Alberta-developed VR technology aims to help Canada’s wheelchair curlers train for Milano-Cortina Paralympics

Red Deer Polytechnic students and researchers developed a virtual reality wheelchair-curling simulation used to help Team Canada prepare for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. The project combined animation, computer programming and kinesiology expertise to recreate curling mechanics and the competition venue in Italy, giving athletes an additional way to train without requiring physical access to the ice. Although designed as a sports-training tool rather than a commercial video game, the project uses many of the same skills and technologies found in Alberta’s game-development industry, including Unity development, 3D environments, animation, interaction design and virtual reality. Students from Red Deer Polytechnic’s Animation and Visual Effects and Computer Programming programs contributed directly to its development. The project demonstrates how game-development skills taught at an Alberta post-secondary institution can be applied to simulation, accessibility and specialized interactive experiences outside traditional entertainment games.