SURSEE -- 10 teams will compete for the 2008 World Wheelchair Curling Championship as play begins Saturday in the Swiss city just outside of Lucerne.

This is the third of five World Wheelchair Curling Championships to be hosted by Sursee, and the first since 2004. The 2005 Championships were held in Scotland while last year's 2007 shootout took place in Solleftea, Sweden.

Last year's champions, Norway, finished 8-4 and return with skip Rune Lorentsen at the tee. Host Switzerland is once again represented by Manfred Bollinger, who scored silver in 2007 and also found the podium in previous Sursee years, placing second in 2004 (at third stone) and winning gold in 2002 (at second stone).

Scotland's Michael McCreadie, now at skip position after winning 2006 Paralympic silver at third stone, earned bronze last year with a 7-4 record.

Following a fourth-place finish last year, Canada's squad has experienced change. Chris Daw, who had captained the team at every international event for many years, has withdrawn from competition and three members of his 2006 Paralympic champion team - now skipped by Gerry Austgarden - remain.

Sweden's Jalle Jungnell and Italy's Andrea Tabanelli qualified for Sursee from November's World Wheelchair Curling Championship Qualifying Competition in Scotland. Jungnell scored Paralympic bronze at Pinerolo, Italy in 2006.

Other teams battling for playoff spots include Japan's Yoji Nakajima, Russia's Andrey Smirnov, Augusto Perez of the United States and Korea's Hak Sung Kim, whose team has been training in Switzerland for weeks.

Competition begins February 2 and concludes with the final on February 9.

Real-time results - including shot-by-shot graphics and detailed statistics - are available at: www.wwcc.curlit.com

Daily results will be mirrored on the World Curling Federation website, available via "Media" or by licking firect to: results.worldcurling.org

In addition, the International Paralympic Committee will broadcast packaged coverage of the semifinals and finals, at between 90 minutes and two hours in length, located at the web TV channel www.ParalympicSport.TV An embedded version of the channel is also located on the IPC website at: www.paralympic.org