Everyone thought that the Jamaican bobsled team would be the main social media feature of these Winter Olympic games, however, I don’t think anyone was able to predict the viral nature of the Curling event.Â
For those of you who donât know what curling is, some describe it as chess on ice, while others compare it to darts or shuffleboard, but its origins are far simpler. The earliest records of the sport occurred around the 1350s in Scotland, where the game was made out of necessity to stave off the boredom and melancholy of winter. The lochs and lakes had frozen over, and two people decided to try throwing stones across the lake; the bet was that the closest to a marked spot was the winner. Along the way, someone realised you could alter the path of the stone by brushing the ice- at that time, they would have used a regular broom.Â
Now, 675 years later, it is an international sport which still holds very strong Scottish ties. The stretch of ice is forty-five meters long with a bullseye, and each team takes turns sending their stones down the stretch. The different shots that players may take can either be used to guard other stones from the opposing team, aiming to get as close to the bullseye (or house) as possible, or a takeout, which usually causes powerful ricochets to knock other stones out of play. An interesting fact about the Olympic stones themselves is that the granite only comes from one place, an island off the coast of Scotland, Ailsa Craig.Â
This year, the sport was made more intriguing on February 13th by a country that is typically seen as overly polite and welcoming: the Canadian men’s team. During the Canadian’s bout with Sweden, after a stone was played by Marc Kennedy, Swedish player Oscar Eriksson commented, âApparently it’s okay touching the rock after the Hog line.â In curling, a stone must be released before the Hog line and can not be touched again once it has PASSED the Hog line. Kennedy did not appreciate the accusations at all and did not hesitate to tell Eriksson to âFuck offâ. From the initial video, many media and news outlets have called this moment explosive, declaring that Kennedy just went off. I really donât understand how this is a viral moment. In sport, especially with big stakes like the Olympics, where Canada is seen as a powerhouse at this level, players are going to try to get under each other’s skin. Olympic sport is not just a trial on the body but the mind as well. In the grand scheme of things, Canada was not observed by the game judges as causing any infractions, and Kennedy was simply warned for his inappropriate language. Even at the Olympic Games, they do not have video replay and once the umpires have made their call, that is final.Â
Now this could have all blown over in 24 hours⊠but obviously it didn’t, else I wouldn’t be writing about it. The next day, Canadian women’s Skip (Captain) Rachel Homan had a stone removed from play due to the same infraction; however, this was observed by the umpires, and no âexplosiveâ language was used. Then Team GB was drawn into the controversy as Bobby Lammie had a stone removed during their bout against Germany.Â
Kennedy later accused the Swedes of a conspiracy because the viral footage of Kennedy supposedly âdouble touchingâ the granite, and not the handle, which is not permitted, came from their media channel. The camera crew was set up at the hog line during the event. Kennedy had this to say: âThey have come up with a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I know, to catch teams in the act at the hog line. This was planned⊠it was kind of evident that something was going on, they were trying to catch us in an act.â He also shared sentiments that âthe whole spirit of curling is deadâ with the introduction of harsher observation during games and a push for VR (Virtual Replay). Many sports, around the world, have felt similar sentiments when it comes to the use of technology in tournaments, measuring everything down to the millimetre. I myself believe that a game should be played, won or lost on the merit of its players and that if an âinfractionâ or âviolationâ can not be seen by the human eye, it should be up to the umpire to decide.Â
Canada went on to win against Team GB in the Menâs curling final, taking the gold medal, with Britain awarded the silver and Switzerland the bronze. The GB women, unfortunately, didnât take home any medal compared to their silver win in the 2022 games. Gold went to Sweden, silver to Switzerland and Bronze to Canada.
Editor: Poppy Halliwell