World Curling changes umpire setup again at Games

World Curling adjusted its umpire setup at the Winter Games again Sunday night after a contentious weekend at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. 

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – World Curling adjusted its umpire setup at the Winter Games again Sunday night after a contentious weekend at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

In a statement, the sport’s governing body said the two umpires who had previously been monitoring athlete deliveries at the hog line will now only do so “at the request of competing teams.”

The development comes after Canadian women’s skip Rachel Homan had her first rock pulled in a game against Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni on Saturday night. Canada went on to drop an 8-7 decision in an extra end.

The umpire felt Homan had “double-touched” the rock on her throw. Curlers are not allowed to touch the stone’s granite after letting go of the handle.

Homan vehemently denied making an improper throw.

On Sunday, Great Britain’s Bobby Lammie had a stone removed for the same reason in a 9-4 win over Germany.

The latest umpire change came after a meeting with representatives of the competing teams, World Curling said.

“This change in protocol will see the two umpires who had previously been actively monitoring athlete deliveries remain available in the field of play, but will now only monitor athlete deliveries at the request of the competing teams,” the statement said.