FSCC League Rules

: 04 April 2023

Four Seasons Curling Club League Rules

The following rules shall apply to all curling events at the Four Seasons Curling Club except as otherwise provided here.

1.MEMBERSHIP
To participate in any of Club leagues, an individual must have an Adult, Youth, or School membership.
Membership year runs from October 1 to September 30. The dues are not prorated, so in joining you may get less than one full year. However, if you join the Club in the last three months of the membership year (July 1-September 30), your membership will apply through the end of the following membership year.
Annual Membership Fee is subject to change year to year.
The Four Seasons Curling Club will provide dues deductions for people who have paid their U.S.C.A. and M.C.A. dues through membership at another curling club. Show a current receipt and the Club will deduct the dues from your Four Seasons Curling Club membership.

Club Membership
Benefits include:
·Ability to participate in Leagues and Club only events
·Ability to play as an alternate/substitute in Leagues
·Discounts on additional league fees
·Discounts on practice ice time

Youth & School Membership
To become a Youth or School Member, you must be younger than 21 years of age on July 1 of the membership year.

Benefits include:
·Discounted membership
·Ability to participate in adult leagues with prior approval

Founders Club Membership (no longer taking new membership)
Founders Club membership is a onetime enrollment and does not take the place of Club and U18 annual membership requirement. Founders Club benefits are provided for the life of the member unless modified by the Four Seasons Curling Club Staff.

Gold Founder level benefits include:
·Permanent recognition on the Founders' club plaque
·Free locker for life
·Use of the Curlers Club Room for any private gatherings at no charge
·Free practice ice time when it is scheduled

Silver Founder level benefits include:
·Permanent recognition on the Founders' club plaque
·Registration priority in all leagues
·Free locker for life
·Use of the Curlers Club Room for any private gatherings at no charge
·Free practice ice time when it is scheduled

Bronze Founder level benefits include:
·Permanent recognition on the Founders' club plaque
·Registration priority in all leagues
·Free locker for life
·Use of the Curlers Club Room for any private gatherings at no charge
·Free practice ice time when it is scheduled

Non-Club members are welcome to use the building for paid practice time, participate in learn to curl clinics, instructional leagues, or special events hosted by the curling club or facility. Non-Club members are not entitled to curl as an alternate/substitute or in any leagues or club functions where membership is required.

2.GAMES

Length of Games: All games are to be eight ends or six ends as designated at the beginning of the league season or other length if agreed to prior to the start of the game by both skips.
Coin Toss: Vice skips (or acting skips) shall toss a coin before the start of each game. The winner of the coin toss has the choice of hammer or color of stones in the first end.
Ties: All ties at the completion of the game will be decided by a “Skips Draw to the Button”. Each Skip will throw one stone, with sweeping (no sweeping allowed by the opposing team). Sweeping is only permitted by the team delivering the stone. The opposing third will measure the distance from the button and will confirm the result with the throwing team’s third before removing the stone. All measurements should be measured to the nearest ¼ inch. A stone covering the button is recorded as zero inches. A stone that does not come to rest in the rings in recorded as 73 inches. The thrown stone should be removed from play after it has been recorded/confirmed. If the throwing team moves or removes their stone prior to it being measured/confirmed it will be recorded as 73 inches. If the opposing team moves or removes the throwing teams stone before it is measured/confirmed it will be recorded as zero inches. The win is awarded to the team with the shortest recorded distance from the button. In the event the measurements result in a tie (if both teams cover the button or both measurements are equal distance from the button), teams will repeat the Skips Draw to the Button until a winner is determined. By tradition, the Skips Draw to the Button should be played toward the spectator viewing area.
Measuring Stones: The vice skips (acting skips or thirds) shall measure stones, determine the score of each end, and mark the score for their own team.
Rocks can only be measured to determine:
Scoring at the conclusion of an end. (see R11. – SCORING (USCA Rules of Curling: Club and Bonspiel Use)
Or if a stone is in the house to determine if it is in the Free Guard Zone(FGZ). Measurements are taken from the tee to the nearest part of the stone. The "biter stick" shall be used for this purpose.
Buzzer: Keep your pace of play moving. To aid in this process we use a buzzer to notify you that your games are drawing to a close (also see Game Time Limit rule). A Buzzer will sound at 95 minutes for all league games (example 7:35 for 6:00PM game start). Teams will be allowed to finish the current end and one more end. AT LEAST ONE ROCK MUST HAVE BEEN DELIVERED(released from the first throwers hand) IN THE CURRENT END FOR THE END TO BE CONSIDERED STARTED. In other words, if teams have just completed an end(the final rock has come to rest) but the first rock of the next end has not been thrown, only one more end will be played. This rule includes situations where teams may need to measure and the buzzer sounds during the measurement (only one end will be played).
Game Time Limit: All 8 end games must conclude no more than 2 hours (6 ends 1:30) from the scheduled start time. The only exceptions to this are if the game ends in a tie and a tie breaker is required OR if the game started late due to the previous game being delayed or ice not being ready for play. The buzzer is in place to keep the pace of play moving. If players are ready to shoot when it is their turn to play and Skips make decisions quickly, there should be no reason that an 8 end game cannot be completed in two hours. Any team that is reported to intentionally delay a game to gain a time advantage will have game results subject to change by Four Seasons Curling Club staff.
Game Forfeiture: The skip of the forfeiting team should make every effort to notify the opposing skip in a timely manner before the date/time of the game. If they cannot communicate and get confirmation from the opposing skip, the forfeiting skip should contact Four Seasons Curling Club curling staff to inform them of your desire to forfeit the game.After a game has started refer to R11. – SCORING (USCA Rules of Curling: Club and Bonspiel Use)
Game Cancellation: If weather, ice conditions or other circumstances present the issue of whether scheduled game(s) or a league should be canceled the Four Seasons Curling Club staff will provide notification of cancellation and instructions for rescheduling.
Game Results: It is the responsibility of each team to record its own game results (win, loss or tie). No one is to mark wins, losses or ties for any team other than their own. For a game that does not have timely recorded results, the Four Seasons Curling Club staff, after making every reasonable effort to determine the correct result of the game, shall record the game result. If the Four Seasons Curling Club staff cannot reasonably determine the outcome of the game in a timely manner, the game shall be recorded as a loss for both teams. All recorded game results are final and cannot be changed at a later time unless approved by the Four Seasons Curling Club staff.

3.RULES OF PLAY Official USCA Rules of Curling: Club and Bonspiel Use (not the USCA Championship Rules) shall govern all play except as otherwise provided here.If there is no specific rule governing a particular situation, other interpretations of the curling rules or other curling rules may be consulted for guidance. Skips and other player cannot agree to waive the governing rules; if this occurs then both teams shall forfeit the game.

R3. – TEAMS (USCA Rules of Curling: Club and Bonspiel Use)
- A team declares its delivery rotation, and the skip and vice‐skip positions, prior to the start of a game and maintains that rotation and those positions throughout that game.
  - Supplement: If a player arrives late for the game and the Team is playing with three players, that player may enter the game at any time and in any position. If the late player enters during an end they may sweep or play vice-skip, but they cannot throw any stones until the next end. Whichever position the late-arriving player assumes, they must maintain that position for the remainder of the game. A late player may not enter the game if the Team has started the game with four players.

A team may not use more than two qualified alternates in a game.
- Supplement: At least two players of the team must be members of the registered team. Unless otherwise agreed to by the skips: If using two alternates/substitutes they must play lead and second and may not play skip or vice skip. If only one substitute is used, that player must play the lead position. Playing a non-qualified alternate/substitute player shall result in forfeiture of the game.
Qualified Alternate/Substitute
- Current Club members who are not playing on another team during the game session may be an alternate/substitute. Non-Club members may not be an alternate/substitute.
- A player registered as a “fifth player” on a team may be an alternate/substitute in any game regardless if that player’s team is playing at the same time.

R4. – POSITION OF PLAYERS (USCA Rules of Curling: Club and Bonspiel Use)

Delivering Team:
- The player in charge of the house must be positioned inside the hog line, and on the ice surface of the playing end of the team's sheet, while the team is in the process of delivery.

R11. – SCORING (USCA Rules of Curling: Club and Bonspiel Use)

Supplement: A game may not be forfeited after it is won.

4.LEAGUES

All Leagues players may be made up of any combination of players, male or female unless otherwise stated.
Open Leagues (Recreation or Advanced): All Club Rules shall apply.
Mixed League: All Club Rules apply with the following exceptions:
- Team: A team may register up to six (6) players.
- Play: The team participating in a game must be composed of two men and two women and rules require alternating gender of the throwers (MFMF or FMFM).
- Alternate/Substitutes: Substitutes must maintain requirement of alternating gender of the throwers.
Senior League: All Club Rules shall apply except as follows.
- Team: Each team needs to consist of at least three members who are 50 years of age or greater; the fourth team member can be any age.
Doubles League: All Club Rules shall apply except as follows.
- Each team consists of 2 curlers.
- All games are 8 ends unless the opposing skips agree to 6 ends prior to the start of the game.
- One of the curlers may be an alternate/substitute.
- Rocks and Rock Placement
  - 5 Rocks are thrown by each team in each end.
  - 2 rocks of each color are designated as placement rocks.
  - At the start of each end 1 rock is placed touching the back of the button at the intersection of the T-line and the centerline of the target house. This is the stone from the team with hammer.
  - The team without hammer places their stone at point mid-way between the far hog line and the target house along the centerline. The exact placement of the stone either closer to the house or farther from the house than the mid-point may be decided by the opposing team skips at the start of the draw.
- Rules of Play
  - One curler on the throwing team must be positioned between the far hog line and the far back line when his/her team mate is throwing.
    There are no sweepers. The throwing curler may get up and sweep his/her thrown stone. The team mate may come down the ice across the far hog line to sweep the stone after the thrower releases it.
  - Throwing order: One curler throws the first and 5th stone. The second curler on the team throws the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stones. The team member who throws the 1st and 5th and the one who throws the middle 3 stones may change from end-to-end.
  - Hammer: The team with hammer will be determined by coin toss for the 1st end. After that, the team that does not score for the end may choose to take hammer or give it up to the other team for the next end.
  - Free Guard Zone: The free Guard Zone rule is modified for Doubles. Neither team may take out any stones whether it is in the guard zone or the house until the 4th stone thrown. If a stone is taken out of play by a thrown stone prior to the 4th stone, it will be replaced to its original location.
Instructional League, Club rules apply for instructional purposes, but enforcement is discretionary.