CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — World Curling on Sunday rowed back on its decision to ramp up officiating at the Winter Olympics after allegations of cheating, saying officials would now actively monitor for violations only at the request of teams.

On Friday, Sweden’s men’s team accused Canadian curlers of double touching stones, triggering a heated clash between players and a subsequent media frenzy.

In response, World Curling initially said the remainder of the Olympic competition would have officials monitoring the hog line, the point where curlers must let go during delivery, but it changed its stance on Sunday after talks with National Olympic Committees.

Since the officials were set on the hog line on Saturday, Canada women’s skip Rachel Homan and British men’s curler Bobby Lammie have had stones removed from play due to alleged violations.

Homan on Saturday slammed the officials’ decision to remove her stone during a defeat to Switzerland, saying it was “insane.”

“Following a meeting with representatives of the competing National Olympic Committees, an update in the stone monitoring protocol has been confirmed, beginning with the evening session on Sunday 15 February,” World Curling said in a statement.

“This change in protocol will see the two umpires who had previously been actively monitoring athlete deliveries remain available in the field of play, but will now only monitor athlete deliveries at the request of the competing teams.”

The system appears similar to the previous method of monitoring violations, in which umpires would be set at the hog line to observe deliveries for three ends if there was a complaint from either team.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Yannick Schwaller’s Switzerland team downed world champions Great Britain to remain unbeaten in the men’s curling competition at the Winter Olympics on Sunday.

The British rink, led by Bruce Mouat, pushed the Swiss hard and forced an extra end, but their opponents had the hammer and last-stone thrower Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel ensured a 6-5 win.

Switzerland sits atop the table at 5-0, with Brad Jacobs’ Canada in second place after they beat China 6-3 to pick up their fourth victory. The United States moved level with Great Britain at 4-2.

Third-place Britain beat 2024 European champions Germany 9-4 in the morning session.

In that game, Britain’s Bobby Lammie had a stone removed for double touching, which came amid increased officiating in the wake of cheating accusations levied by Sweden against Canada.

The incident occurred in the ninth end and had little effect on the outcome. Governing body World Curling has since returned to less stringent officiating.

Niklas Edin’s Sweden, who won gold in Beijing four years ago, struggled to read the conditions of the ice at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium as they slipped to an 8-5 defeat at the hands of a young United States team.

In the evening session, the U.S. went on to claim a 10-8 win over Norway, who had beaten hosts Italy 10-7 earlier in the day. Italy also beat the Czech Republic 10-5.

SWEDISH WOMEN CONTINUE WINNING RUN

While the Swedish men’s team has been struggling, the Anna Hasselborg-led women’s outfit has made a flying start to the competition, beating Britain 10-7 to clinch its fifth straight win and cement its position atop the standings.

Madeleine Dupont’s Denmark team won 7-2 over Italy, which conceded with two ends remaining, while South Korea’s Gim Eun-ji ensured a 7-5 win against Japan with the last shot of the game.

Tabitha Peterson’s U.S. team fought back from a 4-1 deficit at the halfway mark to beat China 6-5. The Americans (4-1) are second in the standings.

Teams play nine matches in the round-robin stage, which continues on Monday. The top four advance to the semifinals next week.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Tyrese Maxey scored nine points and Anthony Edwards added eight as USA Stars came out on top during the All-Star Game on Sunday with an easy 47-21 championship victory over USA Stripes.

The three-team round-robin tournament of short 12-minute games also included Team World, made up of international stars, and was the latest incarnation of the ever-changing All-Star Game format that went with four teams in a tournament-style bracket last year.

Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also scored eight points and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons added six as the younger USA Stars avenged an earlier 42-40 defeat to the veteran USA Stripes in the three-game round robin.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Maxey went 4 of 8 from the floor in the 12-minute title game and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Edwards went 3 of 5 with a pair of 3-pointers. Edwards scored 32 total points in his teams’ three games and was named MVP.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored six points and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James added five for USA Stripes.

USA Stars took control early in the title game by grabbing an early 12-1 lead, with Maxey scoring seven of the points. Team Stripes was within 18-9 with 7:03 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers from James and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, but USA Stars dominated from there.

A 15-0 run eliminated any potential drama as USA Stars led 33-9 with 4:19 remaining.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored just one point in the title game, while going 0 of 4 from the floor. It came after he dominated the final round-robin game with 31 points in 12 minutes of a 48-45 victory over Team World to advance his side to the final.

In the opening game of the three-team round robin, USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in extra time on a 3-pointer from the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes.

–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media