Frank LaBounty would love to break a tie when he visits Montreal later this month.
In nine national wheelchair curling championships, LaBounty has won three silver medals and three gold medals competing with Team B.C.
"I'd love to break a tie with another gold," said LaBounty, 47, who curls out of the Prince George Golf and Curling Club. "I'm tied with Chris Daw from Ontario and Whitney Warren from Prince George, who have each won three gold medals at nationals."
Team B.C., which includes LaBounty at third, features skip Darryl Neighbour from Richmond, second Vince Miele from Richmond and lead Alison Duddy from Quesnel.
The rink won the 2014 B.C. Wheelchair Curling Championship in Coquitlam in January. They'll now take aim at a national title at the Canadian Wheelchair Championship April 27 to May 4 in Boucherville, just outside Montreal.
The 10-team round-robin bonspiel includes defending champs Qubec, silver medallists B.C. (LaBounty, Miele and Duddy were part of that team), Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northern Ontario and Nova Scotia.
"The strategy going in is having a lot of communication," said LaBounty. "All the other teams, we know how they play. Our biggest competition will be Qubec. They're a hitting team. Our strategy to beat them is to play our game which is a draw game. We can all draw to the button."
B.C. is a seasoned crew, having previously hit the podium on international and national ice.
Duddy, Miele and LaBounty have competed together at provincials and nationals for the better part of five years.
Neighbour, 65, is a gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver, part of Team Canada's Jim Armstrong's crew that was coached by Joe Rea of Prince George.
Neighbour is back playing competitive curling after a year away from the sport due to health concerns. He contracted a blood infection while at worlds in Korea in February 2012, putting his curling career on hold.
Gary Cormack of Surrey, who played third for Bob MacDonald's team at provincials, joins Team B.C. as the fifth player. He won gold for Canada at the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy.
Having that much experience on the ice will benefit B.C., said LaBounty, who skips teams in five leagues - seniors, mixed and doubles - at the PGGCC.
"Like the [able-bodied] game we play with the four-rock rule and play with guards up front," he said. "Hopefully Gary will get some games in and that will give us an advantage."
With three players in the Lower Mainland and LaBounty and Duddy eight hours away, a long layover between provincials and nationals meant the team held a training camp in Richmond last weekend.
It involved on-ice drills, off-ice mental preparation and fun games amongst themselves and other wheelchair curlers in Richmond.
"Our coach went through various scenarios of potential game situations and we left the practices feeling strong and confident," said Miele, 63. "We believe we are one of the stronger teams going to nationals. Our five years with most of us playing together as Team B.C. also gives us a distinct advantage both on the ice and off in order to achieve our goal. We are excited as first-timers and can't wait for April 28 to arrive."
Even though LaBounty has competed on the national scene nine times, it never gets old.
"I'm a social butterfly," he said. "It's like extended family, seeing everybody from one year to the next."
Duddy and LaBounty leave for Montreal April 25 and will take in the sights prior to hitting the ice on April 28 when B.C. battles Manitoba. The round-robin wraps up May 2 with the Page playoffs set for May 3 and the championship final on May 4.
