Ice Ice Baby? The 2026 Winter Olympics Thread

[BigPiney]

Not surprised that Canada is cheating.

[Shaka]

Hockey player me: Curling is not a sport. Why is in the Olympics?

Also hockey player me: We almost had the world's first curling brawl. Sweet!

[Northwestcoug]

World Curling seems to agree he cheated.

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I think I've made it clear that it looks like he touched the granite after letting go of the handle, but I'd like to see another angle just to be sure. But even without that, I'm agreeing with you, it's more likely than not that that stone should have been removed.

But cheating? I do not see any advantage of him touching the granite after he lets go of the handle. It's just physics. He's pushing a 40 pound stone, aiming, and curling it before letting go. He has already made the decisions that went into his throw, the last couple of seconds before letting go. There is no 'fine-tuning' his throw with a single finger pushing the granite. That's the hill I'm dying on.

[Northwestcoug]

Still, he touched the granite, which is always a foul, no?. You’re just siding with Canada because you are a trans-Canuck.

It should be yes.

The only reason I watched the replay is because I heard of the fireworks, such as they were in a curling game. Well also because Sweden is apparently #1 or 2 in the world. If that stone would have been removed, I think it's doubtful the game would have been impacted. The game blew open in one of the later ends when Canada got 4 points.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I think I've made it clear that it looks like he touched the granite after letting go of the handle, but I'd like to see another angle just to be sure. But even without that, I'm agreeing with you, it's more likely than not that that stone should have been removed.

But cheating? I do not see any advantage of him touching the granite after he lets go of the handle. It's just physics. He's pushing a 40 pound stone, aiming, and curling it before letting go. He has already made the decisions that went into his throw, the last couple of seconds before letting go. There is no 'fine-tuning' his throw with a single finger pushing the granite. That's the hill I'm dying on.

It is a clear black-and-white violation of the rules. That is the textbook definition of cheating.

Not only did he cheat, but he was a complete asshole to the guy who called him out on it. That’s what made this go viral.

[Northwestcoug]

It is a clear black-and-white violation of the rules. That is the textbook definition of cheating.

Not only did he cheat, but he was a complete asshole to the guy who called him out on it. That’s what made this go viral.

Honestly, I think it’s probably unintentional touching. Cheating because it’s against the rules? Sure, but not cheating to get an unfair advantage. I just don’t see it. But I have a game today. I’ll ask some of the ringers there their opinion. I will return and report!

Completely agree about being an asshole. The woman curler was also one in her post game interview.

[Bo Diddley]

Go ask ChatGPT about curling rules rarely enforced, ruthlessly enforced and rule changes that have occurred. It was too long to post here, but was interesting.

I asked it to boil it down into three paragraphs:

At elite events like the Winter Olympics, governed by the World Curling Federation, curling operates in a hybrid space between strict technical rules and long-standing self-officiating culture. There are numerous minor infractions that are technically illegal but often handled informally—incidental clothing brushing the ice, marginal hog line foot placement, light accidental contact with a moving stone, brief double sweeping in restricted zones, or quiet communication during an opponent’s delivery. Historically, the sport has prioritized intent and competitive impact over literal enforcement when no material advantage is gained.

However, some rules are enforced with zero discretion. Electronic hog line sensors automatically remove stones released late. Free Guard Zone violations result in immediate stone replacement. Equipment tampering, illegal brush heads, and time-clock expirations are applied mechanically. Many of these hard-line standards exist precisely because players previously pushed gray areas—directional sweeping led to brush regulation reforms, repeated close hog line calls led to electronic handles, and overly defensive peeling led to the Free Guard Zone and later the five-rock rule.

The current dispute over the granite touch reflects this broader tension. One side argues that any post-release contact is plainly illegal and should be enforced regardless of intent, especially at the Olympic level. The other side contends that curling tradition evaluates whether the contact materially altered the shot, and if it did not, the spirit of the game supports a measured response rather than automatic punishment. The disagreement is less about the wording of the rule and more about whether curling should function as a strictly adjudicated technical sport or continue to rely partly on its culture of competitive discretion.

[Northwestcoug]

Go ask ChatGPT about curling rules rarely enforced, ruthlessly enforced and rule changes that have occurred. It was too long to post here, but was interesting.

I asked it to boil it down into three paragraphs:

At elite events like the Winter Olympics, governed by the World Curling Federation, curling operates in a hybrid space between strict technical rules and long-standing self-officiating culture. There are numerous minor infractions that are technically illegal but often handled informally—incidental clothing brushing the ice, marginal hog line foot placement, light accidental contact with a moving stone, brief double sweeping in restricted zones, or quiet communication during an opponent’s delivery. Historically, the sport has prioritized intent and competitive impact over literal enforcement when no material advantage is gained.

However, some rules are enforced with zero discretion. Electronic hog line sensors automatically remove stones released late. Free Guard Zone violations result in immediate stone replacement. Equipment tampering, illegal brush heads, and time-clock expirations are applied mechanically. Many of these hard-line standards exist precisely because players previously pushed gray areas—directional sweeping led to brush regulation reforms, repeated close hog line calls led to electronic handles, and overly defensive peeling led to the Free Guard Zone and later the five-rock rule.

The current dispute over the granite touch reflects this broader tension. One side argues that any post-release contact is plainly illegal and should be enforced regardless of intent, especially at the Olympic level. The other side contends that curling tradition evaluates whether the contact materially altered the shot, and if it did not, the spirit of the game supports a measured response rather than automatic punishment. The disagreement is less about the wording of the rule and more about whether curling should function as a strictly adjudicated technical sport or continue to rely partly on its culture of competitive discretion.

The gist of this sounds right to me. At its heart curling is an excuse to slide around on ice and drink afterwards with friends. In competitive curling, I'm sure some rule breaking has been overlooked for quite a while, just because the game's history has been laid back. And now that it's become very competitive teams are looking to shore up any advantage. It sounds like Sweden has been seeing double taps for some time, and now there's a story that someone affiliated with either the team or country was videotaping releases to get evidence. I don't fault them at all.

I'm watching Canada and China right now. Interestingly there are no referees on the ice right now, despite rocks being removed from both Canadian Womens' and Great Britain mens' games earlier. The announcer said there were some high-level talks yesterday, and they agreed to hold back on having refs at all games. I guess a team can still request to have one. Still, watching Kennedy throw (the Canadian who started it all), you can tell he's taking pains to clearly let go of the handle.

[Moliere]

Funny how Canadians can be the nicest people, even when you do something bad to them, oh but if you try to mess with their curling, the inner demon gets unleashed

What a nation of pussies.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Funny how Canadians can be the nicest people, even when you do something bad to them, oh but if you try to mess with their curling, the inner demon gets unleashed

What a nation of pussies.

Now the Candian women are getting busted. Lol.

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[Northwestcoug]

Now the Candian women are getting busted. Lol.

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Bro this happened a couple of days ago. Great Britain was also penalized. Then the governing body got wise and said refs would only patrol the hog line if a team requested it. The great curling cheating scandal of 2026 is over.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Bro this happened a couple of days ago. Great Britain was also penalized. Then the governing body got wise and said refs would only patrol the hog line if a team requested it. The great curling cheating scandal of 2026 is over.

Every team should request it when playing the Canadians. Cheaters.

[Jeff Lebowski]

This is getting out of hand.

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[Jeff Lebowski]

Hockey too. Smh.

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[Northwestcoug]

Ok those are pretty good.