League Rules
League Information
Last Updated: 2022-09-14
General
  • League prize fee is $25 per official player (this includes rostered 5th players). All prizes fees and sponsorship go back to the players for series wins, playoff positions, and overall rankings.
  • Please submit all game scores electronically, via text message or email, to the league convener.
    • Submissions only need to include the winning team and final score (that said, feel free to have fun with it!).
    • Convener contact information can be found on the Home Page or Dundas Valley G&CC Website.
Teams and Players

Team rosters posted on the website will be considered the official team and all spare rules will apply based on the listed (registered) players. Any team changes requested after the season starts will require approval from the convenor.

An optional 5th player may be registered for each team. 5th players are considerd full members of the team, making them exempt from standard sparing rules for their registered team. They can play any position at any time, and count towards the "two registered players" minimums. Except in rare, pre-approved circumstances, teams may not have more than 5 registered players (6th players are not listed on the website).

  • A player can only be a registered member of a single team; this includes 5th players.
  • A player who often spares for a particular team but is not on the team roster is NOT considered a registered player and will be subject to normal sparing rules.
Season Seeding

Teams will be seeded into the league based roughly on previous year results (regular season and playoffs). In order to be as fair as possible, all new teams will be seeded into C flight regardless of skill level.

A new team is defined as:

  • A team made of players completely new to the league.
  • A team made of players who have previously played in the Open League but from different teams.
  • Returning teams with 2 or fewer players returning from the previous season. 5th players count as returning players.

Note: Varsity / Academy Teams are exempt from "new team" re-seeding rules and are considered "returning" teams regardless of roster changes.

Rules of Curling

All rules not mentioned on this page are based on the standard Curling Canada Rules for General Play.

  • Delivery Aids (sticks) are permitted.
  • All synthetic broomheads (and associated "directional sweeping" techniques) are allowed in this league. That said, we do enourage
  • As of the 2018-19 season, hair brooms are banned from Dundas Valley as both a sweeping tool and delivery aid.
Rules - Regular Season
Last Updated: 2022-05-04
Scheduling and Rescheduling

Regularly scheduled game times are:

  • Wednesday @ 6:30PM (C & D Flights)
  • Wednesday @ 8:45PM (C & D Flights)
  • Thursday @ 6:30PM (A & B Flights)
  • Thursday @ 8:45PM (A & B Flights)

Note: For shorter seasons, occasionally we will also have "Open League" days occuring on a Saturday or Sunday when all Flights will play their games throughout a single day.

Team schedules, while fixed to a certain day of the week, are balanced across all applicable timeslots and ices as evenly as possible. Schedules do not follow a particular rotation and you may play the same timeslot multiple times in a row.

Games can be rescheduled if both teams agree. Games can be played during any available ice time during the week, however they must be played PRIOR to the last game of the current series. Any rescheduled games must be communicated to the convener and curling manager to confirm ice availability. Games unable to be played will result in a forfeit to the offending team.

Whenever possible, games that are cancelled due to weather will be made up during regular game times, potentially resulting in playing two games in one week. There may be occurances where games are required to play on a day other than Wednesday/Thursday but they will be communicated ahead of time.

Note: In the interest of maintaining a balanced and consistent schedule, scheduling requests made to the convener cannot be accommodated.

Time Clocks and Game Times

Timeclocks are used and strictly enforced for both 6:30PM and 8:45PM draws. The clock is set for 1h55min and will start as closely to the scheduled draw times as possible. If the ice is ready prior to draw times, you may start your game early to bank additional time. It is the responsibility of both teams to monitor the timeclock (using the guidelines to the right) and keep the game at a reasonable pace.

When time runs out, teams may finish the current end in play but may not start another end.

  • An end is considered complete if the final skip rock of an end is in motion (the skip in the act of delivering the rock) before time runs out. Some discretion is expected for the enforcement of this rule.

It is recommended that all teams should be on the ice 5 minutes ahead of gametime for practice slides and handshakes so that the game can start on or before the scheduled time.

You should be starting each end with roughly the listed amount of time remaining on the clock.
End # Time Remaining
1 1:55
2 1:40
3 1:25
4 1:10
5 0:55
6 0:40
7 0:25
8 0:10
Spares

Teams MUST have at least TWO registered members present for each regular season game. A maximum of two spares may play in a regular season game; The first spare may play any position while the second spare must play front end. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit of that game.

  • Spares may only play up to the position they have been asked to fill in for (eg. A spare asked to play vice can play lead, second or vice, but cannot skip the team).
  • Spares may be from any flight in the Open League or from any other member leagues, including junior players, run at Dundas Valley.
Winning and Losing

All games are 8 ends, unless shortened by timeclocks, with points distributed based on Wins and Losses. While we track final scores, they have no bearing on ladder position or seeding.

Ties after regulation will be broken by skips rocks. You may only sweep your own teams rocks during skips rocks. Should skips rocks not determine the winner, the game will be determined by Vice rocks (and so on).

See Regular Season Structure for more information on the league format

Rules - Playoffs
Last Updated: 2025-09-10
General

Playoffs will follow the standard regular season rules with the exceptions of the items listed below.

Scheduling and Rescheduling

Playoff game times are:

  • Wednesday @ 6:30PM
  • Wednesday @ 8:45PM
  • Thursday @ 6:30PM
  • Thursday @ 8:45PM

Teams will have to play multiple games in one week during the playoffs (typically Semi-Finals and Finals). While there are no defined days for a particular flight, Playoff Pool games will typically fall on the "standard" days, with Semi-Finals and Finals being played on "off-days". If your team is aware that you will be unable to legally field a team during any game of the playoffs, you are required to inform the convener who will then decide the appropriate action to take.

For Round-Robin/Pool Based Playoffs (Default): You are ONLY able to reschedule your Pool games. Any rescheduled games must be played within the Round Robin schedule and may not extend into the Semi Final / Finals Week. Semi Finals and Finals games are NOT permitted to be rescheduled.

For Single Elimination Bracket Playoffs: Due to the time-sensitive nature of the playoffs, rescheduling games is not permitted unless pre-approved by the convenor. Semi-Finals and Finals games are NOT permitted to be rescheduled.

Time Clocks and Game Times

Playoff Pool: The timeclock will be set to 2hrs with standard timeclock rules applying.

Semi-Final and Finals: The timeclock will NOT be used. While, understandably, this may cause games to run longer than usual, we ask for your patience in the matter.

Spares

Only ONE spare may play in a playoff game and must play front end (if 3 registered team members present) or lead (2 registered team members present).

Winning and Losing

In the event of a tie game:

Playoff Pool: Games will be decided by Skip Rocks, thrown towards the glass. Should a winner still not be determined, the game will be decided by vice rocks (and so on, looping through the lineup as necessary).

Semi-Final and Finals: A full extra end will be played towards the glass. Should a winner still not be determined, the game will be decided by skip rocks (and so on, looping through the lineup as necessary).