Canadian Women Take Bronze at 2022 World Ice Stock Championships

Mar 02, 2022

Canada’s women’s ice stock team came home with a bronze medal at last week’s World Ice Stock Championships in Ritten, Italy. Canada was playing in Group B. The gold medal was won by Switzerland and the silver by Belarus. The Canadian women have medalled in the last four world championships.

Another great accomplishment was had by Canada’s women’s distance throwing team. In this event, where the goal is to slide the stock as far down the ice as possible, the women finished in fourth place behind world powers Austria, Germany and Italy.

On an individual note, Jennifer Mayrl was the only non-European to advance to the final 12 with a throw of 106 metres. Ultimately, she finished 11th in the world.

“In every championship over the last eight years, our Canadian women’s team has become more and more competitive. While we are still a niche sport, these results are an indication of the membership growth that has been occurring and the commitment we have to high performance” said Mayrl, who is the President of the Canadian Ice-Stock Federation.

“We are incredibly proud of our athletes and coaches. They not only showed off their abilities against a strong field but they were incredible ambassadors for our country.”

Canada sent its largest team ever – 17 athletes and coaches – to compete in team and individual competitions. Of special significance is the team had its youngest ever athlete (16-year-old Sophia Antoine) and Tyler MacComish who has Downs Syndrome. Highlights of the results:

Women’s Team – Bronze Medal B Group: Tammy Lambert, Jennifer Mayrl, Stefanie Mayrl, Rebecca Smith and Kata Zaric

Women’s Distance Throwing – 4th in the team event: Sophia Antoine, Jennifer Mayrl, Stefanie Mayrl and Bianca Sinclair

Individual Distance Throwing – Jennifer Mayrl qualified for the finals in the 30 athlete field and finished 11th overall with a throw of 111.77 metres. Stefanie Mayrl finished 13th.

Men’s Distance Throwing – 7th in the team event: Jamie Babcock, Paul Blais, Chris Hammer and Tyler MacComish

Men’s Target Shooting – Kevin Bryan set a personal best of 140 in the individual event. In the team event, Paul Blais was perfect on his first 8 shots and finished with 105 of a possible 120 points – second highest in the world.

The International Federation of Icestocksport has confirmed that Canada will host the 2023 America Cup. That competition is held in the summer months with competitors from across North and South America. Permission was received to hold a first-ever tournament for juniors. The Canadian Federation’s Director of High Performance Sport, Karl Hammer Jr., is looking forward to his local club being the venue the event.

“A major goal of our Federation is to deepen the field of international-level athletes that will compete for Canada. This includes junior players. Anyone who is interested in playing this sport at a competitive or recreational level is welcome to contact us through www.icestockcanada.com.”