A team of 'extremely drunk' Canadian curlers were disqualified from a tournament for breaking brooms, swearing, and damaging the locker room

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

Canadian curler Ryan Fry.

• A Canadian curling team including a former Olympian reportedly ran amok at an event on Saturday.
• The team turned up to the rink "extremely drunk" after swearing, breaking brooms, and damaging the locker room.
• They even kicked their opponents' curling bags around backstage.
• Prominent team members have apologized.
• But a facility manager at the tournament said "there's no upside to acting like an idiot out on the ice."

A team of "extremely drunk" Canadian curlers have been disqualified from a tournament for life because they turned up to the rink to compete after swearing, breaking brooms, and damaging the locker room.

Former Winter Olympian Ryan Fry, who won gold for Canada at the Sochi games in 2014, and his teammates Jamie Koe, Chris Schille, and DJ Kidby, were removed from the Red Deer Curling Classic final by a committee when their opponents and fans complained over their poor behaviour on Saturday, the BBC reports.

Wade Thurber, the facility manager at the Red Deer Curling Centre, said: "They went out to curl and they were extremely drunk, breaking brooms, and swearing."

There was also "damage in the locker room," according to Thurber.

"I came to the event to play and enjoy the sport," an apologetic Fry said in a CBC report, according to Reuters. "My actions were truly disrespectful and embarrassing - the committee was right to disqualify us from play. I allowed myself to lose control and I offended people with my actions."

Koe also published a statement on Twitter stating that there had been a "lapse of judgement" and that the team "contributed to an unpleasant experience for others."

The World Curling Tour Twitter account posted confirmation of the Canadian team's disqualification, stating: "The team… has been ejected from the Red Deer Curling classic due to unsportsmanlike behaviour."

The Calgary Herald published further details of the incident.

"A lot of us assume they were drinking before they got here; but, they had some booze upstairs and it came time to curl," Thurber said in the Herald.

"Jamie Koe was too drunk to play so he didn't even play."

Thurber also said Fry "was having anger management issues."

The Canadians, Thurber said, caused "a scene" and even kicked other teams' curling bags around backstage.

A sign posted at the event indicated that Koe, Fry, et al were banned for life. It stated that the team was disqualified from the 2018 tournament and "future Red Deer Curling Classic events."

"There's no upside to acting like an idiot out on the ice," Thurber said.