There is a "sweeping rule change" pun right there and the author lacked the courage to use it.

Reminds me of Broomgate - a 'technology doping' scandal from 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broomgate

In some ways it's a shame because I love the finesse game as a counterbalance to the focus on power that seemed to peak around the time Brad Jacob's crew was dominating the scene. I don't follow curling quite enough to know what the impact will be on the meta game though. More guards? Fewer? More takeout attempts? It's interesting because finesse and power both have critical roles in both scoring and defending so it's not obvious to me where the negative/positive impacts to the game will be.

US has a curling team too. I wish the US had better olympics television coverage, but it's become mini athlete docs, a little of US performances and it robs us. There's this too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMLU6-NHINQ

Curling is proof that with enough alcohol anything can be a sport.

My brother in law curls. Asked him about this and he said that it's been coming for a while, the men's teams at Canadian nationals has a self imposed a ban on them, and for amateurs it doesn't really affect them since they're not good enough to have it make a difference. Seems like it means it's not that big an issue and players aren't arguing to keep them.

Now golf on the other hand has a much bigger equipment issues if people want to see some big time drama.

I remember seeing Curling on TV as a young kid in the 60s. Most competitor were out of shape and they tossed the stone almost like one would bowl.

I was shocked decades later seeing how it changed. I miss the old days :)

Like those Nike marathon shoes, Vapor flys

They need to require consumption of a pint of ale prior to each round (and two on each penalty), to bring the game back to it's Canadian roots!