JAM rules for Tournament Rules: Curling Bonspiels

Tournament Rules: Curling Bonspiels

The following rule book will cover all JAM Curling Bonspiels. It is described in its entirety below.

Game Time/ Defaults

Please be ready to play 5 minutes prior to your game time so that you can start on time.

Games last for 5 ends, or 60 minutes, whichever comes first. No new end may start with less than 5 minutes to go in your game. When the "5 minutes remaining" whistle is blown, the position currently throwing finishes their rocks, the next position throw theirs, and then the game is over. So, if the seconds have thrown one rock each and the whistle is blown, then they finish theirs and the thirds throw all of theirs and the game ends (in this situation, the skips would not throw).

Team Format

Teams are comprised of four (4) players; however, a team can play with 3 players. A team of five people is allowed, with one person sitting out each end, or having two people on the team only throw one rock each.

Playing Area

All Curling Bonspiel Matches will take place on our provided curling sheets.

Equipment/Set Up

All curling equipment will be provided at the Curling Club (brooms, rocks, etc). All players are responsible for bringing CLEAN indoor shoes. Boots, outdoor shoes, or large chunky shoes are not acceptable - players will not be allowed to play.

General Rules

The following outlines the basis of the rules of JAM Curling Bonspiels:

A coin flip/Rock-paper scissor game will determine the team who starts with the hammer. In the playoffs, the higher-ranked team in the final standings starts with the hammer.
Bonspiel Scoring is as follows: Win = 15 points, Tie = 10 points, Loss = 5 points. Add 1 point for every end won. Add half (1/2) a point for every point scored.
3 Game Tournament Format: In a bonspiel where teams only play 3 games, the team with the highest points at the end of the 3 games will be named the winner of that draw.
4 Game Tournament Format: In a bonspiel where teams play 4 games, the two teams with the highest points at the end of the first 3 games will play their 4th game as the "Championship" game, and the winner of that game will be the winner of that draw, regardless if other teams have higher points in the end.
Teams alternate throwing rocks. Each person throws 2 rocks in a row.
The rocks must completely cross the hog line to stay in play.
Throwers must release the rock before the hog line and a thrown rock must completely cross the other hogline to be in play.
If a rock hits the sideboard or the sidelines, they are out of play.
Only one team can score points for any given end. The team with the closest rock to the centre scores one point. This team can score additional points for each rock that is closer to the centre than their opponents' closest rock.
A team can only begin to sweep the oppositions rock(s) once it has completely passed the T-line (the line that intersects the house). Only one sweeper can sweep past the T-line per rock.
All curlers MUST wear clean shoes on the ice, with a slider. People who are right-handed a slider on their left foot and vice-versa for left-handed people. **BE CAREFUL NOT TO STEP ON THE ICE WITH YOUR SLIDER FOOT FIRST**
Please do not hit the ice with brooms.
Please do not crash the rocks on the ice.

Preliminary Round Matches

Preliminary Round games can be tied during the regular season.

Playoffs Tiebreak

If a playoff game ends in a tie at the end of regulation time, a tiebreaker will be played to decide a winner. A draw to the button will be used to break a tie. The team whose rock is closest to the button will be deemed the winner.

Coin toss: The team winning the coin toss will decide whether they will curl first or second.
Each team will decide on 4 players to take part in the tiebreaker. 1 person to throw, 2 sweepers, and 1 "skip" who will direct the shot. The positions should be chosen at the time of the coin toss.
The first team will throw their rock. Both teams (a neutral player from another team) should agree on where the rock landed. The rock is then removed from play allowing the second team to shoot at an empty house. Both teams (the same neutral player) will agree on where the second team's rock stopped. If possible, a winner will be determined.
If no rocks land in the house, the teams will repeat step three until a winner can be determined. The same order should be maintained throughout the shootout.