Well, hell’s bells, who knew curling could get so heated? The Olympic curling world is still reeling from the controversy that erupted between Sweden and Canada on Friday. “The whole spirit of curling is dead,” Canada’s Marc Kennedy said Monday night after his team’s 8-2 win over the Czech Republic—a bold statement from the man who sparked this whole mess by repeatedly telling Swedish opponent Oskar Eriksson to “fuck off” after Eriksson accused him of an illegal double-touch.
On Tuesday, the Canadians outperformed Great Britain, beating them 9-5. That means Bruce Mouat’s British team must defeat the U.S. and hope other results go their way to reach the semi-finals.
“Mouat gave us a couple of misses to work with,” Kennedy said, “which isn’t something we’ve had from him before.” He then left, relieved he hadn’t faced “a nuclear question.” There have been plenty of those lately. Tuesday morning, rumors swirled that a Swedish journalist had new photo evidence of a Canadian women’s skip making another double-touch. It’s been a bonspiel like no other.
According to the Canadians, curling is built on trust. “This whole trying to catch people in the act of an infraction sucks,” Kennedy said Monday. “We don’t look for infractions at grand slams or on tour. We trust that people aren’t trying to cheat. If something happens, it’s dealt with in the moment, and you move on. You don’t need officials to manage our game. That’s where the spirit of curling is in trouble—and honestly, that probably comes from the quest for medals.”
Kennedy says curling is meant to be a gentleman’s game. “It is what it is,” he added ruefully. “The sport is evolving.”
And how. This row has become the biggest thing to happen to curling since it returned to the Olympics in 1998. Slow-motion footage of Kennedy brushing the stone with his finger has gone viral, and the internet is flooded with AI-generated skits showing him nudging hockey pucks and knocking over figure skaters. On TikTok, a spoof video of Kennedy and Eriksson in a “Heated Rivalry” has racked up 2.5 million views. The organizers were clearly unprepared for the scale and speed of the reaction.
They brought in two extra referees to monitor the hog-line, only to remove them after curlers complained. “We’re not at some bonspiel in Saskatchewan—we’re at the Olympics,” said Canadian coach Paul Webster. “We have untrained people doing things they’ve never done before. I respect the volunteers, but we have to question whether we should be trying new things at the Olympic Games.”
While something may have been lost, some curlers admit something has been gained too—though it’s unclear if it’s for the better. The sport couldn’t buy this kind of publicity. The Curling Group is launching a new international franchise competition called The Rock League next April, and Mouat and several others have already signed up.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the negativity of everything that’s going on,” said Canadian skip Brad Jacobs.But when you consider everything that’s happened and how many people have tuned into curling over the last 72 hours, it’s probably the best thing ever for our sport.
“What does the world feed off nowadays? Negativity. But that’s okay. Like I said, all that negativity brought a lot of attention to curling from people who may never have considered watching it before.” The shame is that unless Great Britain gets lucky, it won’t be Mouat they’re watching, even though he is widely regarded as the best player in the sport today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the controversy framed in a natural tone with direct answers
Understanding the Controversy
Q What is this controversy about I saw a headline about chaos on the ice
A Its about a recent highlevel curling match where a team was accused of violating the Spirit of Curlingthe sports core tradition of sportsmanship and selfofficiating This led to heated arguments a disputed ruling and players and fans feeling the games honorable essence was broken
Q What exactly is the Spirit of Curling
A Its the unwritten ethical code of the sport It means players call their own fouls respect opponents prioritize fair play over winning at all costs and maintain a friendly atmosphere Winning is important but winning with honor is more important
Q What actually happened to cause the chaos
A Specific details vary by event but it typically involves a team making a strategic move and not conceding the error The opposing team then has to call them out leading to disputes over the interpretation of the rules and the spirit
Rules vs Spirit
Q Is the Spirit of Curling an official rule
A Its the guiding principle in the rulebooks preamble but its not a specific enforceable penalty like in other sports Players are expected to govern themselves by it When they dont there are no clearcut punishments which is why controversies erupt
Q So if something isnt technically a rule violation can it still break the spirit
A Yes absolutely This is the heart of the debate A team might make a legal but overly aggressive deceptive or unsportsmanlike play that follows the letter of the law but violates the spirit of respect and fair play
Q Whats a common example of a Spirit of Curling violation
A A classic example is not admitting you touched a moving stone with your broom Even if the referees didnt see it you are honorbound to declare it Not doing so to gain an advantage is considered a major breach of spirit
Impact and Reactions
