A dispute over double-touching stones has overshadowed curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Allegations began with Canada's men's team facing accusations from Sweden, leading to heated exchanges and rule clarifications. The issue expanded to Canada's women and Britain's men, prompting World Curling to adjust umpire protocols mid-tournament.
The controversy ignited on February 13 during Canada's men's round-robin match against Sweden at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accused Canada's Marc Kennedy of double-touching a stone—touching the granite after release past the hog line, a violation under World Curling Rule R.5(d), which requires delivery using only the handle. Kennedy denied the claim, responding with profanity: "I haven't done it once. You can f*** off." Canada won 8-6, but World Curling issued a verbal warning to Kennedy for Rule R.19 on improper conduct.
Videos circulated on social media appearing to show Kennedy's finger grazing the stone, though officials noted no sensor violations on handles, which detect hog-line issues but not granite touches. Kennedy later said, "I’ve played this game a really long time, and I can’t think of one time... when I’ve done something to gain a competitive advantage by cheating."
On February 14, the issue affected Canada's women against Switzerland. Umpire Brett Waldroff removed skip Rachel Homan's first stone for double-touching, which she contested: "I've never done it in my life... Zero percent chance." Canada lost 8-7 in an extra end, dropping to 1-3.
February 15 saw Britain's men's team penalized similarly. In their 9-4 win over Germany, Scottish curler Bobby Lammie had a stone removed in the ninth end for touching after release; he appeared stunned but complied on his next throw.
Responding to the uproar, World Curling initially deployed two umpires to monitor deliveries across four sheets starting February 14, as "it is not possible to observe all hog lines." After meetings with national Olympic committees, they reversed course on February 15: umpires now monitor only at teams' request, for at least three ends. Curlers debated video replays; Sweden's Johanna Heldin opposed them for disrupting play, while U.S. skip Tabitha Peterson supported: "There’s instances where an instant replay would be huge."
The incidents highlight curling's self-policing ethos, strained under Olympic scrutiny. Canada, a curling powerhouse, faces pressure amid the women's team's struggles and men's 4-1 record after a 6-3 win over China.
