Canada vice-skip Mark Nichols releases a rock during a practice session at the World Curling Championship, Friday, March 31, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – Turkey’s first appearance at a world men’s curling championship is off to an inauspicious start.
The team no-showed the event’s opening ceremony on Saturday afternoon at TD Place.
Curlers from the rest of the 13-team field were on hand for introductions to kick off the nine-day competition.
With no Turkish players present, the in-arena host simply announced the name of the country and the flag-bearer walked out alone.
In an email, a World Curling Federation spokeswoman said the Turkish curlers “just didn’t show up for the opening.” There were no plans for a fine or disciplinary action, she added.
Ugurcan Karagoz is skipping the Turkey team, which is scheduled to kick off its round-robin schedule Saturday night against Japan.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2023.
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