Curlers bounced after boozy bonspiel
A curling team skipped by Jamie Koe that featured 2014 Olympic champion Ryan Fry was ejected from an Alberta bonspiel over the weekend for what organizers called unsportsmanlike behaviour resulting from excessive drinking. The team was tossed from the Red Deer Curling Classic Saturday night. The move was announced via Twitter Sunday by the World Curling Tour, which oversees the $35,000 event. “They were upstairs in our lounge beforehand and everything kind of seemed normal, I guess,” Red Deer Curling Centre manager Wade Thurber said Monday. “Our bar staff eventually cut them off and then it was time for them to go curl.” Fry, who won Olympic gold in 2014, normally plays third for Brad Jacobs. He was filling in as a substitute on the Koe team that included Chris Schille and DJ Kidby. Koe, who has represented the Northwest Territories at several national championships, tried a practice slide before Saturday’s game, but it did not go well and he decided to sit out. “He was too drunk to play,” Thurber said. “They played three-handed.” Thurber said Kidby and Schille did their best to get Fry to focus on the game, but were unsuccessful. “On the ice, he broke three brooms,” Thurber said. “There was, of course, foul language and a little bit of disruption with the sheets beside them. The other guys were trying to control Ryan and they couldn’t. He just got past the point of being able to tell him anything. There was some damage in the locker-room and some broom bags kicked around. It was just conduct that was unacceptable.” The opposing team, skipped by Kody Hartung, went on to post a 10-5 victory. The teams shook hands after seven ends. “I would like to sincerely apologize to the fans, participants and organizers of the Red Deer Curling Classic,” Fry said in a statement issued Monday by Curling Canada. “I came to the event to play and enjoy the sport, but a bad lapse in judgment affected the experience for others. My actions were truly disrespectful and embarrassing. The committee was right to disqualify us from play. “I allowed myself to lose control. I offended people with my actions and I wish nothing more than to apologize to everyone individually. I will be taking proper steps to ensure this problem can never happen again. I will continue to strive to become a better version of myself while contributing positively to the sport and curling community that I love so much.” Team Koe’s last game Sunday was declared a forfeit. The competition was set to wrap later Monday. The organizing committee had yet to decide on the team’s future participation in the event and the WCT has asked for a full report. “I’ve seen brooms broken before, we’ve seen smash marks in the ice; guys get a little heated out there at times,” Thurber said. “But it’s usually a quick one-minute incident and it’s done. This was kind of the whole game.”