An internal review by Curling Canada has indicated Kevin Koe should have had a different time allowed on his final stone of the fifth end of the men’s final at the Home Hardware Canada Cup at Affinity Place.
The event was the first to use a set amount of time per end, rather than for the whole game, and many skips complained throughout the week about the time.
The clock showed Koe had two seconds left for the shot but an investigation concluded he had 11, and the situation was called ‘an officiating mistake’ by Curling Canada in a statement they released last week. At the time, officials said they were going to take the stone out of play as it came down the ice.
“The communication to Team Koe took place while the stone was progressing down the sheet, potentially resulting in a communication lapse between vice-skip B.J Neufeld and the sweepers,” Curling Canada’s statement read. “That communication to the team was the result of incorrect timing a few moments earlier.”
Koe’s team called for a timeout with 11 seconds on the clock but that clock ran down to two before stopping. Including the 30-second timeout, they should have had 41 seconds total to deliver their final stone. That stone took 36 seconds, meaning it was delivered legally.
“The timing system used in the Canada Cup was a test, but the standard 38-minute full-game timing system will be used for all Canadian and world championship events,” Curling Canada said.
