A delivery dispute that began with tensions between Canada and Switzerland on the men’s side has prompted the World Curling Federation to amend its stone-monitoring protocol midway through the Winter Olympic Games.
In a statement released Sunday, World Curling confirmed that, following a meeting with representatives of the competing National Olympic Committees, an update to the stone-monitoring procedure would take effect for Sunday evening’s session.
Under the revised protocol, the two umpires who had previously been actively monitoring athlete deliveries will remain on the field of play but will now only observe deliveries at the request of the competing teams. When requested, umpires will monitor deliveries for a minimum of three ends.
The move marks a significant shift from the previous adjustment introduced just one day earlier.
And after stones thrown by Canada’s Rachel Homan and Great Britain’s Hammy McMillan were removed from play for delivery infractions.
The issue first surfaced following Friday night’s men’s session four match-up involving Sweden and Canada in Cortina. Questions surrounding potential delivery infractions led World Curling to issue a clarification on Saturday, addressing rule violations and officiating procedures.
World Curling reiterated that it does not currently use video replay to re-umpire game decisions, emphasizing that decisions made during play are final.
Game umpires are stationed at the end of each sheet but are not positioned to see every potential delivery infraction. When concerns are raised, umpires are instructed to observe the athlete’s delivery for three ends. According to the federation, during the observation period, no violations were recorded on Friday evening.
The governing body also clarified several aspects of delivery rules:
- Players may retouch the handle as many times as they wish before the hog line.
- A stone must be clearly released before reaching the hog line. Failure to do so results in immediate removal from play under Rule R.5 (e).
- Touching the granite of the stone during forward motion is not permitted and also results in removal.
- As per Rule R.5 (d), the stone must be delivered using the handle.
Given the difficulty of monitoring every hog line on all sheets, World Curling had announced that beginning Saturday afternoon, two roaming officials would move between sheets to observe deliveries.
However, after discussions with team representatives, the proactive monitoring system has been scaled back to an on-demand model.
The Saturday statement also addressed player conduct.
Following Friday evening’s session, World Curling met with Canadian officials to issue a verbal warning regarding language used by a Canadian men’s player during the game. The federation stated that any further inappropriate behaviour, as defined under Rule R.19, could result in additional sanctions, including suspension.
Rule R.19 prohibits improper conduct, foul or offensive language, equipment abuse or wilful damage by any team member.
At the heart of the controversy is the integrity of the stone delivery — a fundamental element of the sport. While infractions such as late releases or improper contact with the granite are rare at the elite level, even the perception of inconsistency in enforcement can create friction on Olympic ice.
By shifting to a request-based monitoring system, World Curling appears to be seeking a middle ground—maintaining oversight while returning greater control to the teams.
With medal-round implications looming, the spotlight on stone delivery — and how it’s policed — isn’t going away anytime soon.
