Game Format – Regular Season & Playoffs (Effective 9/15/2024)

  • The vice skips from each team conduct a coin toss.  The winner chooses the hammer or color of stone.
  • The goal for each draw is at least 7 ends. (could be 6 or 8 depending on pace of play)
  • At the 40-minute mark from the end of your league time (25 minutes before cleanup), you must finish the end you are currently playing AND play one more end.
    • Note: this would be at 6:50p for a typical session that ends at 7:30p.
  • If your team is ready to play, and the opposing team is not, you may hang 1 point in the 1st end spot 10 minutes after the beginning of your league time. You may hang an additional point in the 2nd end spot after 20 minutes. If after 30 minutes from the start time of the league and your opposing team is not ready to play, the offending team forfeits the game as a loss.  (*Note:  the official start time is what is listed on the schedule as long as the ice is ready on time.  If the ice is not ready on time, the start time will be the moment when the ice is ready for game play).
  • If the game is tied after the final end (as specified above), proceed to a skip’s draw:
    • Each team’s skip will throw one stone. Offensive sweeping is allowed unless BOTH skips agree to waive sweeping (no defensive sweeping).
    • The team who would have had hammer for the next end will go second.
    • After the first stone comes to rest, measure and/or mark the spot and remove the first stone before throwing the second.
    • After the second stone comes to rest, the vice skips agree on which was closer to the button.  It is up to the vice skips exclusively to determine the measurement.  They may do this by using the laser measure or any other measurement tools that they have at their disposal.  The team that is closer wins the game.
    • *Note that only stones in the house are measured. If neither team makes it into the house, repeat the above steps.
  • The Free Guard Zone rule (ie. 5-Rock Rule) IS in effect
  • The No-Tick Shot rule IS NOT in effect.
  • An explanation of the Free Guard Zone and No-Tick Shot rules can be found at the bottom of this document.

Stone Delivery, Sweeping, and End-Scoring

  • Stones must be delivered from the hack and released before the near hog line.
  • A stone must fully cross the far hog line OR touch another stone in play, to be considered in play.
  • A stone that touches a sideline is out of play.
  • A stone that fully crosses the back line is out of play.
  • Between the tee lines, teams may sweep their own stones, with no limit to the number of sweepers.
  • Past the far tee line, teams may sweep stones from either team.  ONLY ONE SWEEPER ALLOWED PER TEAM.
  • If you burn (touch) a stone:
    • In between the hog lines —  call the burn and remove the stone immediately.
    • Past the hog line — call the burn, allow play to continue, ask the opposing skip what they would like to do.
  • At the completion of each end, any measurements and the final end-scores are decided EXCLUSIVELY by the vice skips. No other player, including the skips, can overrule the vice skips.

Playoff tiebreakers

  • (1) Season record
  • (2) Head-to-head
  • (3) Regulation wins (subtract skip stone wins)
  • (4) Overall season points differential (max of 7 per game)
  • (5) Overall season points for (max of 7 per game)
  • (6) Draw teams out of a hat
  • *Note: tiebreakers (3) – (6) would only come into play with a 3-way (or more) tie.

Pace of play

  • The goal is to efficiently move through the rotation and maximize the number of ends that can be played in a match. This will have our club members prepared to play in bonspiels.
  • The goal should be 15 minutes per end, on average. This means that we should get 7 ends in for most games since we have approximately 1hr and 45mins for our slot.
  • Most of the increased pace is achieved by efficiency and positioning, rather than rushing or moving faster.
  • Flow of players
    • At the beginning of an end: As stones are being put back, the lead shooter for the first team (without hammer) should get the #1 stone and get into the hack.  The other sweepers will arrange the remaining stones.
    • Once the sweepers have moved the stones to their proper location, they will move into sweeping position and the shooter can begin.
    • As soon as the shooter releases the stone, the other team should immediately get into position (the sweepers will line up on opposites sides of the house and the shooter will get their stone and settle into the hack). This makes it possible that once your skip has put his/her broom down you can square up and go. Saving 15 seconds every shot is 4 minutes an end, and that is the difference between six and eight ends in two hours!
    • After the previous stone has come to rest at the far end, the sweepers will quickly (without running) come down the sides of the sheet, staying out of the center of the ice. They will post up between the hog line and the hockey blue line.
    • When finishing your turn as shooter, you can set up your teammate’s stone before taking your position as sweeper.
    • While your skip and third debate the last skip stones of the end, the front end (one of the first two shooters) can grab the skip rock and even clean it while they await the upcoming throw. This can save significant time.
  • Other Points of Etiquette
    • As soon as the stone comes to rest at the far end, the skip/vice from the team that just threw should stand entirely behind the house. They should remain there still and not re-enter the house until the next stone is in play.
    • Rules dictate only the skip and third of the delivering team are to be inside the hog line of the rings before a shot. Limit even these twosomes to the final two stones of the end and you can save an incredible amount of time.
    • After you release your stone, it is ok to watch it to completion. However, return to your feet as quickly as you can do so safely.  This will prevent warmer body parts, like a knee, from melting the ice.

Free Guard Zone / No-Tick Shot

An explanation of Free Guard Zone and No-Tick Shot rules can be found below.  An additional diagram can be found HERE.

Free Guard Zone (FGZ) (ie. “The 5 Rock Rule”)

  (a) A stone that comes to rest between the tee line and the hog line at the playing end, excluding the house, is deemed to be within an area designated as the FGZ. Also, stones that are in play, on or before the hog line, after striking stones in the FGZ, are deemed to be in the FGZ.

(b) If, prior to the delivery of the sixth stone of an end, a delivered stone causes either directly or indirectly, an opposition stone to be moved from the FGZ to an out-of-play position, then the delivered stone is removed from play, and any displaced stones are replaced, by the non-offending team, to their positions prior to the violation taking place.

No-Tick Shot

If, prior to the delivery of the sixth stone of an end, a delivered stone causes either directly or indirectly, an opposition stone in the Free Guard Zone (FGZ) which is touching the center line to be moved to an off-center line position or to a position outside the FGZ, the non-offending team has the option to: (i) Remove the delivered stone from play, and replace all stones that were displaced to their positions prior to the violation taking place; or (ii) Leave all stones where they came to rest.