University of New Brunswick curler brings down the hammer with one-of-a-kind prosthetic

The University of New Brunswick's Carly Smith is no ordinary student athlete.

Smith, who is from Moncton, was born missing part of her left arm, from right above the elbow, but that didn't stop her from taking up curling at the age of seven.

She attended her first national competition in Grade 9, where she was recognized as the first amputee in Canadian history to make it to a national curling championship. And she's won multiple provincial titles and represented New Brunswick and UNB at five national championships.

"The New Brunswick curling community has been really great to me. It's such a good environment, everybody's so kind and welcoming," Smith said. "There's not really another sport like it."

And some of that success comes from working with the people at the Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics at UNB in Fredericton.

For many years, Smith would tuck the broom into her armpit and sweep the rock down the ice, which caused chafing. She also couldn't put her full weight onto the broom.

WATCH |'I was kind of patient zero for that':

This is Carly’s House

4 hours ago

Duration 4:41

With the help of the Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics, Carly Smith throws with a 3D-printed arm — and unmatched determination.

At a training camp one year, some instructors noticed her method of tucking the broom under her arm and thought there might be a better way. So she began testing some prototypes, such as a sling, to try to make the movement easier.

"I ended up landing on my face a few times. They weren't very sturdy. So I brought the idea to my prosthetist at UNB and taught her a lot about curling and what I needed out of the device," said Smith.

When she was 14, she had a sweeping arm made that would help her hold the broom while she manoeuvred down the ice.

But that wasn't her only challenge. When throwing a rock, she needed expert-level balance to maintain her form while sliding forward out of the hack.

But it wasn't until last year that Smith's coach on the UNB Reds team suggested that she bring the idea of a device for throwing to her prosthetist.

So, she did. And although the request was something completely unique for the clinic, she now is the owner of a detachable wrist which allows her to easily swap her sweeping and throwing attachments mid-game.

Heather Daley, the prosthetist at the limb clinic, said making the prosthetic took a lot of brainstorming.

She said along with materials from the prosthetics industry, the team also used random things lying around, including an aluminum pipe, during the process of designing the attachment.

"It had to be interchangeable with the device she used for sweeping, so it had to be a quick disconnect. So that's kind of where we let our creative juices flow," said Daley.

Daley and her team are currently working on another arm for Smith which will allow her to do upper body workouts at the gym.

The device, when finished, will be the first elbow joint Smith has ever had.

"This will allow her to do some shoulder, back and chest workouts that target both sides which is really important for her as an athlete but also for her down the road as she kind of ages and she's, you know, combatting things like repetitive strain injuries."

For Smith, the arm will be a "game changer."

She first got the idea for it while working at the clinic. As a science and kinesiology student looking to go into occupational therapy, Smith took a class that required the students to work with people with disabilities.

She said she read a list of options for a practicum, but when the limb clinic wasn't on it, she asked her professor if she could do her placement there.

Her professor agreed, but wasn't sure if she'd learn anything since she had been around the clinic her whole life and already has extensive experience with different prosthetics.

But while shadowing the clinic's occupational therapist, she not only got the idea for the gym arm from another patient who had one, but she also learned a lot about phantom limb pain through people with acquired limb amputations, rather than congenital.

Smith said she was also able to pass on some of her lived experience to help the patients of the clinic, as someone who also had to learn to tie her shoes and zip her coat with only one arm.

"They had a lot of questions for me and I had a lot of questions for them," she said.

Now, with both of her curling arms at the ready and a semester at a limb clinic under her belt, Smith is ready for what the future holds.

As she finishes the third year of her undergraduate degree, she plans to focus on getting into occupational therapy school where she hopes to one day work with amputees or in the area of rehabilitation.

And as for the sport that keeps her coming back, Smith doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.

"Curling is a passion of mine. So I'm definitely going to stick with it."