Following the team's loss in the semifinals at the 1981 World Championships to Switzerland, Kammerlock was involved in a "sharp exchange" with a Swiss reporter, who asked him if the Swiss team won "because of broom debris". Kammerlock had previously stated that the Swiss team had "no class" for repeatedly "snowplowing". Kammerlock's response to the reporter was "hy don't you guys learn the rules of the game". Team Canada skip Kerry Burtnyk asked Kammerlock to cool down, and blamed the loss on himself. The team finished with a round robin record of 8–1 before their semifinal loss.