Echoing throughout the building were ‘USA! USA!’ chants from more than 50 spectators, which included veterans from St. Joseph’s and students from St. Bernard’s School. They were cheering on the U.S. Invictus Wheelchair Curling team, made up of military veterans who were in town as part of a week-long training camp for the upcoming Invictus Games.

The Lake Placid Curling Club — which meets at the Saranac Lake Civic Center to curl every Sunday afternoon from October through March — volunteered to help run the curling component of the camp.

Club President Kim Weinrick said athletes and club members were ecstatic to see such a strong reception from the community.

“As a club, we were absolutely delighted, and as a community, we were incredibly proud,” she said. “We had neighbors, we had cowbells, we had cheering, we had people visiting from (New York) City. It was just a great mix of friends in the community coming out.”

A St. Bernard’s School class attends the Invictus Team U.S.’s wheelchair curling scrimmage held at the Saranac Lake Civic Center on Tuesday, Jan. 7. (Provided photo — Lake Placid Curling Club)

–

The Invictus Games

–

The games — which are scheduled to take place from Feb. 8 to 16 in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia — seek to provide recovery and community for wounded, injured or sick military personnel, whether they are veterans or active duty, according to its website. The games were founded in 2013 by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, although 2025 will be the first year for winter sports to be featured in the games.

The games have grown to include 25 member nations, according to its website. The 2025 games are slated to feature 523 competitors hailing from 23 countries. The athletes will compete in a total of 11 adaptive disciplines.

Invictus Team U.S. wheelchair curling training takes place at the Saranac Lake Civic Center on Monday, Jan. 6. On ice, from left, are John Breen (standing), Moses Debraska, Justin Wolfe and Katrina Dearden. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

The winter sports include alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling. The games’ traditional sports making a return include indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, swimming and wheelchair rugby. Some athletes compete in multiple sports.

“With Invictus, that idea of recovery, resilience and community overall is incredibly empowering, exciting and inspiring for the athletes who get to participate and then also for other military veterans to see fellow military (community members) excelling,” Weinrick said.

–

Regional beginnings

–

Marc DePerno is the wheelchair curling team coach. He is an occupational therapist by trade and has been extensively involved with the sport since the early 2000s. His efforts have contributed much of the sport’s growth and success at the national level.

“We were really the only true wheelchair curling program back in the early 2000s,” he said.

DePerno, who lives in central New York, along with a couple of fellow therapists at the Sitrin Health Care Center first started an adaptive basketball program for their current and past patients at the time. Shortly thereafter, they were approached by members of the nearby Utica Curling Club, who offered to introduce the sport to members of the adaptive basketball team.

“We went and we were welcomed with open arms and many of the athletes fell in love with the game immediately,” he said.

DePerno explained that curling lends itself well to adaptive sports.

“The greatest thing about wheelchair curling, I think, is that it is seamlessly inclusive with the traditional version of the sport,” he said. “With that, I mean that if I’m a wheelchair user, and I want to compete in most sports, I would not have that opportunity just based on the sheer equipment and the speed of game and kind of the lack of access. But curling is just the opposite.”

DePerno said that cost, specifically for equipment, often creates an access barrier for adaptive sports. In curling, however, participants are able to use their regular wheelchair, whether manual or powered. The only specialized piece of equipment is a delivery stick, which allows the user to push the stone while sitting in their wheelchair. DePerno said the stick’s cost ranges from about $75 for entry-level versions to around $400 for custom-made carbon fiber sticks used at the highest levels of the game.

He said the rules are essentially the same as traditional curling, with one difference.

“We do not allow for the sweeping of stones in wheelchair curling,” he said. “And that’s just based on that fact that you couldn’t potentially push yourself down the ice in a wheelchair while simultaneously trying to sweep a broom.”

This results in a more challenging game, since sweeping can’t be used to correct the stone’s course once it is in motion, resulting in the need for a more precise launch.

“It requires more precision and muscle memory. When you release the stone, it goes where it goes and that’s based on your ability to cue it and thousands of hours of practice,” he said.

Buoyed by these factors, DePerno said the sport’s popularity in his neck of the woods took off, with participants from Syracuse to the eastern Mohawk Valley making their way to Utica to get involved. DePerno was eventually approached by USA Curling to see if he would be interested in growing the sport at the national level.

“Of course I said yes,” he said. “And that kind of leads to what we’re doing today: just growing, expanding, educating and continuing to provide opportunity.”

–

Week in review

–

DePerno and his team were grateful to train in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid ahead of the games.

“Phenomenal camp, starting with the resources, the venue, the support staff and volunteers,” he said. “Everything was very accommodating and top-notch.”

DePerno said members of the Invictus Team came into the week from all over the country and without a lot of previous experience in the sport, but picked it up quickly.

“We got them all dialed in as best we could in that short amount of time, and that was very much made possible by the Saranac Lake Civic Center, the Lake Placid Curling Club and all of the supporters,” he said. “The support of the volunteers truly went above and beyond, providing further education, support and encouragement. Then, when we came to that scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon, it was full of energy with young kids and adults clapping and cheering and cowbells going.”

DePerno said team members thought the training camp set the tone for what they will expect in Vancouver at the games.

For Angela Harris, one of the team members, having a supportive crowd was “heartfelt,” and helped to cement the week in the memory books.

“We were all surprised to have drawn a crowd,” she said. “Hearing the cheers from veterans, school kids and community members alike was truly inspiring and made the experience. Everyone is winning when you’re in a stadium full of excited kids chanting, ‘USA! USA!'”

Harris credited Lake Placid Curling Club along with Coach DePerno for explaining the game in a way that made everything “click” for her.

“I went from just following instructions to actually understanding the game and how to strategize,” she said.

Weinrick said it was “an honor and a privilege” for club members to work with the team throughout the week. She said the club did a ‘brooms up ceremony’ — where club members form an aisle by raising their brooms from two lines side on the side — which Weinrick said is reserved for special occasions, such as welcoming a new member or recognizing a member who has won an award.

“The athletes came through (underneath) the brooms and the crowd was cheering,” she said. “The athletes were moved and they all thanked us and of course, we’re the ones thankful for them. … All of the training, progress, dedication and hard work, they really did it all,” Weinrick said.

Harris said that while her path to the games has not been easy, it has allowed her to trust others and embrace new experiences. She is looking forward to competing in Vancouver.

“Representing Team U.S. at this stage of my journey is both an incredible honor and a humbling experience,” she said. “Stepping into such a big environment is both exciting and challenging, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much I can grow through it all.”

While the list of countries participating in curling specifically was not yet finalized, DePerno estimated that 20 nations will send curling teams.

Although the U.S. team won’t gather in person again before the games, they have three Zoom meetings scheduled to review footage, finalize strategy and continue to bond with each other.

“We all have our different strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “So we’re going to maximize our abilities and communications, physical ability to deliver the stone and just come up with a system and process and that’s going to allow for the greatest success and enjoyment.”

The Invictus Team U.S. Wheelchair Curling roster includes Luis Avila, Moses Debraska, Angela Harris, Terry Scaife, Justin Wolfe and coach DePerno. The curling competition is scheduled to take place all in one day, on Feb. 9. For more information on the Invictus Games, visit invictusgamesfoundation.org.

For more information on the American athletes competing in the games, visit invictusteamus.com.