The Bonspiel activities started on November 1 afternoon when all the teams were taking turn to practice on the ice and get familiar with the venue; at the beginning it had already ignited an atmosphere of competitiveness and strangely enough at the same time, friendship and comradeship.
The event officially started 9 a.m. Wednesday November 2 at the Richmond Curling Club with the Opening Ceremony. The procession was led by the Piper, and all eight teams marched onto the ice with the flag bearers. Mayor Malcolm Brodie of the City of Richmond gave the welcome speech, and together with Richmond City Councilor Bill McNulty threw the Ceremonious Rocks to officially start the game. At 9:30 p.m. the first game began.
Canada’s Paralympic gold-medal team, who also won the 2011 World Championship in Prague last February, came into the competition with all sweeping wins since the appearance at our event since December 2010.  The USA team returned with a full team and a few other members from the development team. We also had Alberta returning after their win in 2008 and Cancade (Manitoba) and Quebec joined the event for the first time. The BC team won the National in 2010 and was ready for some action.
On Friday, November 4 the RCD hosted the Last Rock Reception, inviting all the athletes, coaches, guests, volunteers, planning committee members and RCD staff members to have a fun social night together. The food was fabulous and everyone had a good time before the last day’s competition.  The Round Robin games continued for three and a half day, for a total of 7 draws and 28 games. Champion Final was held at 1 p.m. on November 5, 2011 before the Closing and Award Presentation Ceremony. Our guest of honour for the medal presentation was Mr. John Yap, MLA of Richmond-Steveston.

The RCD's Richmond International Bonspiel was surely an exciting event, and greatly promoted inclusion for people with people. Many spectators watched the great skills these athletes demonstrated and like myself, they admired their talents. The games are so different and require high precision because there is no sweeper. Watching how elegantly the athletes move on ice was already a pleasant sight.

Moreover, these athletes do more than just competing; they also strive to promote wheelchair curling. The winner Canada A team donated half of their prize money back to the host RCD as seed money for the 2011 Bonspiel; Team 4 C’s also donated their game winning money for the same purpose, and so did athlete Samantha Siu. Their kind contribution and drive to promote equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of the community are very much appreciated by all.