Curlers take Parliament Hill

The pride remains strong... months after bidding farewell to northern Italy.

A horde of Olympians and Paralympians – including Paralympic Wheelchair Curling medallists Team Chris Daw as well as able-bodied curling medallists Team Shannon Kleibrink and Team Brad Gushue – were recently hosted in Ottawa by Canada's Minister of Sport, Michael Chong. The itinerary ranged from a meet and greet at the famed Tulip Festival to a charity breakfast, climaxed by the now-traditional march onto the floor of the House of Commons and a reception. Prime Minister Stephen Harper (photo) addressed the athletes, and a copy of his text is located here.

A touching moment occurred when the Paralympians met Conservative MP Steven Fletcher, who continues to write history as the first quadriplegic to sit in Canada's parliament.

Trivia: we spot five curlers in the photo... can anyone name them?

Elsewhere:

• Speaking of wheelchair curling, did you know the sport is used in a U.S. Paralympic military program?

• Team Ferbey says they had a great year, and who is going to argue? Certainly not The Curling News... we ranked them #2 for the entire 2005-06 season, second only to Newfoundland's golden boys. Sayeth The Ferb:

Obviously not doing better at the Trials was a disappointment and we would have liked to get back to the Brier but it’s not that we didn’t play well this year.

For whatever reason we weren’t at the top of our games for those two events. But overall the year was very, very successful. We finished the year out as the number one rated team in the world. We won the money list so from a cash point of year we were successful there too. We won a lot of games this year. There aren’t that many teams that wouldn’t have loved to have had the year we had.

There's more from The Ferb on a recent podcast over at The Curling Show.

• It seems that British politician Gordon Brown – touted by some as the successor to longtime PM Tony Blair – has some funky musical tastes. But he's also a fan of women's curling...

• It’s that time of year: curling clubs look for something new to brighten their chances of luring fresh members in the fall. Curlers in Powell River, BC have approached their municipal government for help with a new facility... but local government has kiboshed Nova Scotia’s “Pugwash Project”... and what’s the answer to a blase facility exterior? Well, partner up with students from your local community. Of course.