Curling news: Curler uses prosthesis to throw, sweep

Whenever faced with a challenge, Carly Smith leans in.

The 20-year-old University of New Brunswick (UNB) curler was born missing her left arm above the elbow. She’s been curling since she was six-years-old.

“Being born this way, I’m very grateful because I’ve been just able to adapt to things and do it in my own way and find my own way around challenges,” said Smith.

Unable to lean on her broom for balance at first, she says she found her own technique.

On the ice, Smith says she always felt welcome. On the streets, she felt the stares.

“Especially as a child, it would really bug me. I would always wear long sleeves or hold my arm,” she said.

She says that these days, those feelings are a thing of the past. The university student says she’s more comfortable in her own skin and understands stares are prompted by curiosity.

“If I notice someone staring, I’ll go up to them and talk to them about it and ask them if they have any questions,” she said.

University of New Brunswick curler Carly Smith, 20, throws a rock while using a custom prosthesis to stay balanced. (Sarah Plowman, CTV News)

For three years, Smith has played on the UNB curling team. This week they’re hosting the U SPORTS Championship in Fredericton.

“She can throw a lot of weight very accurately, and that’s a big asset at third stone,” said the team’s skip, or team captain, Jenna Campbell.

“She’s very adaptable. She just finds her own way around problems and you’d never notice that she was using a prosthetic or had had a difference or anything like that.”

Smith plays with a prosthesis that allows her to easily switch from using her broom to using a stabilizer while throwing the rocks.

Curler Carly Smith demonstrates how her new prosthesis allows her to stay balanced while throwing a rock (Sarah Plowman, CTV News)

It was designed and developed by a team at The Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics, which is on the UNB campus.

“We didn’t want to make it two different prostheses because then she’s be kind of rolling up her sleeve, taking off the socket and putting the socket back on,” said Heather Daley, a prosthetist at the clinic.

On Thursday, Daley and her colleagues cheered Smith on as she played.

“It was nice to see all the hard work and kind of trials that we did really come to fruition today,” she said, adding she felt “a lot more balanced with this device and more accurate on the broom.”

Curler Carly Smith’s prosthesis allows her to seamlessly switch from sweeping to throwing. (Sarah Plowman, CTV News)

While some may look at Smith’s arm as a disability, she looks at it in another way.

“I say put the ability in disability.”

It’s an attitude that’s pushed her to study Kinesiology with a goal to become an occupational therapist. Those who know the curler call her an inspiration.

“I love to hear that I can inspire people with what I do,” she said. “I’m just going to keep doing me.”