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Sitrin and UCC Curlers head to Switzerland for World Championship
 New Hartford –Five of the nation’s top wheelchair curlers will soon be on their way to Switzerland in hopes of bringing home the gold! The USA Curling 2008 National Champion Team, comprised of Jim Joseph (New Hartford, NY), Jacqueline Kapinowski (Point Pleasant, NJ), Augusto Perez (Syracuse, NY), Jim Pierce (Syracuse, NY), and Bob Prenoveau (Chittenango, NY), will showcase their talents at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship to be held in Sursee, Switzerland February 1-9. Approximately 50 athletes with disabilities will compete and represent various countries, including Canada, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States.
Several members of the USA Curling 2008 National Championship Team are also members of the Sitrin STARS program (Success Through Adaptive Recreation & Sports). Implemented in 2001, this unique adaptive sports program is the only one of its kind in Central New York. The wheelchair curling program began in 2002 in collaboration with the Utica Curling Club.
The Sitrin STARS have achieved international success with the wheelchair curling program, and have had representation on the past five national championship teams. The STARS have competed in World Wheelchair Curling Championships in Switzerland, Scotland, and Sweden, as well as in the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games held in Italy.
STARS Program Director and Team Leader Marc DePerno, who was recently named as the United States Curling Association’s Director of Outreach and Development for Wheelchair Curling, will accompany this group to international competition once again. “We have a strong team of athletes and everyone is excited about this year’s competition. We’re ready to bring home a medal!”
The World Wheelchair Curling Championship will be held February 1-9. Results from this competition will leverage nations toward the Paralympic Games to be held in Vancouver in 2010. For shot-by-shot animated coverage of the World Wheelchair Curling Championships, visit www.sitrin.com.
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