Engineers at Red Deer Polytechnic in central Alberta have developed a fully immersive virtual reality program that allows athletes to test out the ice and practice their shots, even when they're not at the rink.

Alberta

Canada's national wheelchair curling team is utilizing a new virtual reality (VR) training simulator developed at Red Deer Polytechnic in Alberta to prepare for the 2026 Paralympics in Milano Cortina. The technology allows athletes to practice tactics and strategy without the constraints of physical training environments or travel, and is specifically designed for seated users, accurately representing the sport's equipment and competition venue.

The VR system aims to enhance shot accuracy, a crucial aspect of wheelchair curling, and provides athletes with a realistic experience of the Paralympic rink. There is also interest in using the technology to help develop new athletes and introduce more people to the sport after the Paralympics.

Alberta-developed tech could help Canadian Paralympic curlers

You might only think of virtual reality as something you see in video games, but would it surprise you to learn that our national wheelchair curling team is using it to prepare for the upcoming Paralympics? Team Canada curlers like Gil Dash hone their skills the old-fashioned way. Plenty of time on the ice. But he'd never seen anything like this before. First I was completely shocked. The technology was developed here at Red Deer Polytechnic. The project's lead engineer hopes the simulator gives the team more practice and an edge. This takes away training environment constraints, training travel constraints, the physical constraints where if you're tapering training before a competition, you're removing a lot of the physical elements when you might only be interested in tactics and strategy training. Compared to its sister discipline, wheelchair curling has no sweeping, which means the shot is everything. And of course, the VR had to be designed with another obvious difference in mind, sitting down. To our knowledge, we don't know of any other programs that are developed for seated users in the sense that they actually can see their body in the virtual simulation. And that was absolutely a challenge for the animators and the programmers. I remember in our very first version, I had modeled a wheelchair, and they immediately were like, no, this is a hospital style wheelchair. You actually have to think about who you're building it for and who will actually be using the program. Have you ever wondered what it's like inside this virtual reality world? Let's find out. This design is modeled on the competition rink in Milano Cortina, where the Paralympics will take place in March 2026. I think it's always good to see the lay of land. It's just one of those things to sort of take out of your mind, you know where it is. So it just takes some of those questions out of your mind. And it doesn't just look like a curling rink. It has to feel like one too. A big thing was being able to control the stick position because if you were able to rotate it however you felt, it would change the physics of the stone. So we got the stick in proper position so that the athletes can use it. The team took over a thousand pictures of a hand to get the positioning right. Embracing tech like this is nothing new for Parakurlers. Because we have to be so technical, wheelchair curling really relies on innovation and technology to make them better, to make the sport better, to make the rocks do something. So we have to use technology to be able to make the shots that we want. And that's the really cool part about the VR. It's going to be able to take our game to the next level. People in wheelchairs are always looking for something to improve upon, like their skill, their quality of life, like anything that can help us out, like even a little bit. And after Italy, there's interest in using the VR to help develop up and comers or even introduce the sport to new people, like me. Only time I'll ever be at the Olympics, guys. And embracing new tech to help grow the skills of our athletes may make all the difference in getting a new generation of wheelchair curlers rocking it on the ice. Lina El Saadi, CBC News, Red Deer.

A day after the U.S. raid in Venezuela that captured former President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump has put new Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez on notice. "If she doesn't do what's right", Trump told the Atlantic on Sunday, "she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."

Washington

Venezuela Strikes

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Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is being housed at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, after he was captured by U.S. forces and flown to New York to face federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Caracas

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Police have identified all 40 victims who died in a New Year's Eve bar fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, including multiple teenagers. Two managers of Le Constellation bar have been placed under investigation for criminal negligence, according to prosecutors.

Crans-Montana

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Seized overnight from their home on a military base on Saturday, Venezuela's toppled leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife are now being held in a New York detention centre. The apprehension is the U.S.'s most controversial in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 36 years ago.

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Sunday's launches came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping, for talks expected to cover North Korea's nuclear program.

Pyongyang

North Korea carries out new ballistic missiles test

The strikes occurred Saturday evening on an underground facility in the mountains just north of the historic town of Palmyra in Homs province.

Palmyra

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At least 30 people have been killed and several others abducted after gunmen attacked a market in Nigeria’s Niger State, according to police. The attackers stormed Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village on Saturday afternoon, setting stalls on fire and looting food.

Niger

At least 30 killed in market attack in Nigeria’s Niger State

Pope Leo has expressed deep concern over the recent U.S. raid in Venezuela, urging that the well-being of the Venezuelan people must take precedence over all other considerations.

Rome

Pope voices concern over U.S. raid in Venezuela, calls for peace

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country — which President Donald Trump said would come under effective U.S. control.

Venezuela's Maduro arrives in New York after being abducted by U.S.

President Donald Trump says the people of Venezuela are now free of Maduro's dictatorship. But Venezuela's vice president has demanded the US send Maduro back, calling him the rightful president.

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After their capture, former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were flown to Stewart International Airport, 60 miles north of New York City, then will be helicoptered to Manhattan. They will be processed at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Ali Bauman reports.

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New York

First images emerge of Nicolás Maduro after capture by U.S.

No U.S. service members were killed in the military operation in Venezuela, the Trump administration said. CBS News national security correspondent Charlie D'Agata has more details.

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Initial investigations suggest the fire that tore through a Swiss ski resort bar New Year's Eve, killing at least 40 and injuring dozens of others, started when 'fountain candles' attached to champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling.

Sion

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BYD is now the world's top seller of electric cars, overtaking Tesla after a decade of dominance by Elon Musk's company. Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow breaks down how the world's richest man came in second.

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BYD topples Tesla as world's biggest EV brand

In a surprise attack overnight on Saturday, the United States launched strikes against Venezuelan capital Caracas and other cities. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Nicolas Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the country". Follow for live updates.

Trump says U.S. 'will run' Venezuela until 'safe' transition

In a surprise attack overnight on Saturday, the United States launched strikes against Venezuelan capital Caracas and other cities. US President Donald Trump stated that Nicolas Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the country".

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US strikes rocked Venezuela's capital early Saturday after months of threats by Donald Trump against Nicolas Maduro. Trump later confirmed the United States had carried out the strikes and captured the Venezuelan leader.

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Separatist forces in Yemen say at least seven people were killed in Saudi airstrikes on Friday, as tensions deepen between regional allies. The strikes come while the Saudi-backed governor of Hadramout province says “peaceful” efforts are underway to retake military bases abandoned by Emirati-backed separatists, highlighting the latest escalation in the rift between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Seiyun

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Venezuela slams U.S. strikes amid Maduro's ouster

Venezuela said it rejected "military aggression" by the United States after multiple explosions rocked capital Caracas and other areas early on Saturday. Attacks took place in the capital of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

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Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has appointed Gen. Kyrylo Budanov as the new chief of staff. At a pivotal moment in Moscow's nearly four-year invasion, Budanov will be central to Ukraine’s wartime decision-making.

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President Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, as the administration early Saturday ratcheted up its campaign against the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

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A potential New Year's Eve terror attack inspired by ISIS was thwarted in North Carolina, authorities announced. A suspect is in custody, accused of planning to attack a grocery store and a fast food restaurant in the town of Mint Hill, which is located near Charlotte. Scott MacFarlane has the latest.

Charlotte

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The blaze at Le Constellation, killing at least 40 people and injuring about 115 others, many seriously, was likely started by sparklers in champagne bottles, authorities said on Friday afternoon, as identification of those killed and injured continued.

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says he is open to talks with President Trump on several issues, including drug trafficking, oil and migration.

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Whenever, wherever, however - that's the Venezuelan President's offer to sell more oil to the U.S., as he pleads for diplomacy, not conflict. It comes after Washington hit five more alleged drug boats with airstrikes and reportedly struck Venezuelan soil for the first time. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard is in hot pursuit of an oil tanker which is suddenly claiming to be Russian.

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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday (January 2) to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fire on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years.

Breakdown