Canadian Curling Hall Of Fame calls on Cathy King, Sonja Gaudet as 2013 inductees

As the Canadian Curling Association puts it, two "history-making" curlers are getting a call to the hall.

Cathy King, the first curler to win national championships at the junior, women's and senior levels and Sonja Gaudet, the first wheelchair player to be inducted, got the news today.

Just this past week, Gaudet won her third World Wheelchair Curling Championship gold medal. She has also been a member of two gold medal-winning Paralympic Games teams.

“Our sport has just moved forward in leaps and bounds,” Gaudet said in a CCA media release. “The gap between the grassroots and our level is nowhere near what it was a few years ago. The skill level of our sport and the awareness of our sport has just grown tremendously. And this honour is definitely an indication of that.”

King, who will attempt to win the World Senior Women's curling title this April, told the CCA she was taken aback.

“I was pretty shocked to hear about this. I thought maybe at some point I might be recognized, but I didn’t think it would be this soon, so it was really a nice surprise."

King won Scotties gold as a skip in 1998, with Heather Nedohin (2012 Scotties champion skip) at vice.

"Awesome! Good on her," Nedohin wrote in an email.

"When I joined her after my first year out of juniors," she continued, "she was a mentor for her amazing ability to read the ice and then select shots based on the strengths of her team. She knows her opponents extremely well and knew when to go for it and when to be patient. Cathy's ability to make pressure shots or precise draws in all playing situations was key to our team's success. She always carried herself with championship composure and a keen desire to win."

"Cathy was and is always trying to make the game better for women players. On and off the ice, she pushes for the best for all players - locally, provincially or nationally."

The CCA also announced its award winners for 2013.

Dianne Barker will receive the Ray Kingsmith Award, Samantha Stouffer was named Volunteer Of The Year and Pat Bibby receives the Award Of Achievement.

King and Gaudet will be officially inducted at the CCA meetings this June.