ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 | SPORTS | A7
Sterling Middleton, Jason Ginter team up for 2022-23 season Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca Two Peace Country-raised curlers will be back together again come this fall. Fort St. John’s Sterling Middleton and Dawson Creek’s Jason Ginter will be part of the Jacques Gauthier rink along with Victoria’s Alex Horvath beginning next season. “A pretty strong team. Still pretty young guys, all of us in our twenties,” says Middleton in describing the new foursome. “Looking to play lots, build together as a team and, like last year, try to get back up that list on the world curling tour.” He figures they’ll play as many as ten events, maybe more, depending on schedules. As for his teammates, Middleton says they not only know each other well on circuit, but have also played together in some combination, just not on the same team at the same time. “Jacques and I have been buddies for quite a few years. He came with us (Team Tardi) as our alternate to the World Juniors in Scotland in 2018. He also played for us in one of the Grand Slam events that season.” Gauthier is currently living in Winnipeg. Ginter, who will curl
second, is also no stranger to Middleton. Jason is the son of current Dawson Creek Curling Club general manager Jeff Ginter. “When I first started curling, right out of the gates, I was, like, twelve years old,” recalls Middleton when he first competed against Ginter. “His team was a bit older, 17, 18-years-old. I’ve lost my fair share of games to Jason. Kinda funny how things have come full circle.” “He’s a really positive guy on the ice,” explains Middleton. “A lot of great input and experience to bring that would differ from the rest of the guys. He’s a fantastic sweeper and team player.” The final member of the team, Alex Horvath, played with Team Tardi from 2018 to 2020. “He’s a really fun guy to be around, played every position throughout juniors and mens. He wants to specialize at lead, and, I think, that’s where his best fit is.” “The whole team, we’re all quite comfortable to be with each other,” adds Middleton. “We’re gonna get along off the ice too. Pretty similar personalities.” While the four have yet to be in one place, including when they made their social media announcement April 1, they’re hoping to meet up in Edmonton in July.
Bo, Team Canada off to Brazil in July
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL CANADA
Bo Hedges and Team Canada are preparing for a qualifying tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil in July. A finish of fourth place or better would advance them to the world championship in Dubai in November
Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca Bo Hedges is getting another shot at a wheelchair basketball world title later this year. The 42-year-old Paralympian was ‘carded’ for another year after qualifying at a national basketball camp last month. In short, it allows him and his teammates the ability to get federal athlete funding and play for the country on the world stage. It was just last year that the Wonowon native played for Team Canada at the Tokyo Olympics when the team finished eighth. That’s a considerable drop from the gold medal finish in London in 2012 and silver medal at the Beijing Games in 2008. “The depth on the men’s side is getting stronger and stronger,” Hedges pointed out. “When we were winning, there were, maybe, four or five good teams. Now there’s eight to twelve.” “It’s even tough to get out of our zone (The Americas) with Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia all having contending teams. It’s changed a lot in the last 15 years with the competitiveness.”
Hedges also admitted there’s a pretty significant gap between him and the youngest players on the team. “There’s a couple of us on the team that are 42, myself and Pat Anderson. Then there were some that came with us to Tokyo that were, like, 22. Even some younger ones at the (carding) camp.” This year’s world championships will take place in Dubai starting Nov. 9, but to get there the Canadian squad will need to do extremely well at a qualifier planned for July in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “Obviously, we want to finish in the top eight, explained Hedges. “Do better than Tokyo. Win a quarter final and maybe be in that medal contention.” Just the top four teams from the zone advance. With the Paris Olympics just two years away, is Hedges thinking about, maybe, another Olympic games? “You never know. Once we complete the worlds, Paris 2024 is only 18 months after that. The body is feeling pretty good right now. The real indicator will be my shoulders, ‘cause I am getting a little bit older and more beat up every year.”
SUPPLIED
Dawson Creek’s Jason Ginter and Fort St. John’s Sterling Middleton will play for Team Gauthier beginning this fall.
Ginter currently calls Edmonton home. Although their skip lives in Manitoba, and Ginter is
based in Alberta, Middleton says the foursome will be under the B.C. banner. With Middleton living in
New Westminster and Horvath in Victoria, they meet the requirements to represent the province.