"The backpedaling came less than 24 hours later. A day after World Curling ramped up monitoring of the matches, it pulled the plug, saying umpires would retreat and be available on request but not by default. The move came after a quick meeting between national curling federations and World Curling on Sunday in which curlers expressed dissatisfaction with the increased surveillance. Athletes wanted less monitoring, not more."
"I think there's a lot of pride in trying to be a sport that kind of officiates ourselves a little bit, so to speak, said Nolan Thiessen, CEO of Curling Canada, whose teams have been at the heart of the uproar over the past several days. I think it was just everybody taking a deep breath and going, OK, let's just finish this Olympics the way we know our sport is to be played."
World Curling increased umpire monitoring at the Winter Olympics then reversed the decision within 24 hours, making umpires available only on request. National curling federations met and curlers expressed dissatisfaction with heightened surveillance and a preference for less monitoring. The choice to limit umpires reflects a longstanding culture of self-officiating and pride in maintaining the sport's traditional spirit. Millimeter-level margins in curling heighten sensitivity to officiating, even as the sport becomes more popular and professional. Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen described the decision as a collective choice to finish the Olympics in the way curlers know the sport should be played.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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