Here’s a really Canadian story.
Late Sunday evening, a curling quartet comprised of skip Jamie Koe, 2014 Olympic champion Ryan Fry, Chris Schille, and D.J. Kidby was sent home from an Alberta bonspiel for drinking an unsportsmanlike amount of alcohol. The drinking occurred before noon.
The team of Jamie Koe, Ryan Fry, Chris Schille and DJ Kidby has been ejected from the Red Deer Curling Classic due to unsportsmanlike behaviour, forfeiting their remaining game. #curling #wcthttps://t.co/DmrezFmzwq
— On The Curling Tour (@TheCurlingTour) November 18, 2018
The team was apparently cut off from a bar in an upstairs lounge before taking the ice. An eye witness account describes 30 or 40 empty beer bottles at the scene. Koe was too drunk to play. “That was probably the unfortunate thing was they had to go curl,” recalled the manager of the Red Deer Curling Centre.
Fry managed to smash as many brooms as the team had men on the rink, and the game was forfeited in the seventh end. While curling tournaments are known to get a little boozy, this sounds like some Smirnoff Vanilla Twist at a high school party behaviour. A locker room was damaged, broom bags kicks, and bad words bellowed. All four team members were quick to apologize for their actions.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the fans, participants and organizers of the Red Deer Curling Classic,” said Fry Monday in a statement issued by Curling Canada. “I came to the event to play and enjoy the sport, but a bad lapse in judgement affected the experience for others. My actions were truly disrespectful and embarrassing — the committee was right to disqualify us from play.”
Via Schille:
Red Deer Curling Classic pic.twitter.com/LKNLtzDQOH
— Chris Schille (@cschille) November 19, 2018
And Kidby:
RDCC pic.twitter.com/FmLiKwTjwj
— DJ Kidby (@dkidby21) November 19, 2018
And Koe:
My official statement regarding the 2018 Red Deer Curling Classic. pic.twitter.com/FUEbW92dG5
— Jamie Koe (@JKnwt) November 19, 2018
Everyone is sober now and ready to sweep the incident over the backline.
