling in 2001, and he was one of the founding members of the first team to represent America in world competition.

Smith was disabled when a spinal cord tumor claimed the use of his left leg in 1978. The tumor resurfaced 17 years later and spread to his right leg. Despite his physical challenges, Smith has played wheelchair sports for years.

He is a director of Alpha One, the national agency that works for disabled people. Alpha One received a “Rink Link” grant to help introduce handicapped people to ice sports, and Smith decided to give the Belfast Curling Club a call to see whether its people were interested.

“He called to ask if we ever thought of offering curling from a wheelchair, and I told him we had handicapped access and to come down and try it out. That was how it started,” club president Doug Coffin recalled last weekend. “Curling is an elegant sport, and I think in the years to come we’re going to see a lot more wheelchair curlers coming here. We’re the only curling club in the state of Maine.”

When Smith and the other wheelchair players realized there was an opportunity to mount a team to compete for the first national championship, they turned to top curler Jeff Dutch of Belfast for assistance. A ranked curler in his own right, Dutch has been their coach ever since.

Dutch said Smith was bringing strong skills to the Olympic squad.

“Wes actually has gained a lot of experience in a short period of time. He’s had a lot of games, and he’s worked hard to improve his abilities,” Dutch said. “He certainly has earned his opportunity to represent the country in the Olympics. He’s definitely thrown more stones than any other wheelchair player in the U.S. Wes is a good shot-maker. Wes delivers a good stone. His center delivery has its advantages, and his shot-making ability is really quite strong.”

Smith said the team is prepared for the grueling stretch of games it will face as it works its way from early rounds to the later matches that will determine which teams qualify for the medal rounds. He said curling is a mental and physical challenge, and successful curlers are the ones who can overcome both.

“There is a definite focus on the mental aspect but also the physical. You have to be in good physical shape to play well. Strategy is the key and you also have to execute it,” Smith said. “We know we have a good team. It’s a strong team and it’s a compatible team and we believe we can do it.”