They were iced out, alright.
Team USA’s entry in the World Snow Sculpting Championship in Minnesota was banned after turning its sculpture into an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement symbol.
The team was accused of modifying its frozen design to feature hands that spelled, “ICE out,” “unity,” and “resist” in American Sign Language — a change officials said violated competition rules, Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce President Robin Anthony-Evenso told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday.
Anthony-Evenso said the team was aware of the rules and that organizers received “several phone calls and complaints” about the sculpture, which was titled “Call to Arms.”
Team USA captain Dusty Thune told the outlet that the design change was made on Jan. 14, the first day of the competition — just one week after Renee Macklin Good, 37, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
“In a world where division is growing, we all have an equal responsibility to do our part to stay united,” Team USA said, describing their sculpture, according to the tournament’s website.
“A Call to Arms is a figurative expression urging people to take action, often in response to a crisis or conflict. It is a rallying cry to engage in a particular cause. It is going to take each and every one of us to keep our democracy healthy and viable for future generations. Everyone needs to lend a “hand” to keep our society moving forward.”
Officials discovered the modifications to Team USA’s sculpture after they had completed the judging process at the tournament, which consists of 16 teams from around the world, the World Snow Celebration said in a joint statement with the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
The committee noted that competition rules require sculptures to “respect cultural and social values, avoiding offensive, controversial, political, or inappropriate themes.”
“The USA team’s sculpture included hand gestures that did not align with pre-established rules and policy,” the statement said.
Team USA did not place, while Team Canada took first prize.
Thune told the outlet that the team “hadn’t necessarily planned on inserting any messages into the sculpture,” aside from hand signs for peace, love, unity, and resistance.
He said the team encountered problems early on, discovering that the snow block was poorly compacted and filled with debris, which led to the last-minute design change.
“We made the choice to focus on bigger hands and shorter arms to try and salvage our piece,” Thune said. “Sometimes the medium decides the way a piece is going to be created.”
“Sometimes external events also have a hand in shaping what a piece will become,” he added.
Anthony-Evenso said organizers removed some of the hand signs on Jan. 19 after discovering the anti-ICE elements, but acknowledged the response should have come sooner.
“In hindsight, we should have taken it down right away,” she said. “We were trying to be nice and manage the situation without having to do that.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
