General Rules of Curling

  1. 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.
  2. Members are expected to respect and follow all posted health and safety guidelines while using the facility.
  3. The PRCL Board (or designate thereof) will have the final say in the interpretation of any rules.
  4. 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.
  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 8 teams.
  2. The groups will play three rounds of up to seven games (one game vs. each other team in the group).
  3. The Playoffs will be a single-knockout bracket with the eight teams in each group.
  4. Games must be played on the posted draw date and time.  Games are not allowed to be played at another date (i.e. no “make up games”).
  5. 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 default.
  6. Teams will accumulate points based upon their wins (W), ties (T), and losses (L). No points are given for defaulted games (D) as per the table below.

Group   

W  

T  

L  

D  

A

15

10

6

0

B

14

9

5

0

C

13

8

4

0

D

12

7

4

0

E

11

6

3

0

F

10

5

3

0

G

10

5

 

 

  1. Tie games:
    1. For regular league play, tie games are recorded as ties (T).
    2. For playoff games, teams will break ties through a draw to the button. One player from each team will throw one rock, the closer to the button will win. Teams may sweep their own rock but sweeping the opponent’s rock behind the T-line is not permitted).
  2. Default games: A default occurs when one team either does not show, or does not have enough players to play (3 players, of which 2 must be registered members of the team).
    1. Teams may not agree to a “tie” in lieu of a default.
    2. If neither team can field at team of 3 players with at least 2 registered members of their respective teams, then both will be awarded a default result.

Seeding procedure for each round:

  1. Round 1: Teams will be ranked into groups 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. Rounds 2, 3, Playoffs: Teams will be ranked based upon total accumulated points.  Teams will be capped from moving up or down more than one group.
  3. 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

League winners and the VCC Club Championships:

  1. The team who has accumulated the most points at the conclusion of Round 3 (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, with teams being asked in order of their rank at the conclusion of Round 3.

CGCC Nationals and PRCL Playdowns Rules and Guidelines

  1. Unless otherwise indicated in this document, the PRCL will comply with the rules as stated in the Canadian Gay Curling Championship (CGCC) Guidelines.
  2. Team eligibility for representing Vancouver at the CGCC, or competing for that right in playdowns is as follows:
    1. Teams must consist entirely of PRCL members who are “in good standing” with the league.
    2. A curler will be considered to be PRCL member “in good standing” if:
      1. They have paid PRCL membership dues
      2. They have completed all waivers and forms requested by the VCC
    3. Players may not be a member of more than one team during playdowns, or for the CGCC event.
    4. Players who have already qualified for the CGCC with a team from another city are ineligible.
  3. PRCL CGCC Playdown guidelines:
    1. Timelines and Fees
      1. A call for interest for PRCL teams to participate in the CGCC playdowns will generally go out in late September/early October with a deadline of early October for registration.
      2. The CGCC playdown draw will be published in early November with seeding based on current season points total as of November 1st with the intent to complete the playdowns in late November/early December using a combination of VCC Open Ice time (if available) and rented ice time.
      3. Depending on the number of teams that enter, a fee may be applicable to participate in the event that rented ice time is necessary. Teams will be notified prior to the draw being published if a fee will be applicable.
    2. Maximum teams, draw format and team ranking:
      1. A Maximum of 8 teams will participate in the CGCC playdowns.
        • The first 6 spots will be reserved for PRCL ranked teams.
        • In the event that more than 8 teams express interest in participating in the playdowns, any teams after the first 6 ranked teams will be placed into the 2 remaining spots based on a random (witnessed) draw.
      2. Draw format will be “double-knockout”.
      3. Teams will be ranked and placed in the playdowns draw using the following guidelines:
        • Previous season’s CGCC champion (if applicable) would be automatically ranked #1 (subject to the 3 player rule below).
        • The remaining teams (up to 6) would be ranked in order of current PRCL seasons point’s results as of November 6th.
      2. Remaining unranked teams would be placed in the draw by having their names drawn out of a hat.
      3. Teams must consist of at least 3 players from the current season in order for results to be considered for ranking in the CGCC playdowns draw.
    2. Spare rules for PRCL playdowns:
      1. Spares are eligible to compete on a team in the playdowns if they are a member in good standing with the PRCL (see above)
      2. Players already registered on a team in the playdowns are ineligible to spare for any other team in the playdowns.
      3. Spares may play any position on the team as long as regular players are not demoted to a lower position.
      4. CGCC Event: CGCC Regulations stipulate that no team may use other members of those competing in the Nationals as spares during the Nationals event. Once representative teams are formed, spares can be drawn from either members of the PRCL in good standing to compete, or from a pool of eligible spares set aside by the host city.
    3. Qualifying Teams from the Playdowns
      1. The PRCL CGCC playdowns will result in 2 qualifying teams. A-Qualifier (Vancouver 1) and B Qualifier (Vancouver 2)
      2. Although Vancouver generally only sends 2 qualifying teams to the CGCC event, in the event a qualifying team decides later on it cannot make it to the CGCC event, or if the CGCC organizers open up a 3rd next ranked team from the playdowns will be given the opportunity to represent Vancouver.
      3. Any team that qualifies to represent Vancouver at the CGCC must bring at least three (3) of the members that participated in the playdowns to the actual CGCC event. Exception: In case of injury or extenuating personal circumstances, this rule may be relaxed at the discretion of the PRCL Board.
      4. In case there is an available slot for Vancouver at the CGCC with no ranked team to fill it, this slot may be filled with a team as per the PRCL Board’s discretion.

Updated September 11, 2021