Chicago’s curling community is reacting to a controversy swirling around Canada’s teams, and the fallout that has transpired.
On Friday, Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock a second time after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice.
Kennedy blew up, launching an expletive-laden outburst that stunned the normally quiet curling community.
“To see that kind of interaction, that kind of language at the Olympics of all places is shocking,” said Matt Galas, the cofounder of Windy City Curling in Villa Park.
“When you deliver your stone, you can touch your handle, but you have to release it by the ‘hog line,'” said Galas.
Galas says two infractions are alleged in this instance. Kennedy is accused of not only touching the granite part of the stone, a violation, but doing so past the ‘hog line.’
“If you do [break a rule], curling is a very traditional sportsmanship game. You are supposed to call your own fouls and pull your stone out,” said Galas.
After the uproar, World Curling clarified that double-tapping is not allowed, issuing a statement: “During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play.”
Although the competition can be fierce, curling is known for its camaraderie, and allegations of cheating are rare.
“Curling is very high in tradition. One of those traditions is the ‘spirit of game,'” said Galas. “I think it’s the only game where the tradition is, you sit down with the other team afterwards, and the winners buy the losers the first round.”
Is it cheating? Galas says ask ten curlers and you’ll get twelve different answers.
“There are nuances to everything, and sometimes it doesn’t impact gameplay,” he said.
“Touching a stone 95 feet away with your fingertip, will that actually impact that shot? Maybe,” said Galas. “That’s where opinions come in. It is a fine line of technical rules versus rules in the moment versus what actually impacts the game.”
It might not be the type of exposure the curling community celebrates, but the moment is building anticipation for the next matches on Tuesday.
