A perfectly judged draw with England skip Stewart Pimblett’s final delivery of the World Wheelchair B Championships earned his team a place at the sport’s top table as they defeated Czechia 7-6 in the third place play-off to earn the last promotion place.
England will now join hosts Scotland at the World Wheelchair Championships after a nerve-jangling final day’s play that had almost seen them secure their place earlier as they staged a comeback in their semi-final against the USA, only to be edged out 8-7 at the final end.
With way more than a bronze medal at stake, the tension was consequently ramped up for that meeting with the Czechs and England twice fell behind, conceding a three at the second end, which they cancelled out at the next, then a two at the fourth to trail 5-3 heading into the midway break, which allowed their coaching team an opportunity to help clear their heads going into the most crucial four ends of curling of the week. 
“During the break and then the time out at the final end, I just gave them some pointers on strategy and shot-making and some words of encouragement since it is important not to overcomplicate things as they are the ones on the ice that have to deliver and manage the mounting pressure,” explained England Coach Tony Lenton.
The players responded well to that, once again levelling the match after the fifth, then moving ahead for the first time with a steal at the sixth, before forcing the Czechs to take just one at the seventh end to level things once again down the last.
While they had last stone advantage, it was by no means a straightforward affair and that time out was called as skip Pimblett tried to work out how to find a way round a cluttered rink to beat the counting Czech stone which was on the edge of the four foot.
His out-turn draw around the widest of the guards was perfectly judged, pulling up inside the four foot and leaving his opposite a number a near impossible take out attempt and when it wrecked on a guard, the job was done without Pimblett having to deliver his second stone.
“In the time out it was a very structured debate, scenarios that you think are most likely to succeed as well as some caution about the ice conditions on one side of the sheet and they adjusted accordingly,” said a delighted and hugely relieved Lenton.
“It was an outstanding shot to finish the game and if he hadn’t executed that things would have been very different and I hope in future we are not in such a tight position where we are reliant on such an outrageous shot.”
In many ways it was a final end which reflected the entire week’s play that had seen England win both their matches on the opening day, then win one and lose one on each of the next four days in squeezing into the play-offs. 
“Overall throughout the week there have been moments of brilliance and frustration but my biggest hope is that the athletes enjoy the pleasure of the success here but also learn from this experience to help improve performance,” said Lenton.
For the England coach and his wife and coaching partner Rosemary, it was the culmination of nine years of hard work to get their team to the top level and he was full of praise for the resolve shown by Pimblett, George Potts, Julian Mattison, Karen Aspey and Jason Kean. .
“It has been a labour of love for the best part of a decade for Rosemary and I and it has been a rollercoaster since 2015 and we have gained a lot of experience at the World B’s,” he said
“We are both highly delighted for the athletes to have finally achieved this.
“It has been the most intense B’s championship of them all and with 12 round robin games it is a long week and at times it did feel like we were doing it the hard way, but the athletes stuck to the task and are very tired now as they gave it their all.
“The objective was clear from the outset, to qualify for the World Champs and I am very pleased that it has been achieved.”
Having claimed a win in the round-robin stages over the USA, who were the ultimate gold medal winners at the World Bs beating Japan in the final, they will now prepare for the World Championships believing they can make an impact at that level.
“We all recognise the next step is a big one and there will be some recovery days before we are back to the grind again,” said Lenton.
“We do not want to go up only to come back down again and we know the level will be different. It is a bit like going up from championship to premier league so we need to manage that.
“It has been a journey for England from nine years ago to where we are today and we are where we want to be alongside Scotland at Stevenston next year.
“It goes without saying there are organisations that need our gratitude. Sport England had sufficient confidence in what they saw to back us and it was a courageous move from them and I sincerely hope that they are pleased with what we have achieved today. 
“Without them and their support we would not be here. We have been to Finland before, through fund-raising and charitable events and it was hard.
“Sport England gave us not only the chance to be here but they enabled us, along with support from TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) to get athletes to places they had never been to before because of training two days a week in Dumfries, plus training at the National Curling Academy (NCA), so all of the background training made the difference.
“Being part of the brotherhood at British Curling, training alongside our Scottish counterparts and all the extraneous stuff that comes with that support network and facility has made a huge difference as well.
“Finally I would also like to thank our TASS physio Salwa Bowen from Northumbria University who has kept everyone in shape during an incredibly long week and has done a sterling job.
“Throughout it all working alongside Sheila Swan has seen all of us gel as a team and that has been very effective. Overall we have enjoyed moments of brilliance this week and now the hard work starts again in that four month count down to the Worlds later this season.”
Their success was duly welcomed by British Curling Paralympic Head Coach Swan who noted that it has demonstrated the increasing strength in depth within the domestic game, in turn generating competition for places ahead of the next Paralympics in Milan-Cortina in 2026.
“This is a marvellous boost for the Paralympic programme,” she said.
“Even although Scotland is the nominated country for Paralympic qualification points, this opportunity to expose more British Curling contenders for Paralympic places to the world championship environment could not come at a better time a year out from Milan Cortina.”
England Team
Stewart Pimblett
George Potts
Julian Mattison
Karen Aspey
Jason Kean
Tony Lenton – England Coach
Rosemary Lenton – England Assistant Coach
Sheila Swan – British Curling Paralympic Head Coach
Results:
Day One
England – Poland 10-1
England – Finland 7-4
Day Two
England – Switzerland L/W
England – USA 6-3
Day Three
England – Hong Kong – China 12-0
England – Japan 2-5
Day Four
England – Thailand 17-0
England – Czechia 4-9
Day Five
England – Spain 13-8
England – Estonia 7-9 (EE)
Day Six
Semi Final
England – USA 7-8
Japan – Czechia 6-5
Finals
USA-Japan 9-4
3-4 Game
England – Czechia 7-6
Please click here for results
