Curling, a beloved staple of the Winter Olympics, has been at the forefront of recent international sports headlines. Although usually thought of as a tame, mild display of athletics, hostilities have risen surrounding the sport.
Curling did not reach the global spotlight until the 1924 Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. However, it was designated as a ‘demonstration sport’ at the 1932 Lake Placid Games, meaning it was held as an exhibition event alongside the main Olympic Program. Following many failed attempts to bring curling back to the Olympics in the mid-twentieth century, it finally returned at the Nagano Winter Olympic Games of 1998.
Since then, the sport has quickly grown to become a fan favorite. The ‘Roaring Game,’ nicknamed for the sound made by the granite stone as it passes over ice, is played in three events at the Olympics. There are ten teams across the categories of men’s, women’s and mixed doubles. The games are played with 44-pound granite stones on specialized, pebbled ice sheets. Teams throw the stones towards the “house” for points, using brooms to help navigate and guide them.
In the mixed doubles, Sweden defeated Team USA for the gold medal; Italy secured the bronze. In men’s curling, Great Britain and Canada battled it out for first place. In women’s, Switzerland and Sweden faced off in the championship match. Despite all of these teams’ success, global attention has been focused on something else entirely.
On Friday, February 13, the men’s curling teams from Canada and Sweden competed in the Olympic tournament. Although Canada won the match 8 to 6, the Canadians seemed to have lost in the eyes of the public. . Known for their phenomenal sportsmanship, the events that occurred at the match have since tarnished the Canadian’s reputation.
Canadian curler Marc Kennedy was accused of cheating during Friday’s match. According to Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson, Kennedy double-touched the stone by making contact with both its handle and the actual surface of the stone. Although players are allowed to make as much contact with the handle as they want, they are forbidden from crossing a boundary called the “hog line.”
After the accusation, Kennedy and Eriksson got into a very heated verbal altercation. Both parties used profanities in their back-and-forth, which was captured in a video that quickly went viral. With the amount of traction that the video gained, the governing body for the sport, World Curling, intervened. They reviewed the rules of the sport and determined that touching of the granite stone is not allowed during a throw. World Curling gave Kennedy a verbal warning for his use of crude language, but he was not officially charged with cheating.
The following day, more cheating allegations rose for the Canadians. The women’s team was also accused of double-touching, which resulted in having the stone removed from play due to violations. The Canadian women’s team lost their match against Switzerland 7-8.
While the Canadians weren’t the only country that faced cheating allegations in the curling tournament, it was Kennedy’s reaction that stood out. His anger and explicit language were uncharacteristic for a Canadian, a country who is often represented as diligently committed to their integrity and sportsmanship. The Winter Olympics have contained many memorable moments, but this one will remain one of the most shocking.