Team kicked out of bonspiel over drunken behaviour
A Canadian Olympic gold medallist who was kicked out of the Red Deer Curling Classic over the weekend along with three of his teammates was “breaking brooms and swearing ” after the squad showed up to the rink drunk, according to one of the tournament organizers.
The incident happened Saturday, when the curling team of Jamie Koe, Ryan Fry, Chris Schille, and DJ Kidby were scheduled to curl at 4:30 p.m.
“I don’t know if they were drinking before they got here. I think a lot of us assume they were drinking before they got here; but, they had some booze upstairs and it came time to curl,” said Wade Thurber, manager of the Red Deer Curling Centre.
“Jamie Koe was too drunk to play so he didn’t even play. So, they’re curling three-handed and in particular (Fry) was having anger management issues, we’ll call it, breaking brooms and swearing and kind of causing a scene.”
Thurber said Fry broke three brooms, disrupting games going on beside him.
“There was a little bit of damage in the locker-rooms; other teams’ curling bags kicked around and that sort of thing,” he said.
“At the end of the day it was all unacceptable behaviour. We had lots of complaints from other fellow curlers and spectators. We met as a committee and made the decision to remove them from the spiel.”
The Red Deer Curling Classic is a World Curling Tour tournament, known as a bonspiel, featuring competitive curlers.
It was scheduled to wrap up Monday, after Team Koe had already been removed.
“You would think it’s a serious event,” said Thurber. “I think they just didn’t take the spiel seriously
at all and were just here to have a good old time. Things got out of hand a little bit.”
Fry, who usually plays on Brad Jacobs’ team, won a gold medal for Canada in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Fry said in a statement he was sorry for his behaviour.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the fans, participants and organizers of the Red Deer Curling Classic,” he stated. “I came to the event to play and enjoy the sport. My actions were truly disrespectful and embarrassing — the committee was right to disqualify us from play.
“I allowed myself to lose control and I offended people with my actions. I wish nothing more than to apologize to everyone individually.”
Although competitive curlers might let loose after they’re done for the day or have already lost at the bonspiel, Thurber said it’s unusual to see them drinking in the midst of an event.
But he said there’s nothing preventing it.
“There is no rules,” said Thurber. “But these guys, they’d been drinking all weekend … To me, they’re not doing themselves any favours because you can’t perform at a high level if you’re intoxicated.”
Koe said in a statement that a “lapse in judgment … contributed to (an) unpleasant experience for others.”
“Although I removed myself from the last game before it started, the actions from the team led to our disqualification,” he stated.
“We were disrespectful and the committee was right to disqualify us from further play which we did not argue.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the athletes, fans and organizers at the event. I will be taking steps to ensure this never happens again.”
Thurber said the team reached out to tournament organizers and “were very apologetic.”
A sign posted at the event Sunday, which was seen on social media, stated that “due to unacceptable behaviour” the Red Deer Curling Classic Committee decided to disqualify the team for the remainder of the bonspiel and “future Red Deer Curling Classic events.”
Thurber said the committee would meet in the near future to determine whether to suspend the team from playing at the rink moving forward.
“There was basically one player that was the problem more than the others,” he said, referring to Fry.
“I mean they were all guilty by association, I guess you could say … There’s no upside to acting like an idiot out on the ice.”