After introducing two umpires to watch the "hog line" following a dispute involving Swedish and Canadian curlers, the sport's governing body has retreated. The federation announced on Saturday that umpires will no longer be present by default but will be available on request.
Athletes had expressed dissatisfaction with the increased monitoring, preferring to rely on the sport's traditional spirit of self-officiating. The policy change came just 24 hours after the initial implementation, which had led to two stones being removed from play for infractions.