Collinda Joseph
Canadian wheelchair curler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Collinda Patricia Joseph (born May 15, 1965) is a Canadian wheelchair curler[1] from Stittsville, Ontario. She was part of Canada's bronze medal mixed team at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.
| Collinda Joseph | |
|---|---|
| Born | Collinda Patricia Joseph May 15, 1965 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Team | |
| Curling club | RA Curling Club, Ottawa, ON |
| Skip | Mark Ideson |
| Third | Jon Thurston |
| Second | Ina Forrest |
| Lead | Collinda Joseph |
| Alternate | Gil Dash |
Curling career  | |
| Member Association |  Canada |
| World Wheelchair Championship appearances | 3 (2019, 2020, 2025) |
| Paralympic appearances | 2 (2022, 2026) |
Early life and education
Joseph was born and raised in Ottawa. In 1983 at age 18, she was in a train accident in France which caused a spinal cord injury. Prior to her injury, she was a competitive diver.[2] After her injury, Joseph explored adaptive sports such as wheelchair tennis, skiing, track and field, and, finally, wheelchair basketball.[3]
She attended Carleton University and then Algonquin College.[3][2]
Career
Joseph played wheelchair basketball for 15 years.[2] She has been involved in wheelchair curling since 2006.[4] She first tried wheelchair curling at a RBC-sponsored “Give It A Go” event organized by her rehab clinic.[5] She began being invited to national team training camps in 2012.[6]
Joseph competed for Canada in the 2019, 2020, 2021 World Wheelchair Curling Championships.[2] She won a silver medal in the mixed team competition at the 2020 World Wheelchair Curling Championship. She made her Paralympic debut in 2022 on a team with Dennis Thiessen, Ina Forrest, Jon Thurston and Mark Ideson. They won bronze in mixed team wheelchair curling.[7]
Joseph competed in the World Mixed Doubles Wheelchair Curling Championships with Dennis Thiessen in 2023, only the second year the event was held.[8] They lost their semi-final to the United States, but defeated China in the bronze medal match for a third-place finish.[9] She represented Canada at the 2025 World Wheelchair Curling Championship,[10] serving as the team's lead and winning bronze to secure team Canada a spot in the 2026 Winter Paralympics.[11] The team won gold at the inaugural wheelchair event at the Grand Slam of Curling in September 2025.[12]
Outside of her curling career, Joseph has worked for Accessibility Standards Canada and the National Research Council of Canada.[13][5]
Teams
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Coach | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Ken Gregory | Collinda Joseph | Jon Thurston | Chrissy Molnar | Carl Rennick | CWhCC 2013 (7th)[14] | |
| 2015–16 | Collinda Joseph | Doug Morris | Jon Thurston | Ross Nicholson | CWhCC 2016 (8th)[15] | ||
| 2018–19 | Jim Armstrong | Collinda Joseph | Jonathon Thurston | Reid Mulligan | Bruce Gorsline | CWhCC 2019  [16] | |
| Mark Ideson | Collinda Joseph | Jon Thurston | Marie Wright | Ina Forrest | Wayne Kiel | WWhCC 2019 (10th) | |
| 2019–20 | Jon Thurston (fourth) | Ina Forrest | Dennis Thiessen | Mark Ideson (skip) | Collinda Joseph | Wayne Kiel, Michael Lizmore | WWhCC 2020  |
| 2024–25 | Jon Thurston | Gil Dash | Doug Dean | Collinda Joseph | Chrissy Molnar | Michael Lizmore | WWhCC 2025 |
Personal life
Joseph resides in Stittsville, Ottawa.[17] She and her husband, Euan MacKellar,[9] have two children.[citation needed]
Awards and recognition
In 2022, Joseph was given “Changing Lives” award, as part of Algonquin College’s Alumni of Distinction Awards.[3] In 2023, she was inducted into the Governor General’s Curling Club, Canada's equivalent of a national hall of fame for curling.[4] She has also been recognized with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Celebration of People’s Community Leader Award, the Commonwealth Youth Secretariat’s Youth Service Award, Algonquin College’s Community Leader Award in memory of Cathy Kerr, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Deputy Minister’s Award for outstanding achievement for excellence in service to Canadians, and Carleton University’s Honour Award for Service.[4][2]
