General Rules of Curling

All games during league play abide by the Curling Canada Rule Book. Paper copies of the rule book are available at the curling club. 

As of September 2018, the five-rock Free Guard Zone rule applies.

Members are expected to respect and follow all posted health and safety guidelines while using the facility.

The PRCL Board (or designate thereof) will have the final say in the interpretation of any rules.

Teams are encouraged to work out any questions of the rules of curling on the ice in a friendly manner. If an amicable resolution cannot be reached, teams should consult a PRCL board member for the interpretation of the rules.

 

Rules for Pacific Rim Curling League

 

Length of play

  1. All games are 8 ends to a maximum of 2 hours of play.
  2. Bell Rule:  Teams will be alerted (via automated buzzer) when 25 minutes of play remain. At this cue, teams finish playing their current end and may complete one additional end. An end is complete when the final stone has come to rest and the score has been agreed upon.
  3. Out of courtesy to the other team, teams should be on the ice ready to start their game on time.  As per rule 16(3) of the Curling Canada rule book, teams will be penalized for starting their game late. If a game starts six or more minutes late, the non-offending team receives one point for first end. The game begins in the second end and non-offending team has hammer.

Spares

  1. A maximum of two spares can be added to your team roster for a game.
  2. Spares must be members in good standing at the Vancouver Curling Club.
  3. If four players are present, spares must throw either lead rocks (rocks 1 and 2) or second rocks (rocks 3 and 4).  If three players are present, spares must throw rocks 1, 2 and 3.
  4. Spares may act in the skip or vice-skip role.
  5. In the spirit of fair play, please use spares that are appropriate to your team and group’s skill level.

Season play

  1. The league is structured on dividing teams into groups, with each group including up to 9 teams.
  2. The groups will play three rounds of up to eight games (one game vs. each other team in the group).
  3. Games must be played on the posted draw date and time.  Games are not allowed to be played at another date (e.g. no “make up games”).
  4. If you are unable to field a team of at least three players (two of whom must be registered team members) or if you do not show up for your scheduled game, your game result will be recorded as a loss.
  5. Teams will accumulate points based upon their wins (W), ties (T), and losses (L).

Group

W

T

L

A

15

10

6

B

14

9

5

C

13

8

4

D

12

7

4

E

11

6

3

F

10

5

3

Seeding procedure for each round

  1. Round One: Teams are seeded into six groups of nine teams as per the drawmaster’s discretion to create divisions of teams with relatively equal skill level. This seeding is based primarily upon the team’s result from the previous season.
  2. Round Two: Teams are ranked according to points accumulated from W-T-L record in Round One. Teams will be capped from moving up or down more than one group.
  3. Final Round: Teams are ranked according to total points accumulated from W-T-L records in Rounds One and Two. Teams will be capped from moving up or down more than one group. Subsequently, the updated rank order will be transposed into the Final Round groups (nine groups of six teams).
  4. During reseeding between rounds, the following criteria will be used (in order) to break ties in total accumulated points:
    1. Team that won the last head-to-head match
    2. Team in the higher division at the start of the last round played
    3. Team which had the greater number of points at the beginning of the round
    4. Random coin-flip by the drawmaster in the presence of a witness

Group winners:

  1. The Final Round is a five-game, round-robin playoff round. The team with the best W-T-L record in the Final Round will be declared the Group winner.  
  2. If two teams have the same top W-T-L record, the team that won the Final Round head-to-head match will be declared the Group winner.
  3. If two or more teams are tied with the same top W-T-L record and the same head-to-head record, the team with the highest accumulated point total after Round Two will be declared the Group winner.

League winner and the VCC Club Championships

  1. The team who has accumulated the most points at the conclusion of all rounds (with ties broken as per the above rules) will be declared the League winner.
  2. The top league teams will be invited to represent the PRCL at the VCC Club Championships and Presidents Cup in April, with teams being asked in order of their rank at the conclusion of Round Two

Last updated August 28, 2024