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Point woman wins spot on U.S. team
POINT PLEASANT — A borough woman will soon be adding Olympic athlete to her long list of accomplishments, after securing a spot on the 2008 U.S. Wheelchair Curling Team. Jacqui Kapinowski, 45, traveled to the National trials in Utica, N.Y., last week, where she competed against 13 other wheelchair athletes vying for a spot on the four-member team. “The trials were so intense,” Ms. Kapinowski said. “But I never wanted to get off the ice.” Having the opportunity to test her skills in the biggest athletic event in the world was not something Ms. Kapinowski ever expected. After being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a progressive neurological disorder, in 2001, Ms. Kapinowski has become dependent on wheelchairs to move around. Although she is able to take a few steps under her own power, walking quickly becomes painful for her. An athlete for most of her life, Ms. Kapinowski did not let her diagnosis stop her from competing, and turned her passion for running marathons into wheelchair racing, a sport that has brought her tremendous success. With the road to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver now mapped out, Ms. Kapinowski has put her love for racing on the back burner and redirected her attention to the ice. Last July, Ms. Kapinowski was competing in a wheelchair race up in Utica, when she was approached by Jimmy “Jimmy Jam” Joseph, a member of the U.S.A. Curling Team, who asked her if she ever thought about trying curling. Although she had heard of the British sport due, in part, to her Scottish background, Ms. Kapinowski never actually played the game, which can be described as a sort of bocci ball on ice. In wheelchair curling, one player will anchor the other player’s chair on the ice, front-to-back, so the player pushing the 42-pound stone with the curling pole, does not slide on the ice. Always looking for new ways to channel her athleticism, Ms. Kapinowski began feverishly practicing the sport and training at her local club. Through the support of her husband of 18 years, Harry, Ms. Kapinowski quickly picked up the sport and it wasn’t long before she had set her sights on the National trials. “Jacqui has been amazing and very dedicated,” said Barbara Klug, the curling coach who has been working with Ms. Kapinowski at the curling club since October. “The game is very skill-set so we have been working to make sure she is prepared for the role she will play on the team,” she said. Since she only had a short period of time to prepare for the National trials — which were held in Utica on Nov. 23, 24 and 25 — Ms. Kapinowski went almost every day to the curling club to practice, and further honed her skills by playing in a curling league every Sunday and Tuesday. Ms. Kapinowski said she bought every curling book available and began immersing herself in the game. “Jacqui liked the sport right away,” said Mr. Kapinowski, who has been with his wife every step of the way. The hefty amount of practice time she put in before the trials certainly paid off, with Ms. Kapinowski making 80 percent of her shots during the weekend. Her score was good enough to secure a spot on the four-member U.S. team, alongside wheelchair curling veterans “Jimmy Jam,” Jimmy Pearce and Augusto “Goose” Perez. The team will be coached by Steve Brown, who works with both wheelchair and able-bodied curlers during the Olympics. “I tried so hard during the trials and it was tough. By the end, I was in pain,” said Ms. Kapinowski, who beat out 11 other athletes for her spot on the team. She said that when she missed a shot at the National trials, she refused to let it get her down. “I tried to keep positive,” said Ms. Kapinowski. Along with a hard practice regimen, Ms. Kapinowski attributed her early success with curling to her impressive upper body strength she acquired through wheelchair racing. Though the credit for her newly acquired skill is due to her ambition and dedication, Ms. Kapinowski said a win for her is really a win her husband as well “We are team Kapinowski,” she said. “Without Harry, there is no ‘me.”’ She said her husband helped deliver the heavy stones to the players on the ice, and tirelessly drove her to and from the Utica curling hub. “Harry is her biggest fan,” said Ms. Klug. “I just love them together, they are so great.” Now that she is training for the Olympics, the duo has a grueling schedule ahead of them, one that will see Mr. and Ms. Kapinowski travelling all over the world, including Switzerland for the World Games in February. “I am so excited to start competing. It is going to be amazing,” said Ms. Kapinowski. Ms. Kapinowski will not have much time to enjoy her glory, with a competition this week in Ottawa, Canada, and then an international game in Utica, which will see the U.S.A .team competing against curlers from Great Britain, Norway, and Scotland, to name a few. “We are going to be busy, but when we are home, I will keep on practicing, because there is always room for improvement,” she said. “The Olympics are two years away, but I think if Jacqui keeps progressing the way she has been, she is going to do extremely well,” said Ms. Klug. Ms. Kapinowski said she will be working on “reading the ice” and improving her strategy so that she can help Team U.S.A. bring home a medal. “I love my country so I want to make it proud,” she said. Though her disability is progressive, and sometimes unpredictable, Ms. Kapinowski said she will continue curling as long as she can. “I’m going to keep doing it until my body won’t allow me to,” she said. |
By Melissa
Peace