Curling Rules

CURLING LEAGUE
Rules of the Game
Copyright 2024
The rules governing Short-Pitch Synthetic Ice Curling are basically the same as Curling, with a few small yet significant differences. Listed below are the rules of the game. Teams will play matches of 3 games to 21. Each game will count as a win or a loss in the standings. There will be a 45-minute time limit for each match.

RULES FOR CURLING
• Short-Pitch Synthetic Ice Curling lets you play Curling without the ice or sweeping.

SHORT-PITCH SYNTHETIC ICE CURLING SPECIFIC RULES
4 vs. 4 – No Gender Requirements. Teams may play with two males, two females, one, or none of each.
2 vs. 2 – No Gender Requirements.
Teams may play with one male, one female, or two males or two females.

MINIMUM/MAXIMUM REQUIREMENTS
-4 vs. 4. Teams may play with a minimum in 4s of two players on a team. A team may play with a minimum of one player with the consent of the opposing captain and/or league staff member. If a team has more than 4 players, they may rotate throughout the match, but only 4 players, and the same four players, may play in each game.

-If both players on the team are present, both players must play.

-Teams have until ten minutes past the designated start time to field a team. If at that time a team has no representatives present, it will result in a forfeit of the first game. If they are still unable to field a team by 20 minutes after the designated start time it will result in a Match forfeit. During the regular season, a team may play a legal game with less than the required number of players if the opposing team consents.

STARTING THE MATCH

-The team to go first is decided by coin toss, “draw-to-the-button” contest or, rock-paper-scissors. Subsequently the team that failed to score in the previous end/round has the advantage of going last, called the hammer throw.
-A team may concede if they feel they cannot win, although depending on the event and stage of event they may have to wait until a certain number of ends have been completed.
-Fair play is of huge importance so there is a culture of self-refereeing with regards fouls and this is a big part of curling.

• Players then alternate sliding stones, aiming for the House (circular target) so they come to rest past the Mid-Pitch Line
• Each team begins with a total of 4 stones (stones are the yellow and red pieces that travel on the board). The aim is to have more stones closer to the button (the white circle inside the blue circle in the middle of the House) than your opponent after each round when all 8 stones have been thrown. 4 vs. 4
• Teams will keep two (2) players on each side of the Pitch, and will each player on that side of the Pitch will slide 2 stones each round.
• Opposing team members will shoot side by side at both ends of the Pitch.
• The board will be cleared of all stones before a new round is commenced at the other side of the Pitch. 2 vs. 2
• Each player on each team will slide 2 stones each round.
• Opposing team members will shoot side by side at both ends of the Pitch.
• The board will be cleared of all stones before a new round is commenced at the other side of the Pitch.
• When sliding the stone to the opposite side of the board, your hand must not pass the outer red circle of the House on the side you are shooting from.
• Any stone that falls into the Gutter or doesn’t pass the Mid-Pitch Line, will be removed from play. SCORING
• Teams will be awarded points for landing their stones in the target zone/House
• 5 points will be awarded to a player with a “Full Cover”. A Full Cover is when your stone is fully in/covers the Button (white area inside the blue circle inside of the red target circle/House).
• 4 points will be awarded to a player who lands their stone on the blue circle fully or is touching the blue circle and the Button/inner white circle inside the blue circle.
• 3 points will be awarded to a player who lands their stone on or touching the white circle between the blue and red circles (2 points will be awarded if the stone is touching this white circle and/or either the inner blue or outer red circles surrounding it
• 1 point will be awarded to a player who lands their stone on or touching the outer red circle
• Points will be awarded if any part of the stone is touching a scoring area.
• The points for the round are determined by subtracting the team with the highest score minus the team with the lowest score in the end/round.
• The game ends when the first team gets to a total of 21 points. The team who scores 21 points first must win the game by two (2) points • Once a team reaches 21 points, the other team may still finish the round of 4 stones to tie, win, or get within 2 points.
• If after the allocated 45-minute game time, neither team has reached 21 points, the team leading after the last round of sliding will be declared the winner.

TIMING

LENGTH – Each match will be allotted 45 minutes of playing time. Any warm up time used beyond the scheduled start time will cut into this match time.

LEAGUE POLICIES
GAMES:
During the regular season matches are to be played within time allotted (warm up time is included). The scoring format will be 3 games to 21.

REFS:

ALL GAMES WILL BE SELF-REFFED. THERE WILL BE NO OBLIGATION ON THE PART OF ANY PARTICIPANTS TO SEND REFEREES EARLY OR LEAVE REFEREES AFTER A MATCH.
Captains are responsible for recording the results of their game. Clipboards will be provided on each court to record the scores. Our staff will provide constant reminders with regards to this process.
In cases where teams fail to record their results, both teams will receive losses for the match.
The self-ref policy will continue throughout the preliminary rounds of the playoffs. Our staff will monitor all courts and will be available for any and all questions, concerns, or discrepancies that may arise. We will be able to provide referees for the finals in circumstances where both teams and staff deem necessary.

FORFEITS:

If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of three games.
Second Offense: Three losses and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.
Third Offense: Removal from the league.
Any team that forfeits more than once also forfeits any guarantee or right to a certain number of guaranteed games.
If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office, at 312.850.8196, so as to help us schedule your opponent a game.
Teams have until ten minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad. If at that time one team is unable to field a full team (minimum number of players required according to the rules), it will result in a forfeit of the first game, if they are still unable to field a full team by 20 minutes after the designated start time it will result in a Match forfeit. During the regular season, a team may play a legal game with less than the required number of players if the opposing team consents.

STANDINGS:

The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.

PLAYOFFS:

Playoffs will begin immediately following the end of the regular season and will typically last between 2 and 3 weeks. After teams have been seeded according to their records all captains will receive an email with the 1st week of playoff game times roughly 3 days before their league playoff date. Teams will not receive a call for any other weeks of playoffs! It is the responsibility of ALL TEAMS to check the playoff brackets at the league or online to find out what time they will be playing the following week if they win. In playoffs it is not uncommon, (and in some cases will be necessary), for teams to have more than one match in a given night. No substitutes will be allowed during playoffs. All players must have signed the waiver by the second week of the season in order to be eligible for playoffs. All eligible teams will make the playoffs. Playoff eligible teams will be determined on a league by league basis. Teams that have violated the forfeit policy during the course of regular season will not be eligible for playoffs. In certain situations teams at, or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with the CSSC office to see if this applies to your league. Playoffs are single elimination.
Seeding: Teams are seeded based upon a winning percentage, head to head and strength of schedule. Teams may play more than one game per day/night, and/or play games on days/nights other than your regularly scheduled league day/night if necessary. CSSC reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than teams regularly scheduled league night. Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility of players must be addressed before the start of the game. Any team that would like to challenge the eligibility of an opposing player must do so before the start of the game. No protests will be considered valid after a game has started.
-Speed scoring rules still apply during the playoffs.
-Teams may play more than one match per day.
In cases where several cancellations have occurred during the season, teams may be required to play on a different night of the week. (Example: Thursday semi-finals may be played on Thursday and finals held on Friday.)
If a team does not have a full squad (minimum number of players required according to the rules) by ten minutes past the designated start time, they will forfeit the first game of the match. At twenty minutes after the start time the match is over (per staff and opposing team’s captain request).
Any questions regarding policies, rules, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the match.

WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Players who have been placed on the roster and signed the waiver are eligible for playoffs. A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, and signature) in writing to a CSSC staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. Any protest made during a game or after a game will NOT be considered a formal protest. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day – decisions will not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled. The above procedure will also apply for any other “logged” protests. All rulings by CSSC staff are considered final.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

The idea of CSSC is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. Abuse of officials/referees, and other staff will not be tolerated. CSSC reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if they are considered to be bringing down the quality of the league. CSSC will not tolerate fighting! Fighting will be an automatic ejection from any game
and in most cases ejection from the league for the remainder of the season.

STAFF:

To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask.

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

Please call our weather hotline for the most up to date information on any cancellations (312.773.7100)
Leagues may be cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable conditions in the facility, facility constraints, etc. CSSC staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league.
If the league is cancelled, CSSC staff will change the “weather hotline” immediately. If possible, the CSSC will then email all of the captains to let them know. It is then the captain’s responsibility to inform all teammates of the cancellation. If a league is cancelled on site, CSSC staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site. If we do cancel, follow next week’s schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up towards the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, CSSC reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund. CSSC reserves the right to move games or weeks to an alternative location when deemed necessary without compensation. CSSC also reserves the right to schedule games on days other than your regularly scheduled league day/night if necessary.
PRIZES/ JERSEYS: Each team will receive a pre-bundled set of colored jerseys with various sizes at the first night of the league. Additional shirts and sizes can be purchased from the CSSC for an additional charge. The top teams in each division will receive a prize of great emotional, spiritual, and most importantly, social value.
These policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing.