Official League Rules

The rules summarized below will be in use unless a specific league has unique rules for that league. Where not specified here, the USCA rules of curling will be used:

• NEW to 2018/19:
  • 5 Rock Rule is now in effect.  You are not allowed to take out an opponent's guard until the 6th thrown rock.
  • Please remember that we need to be off the ice (stones and all equipment) 1.5 hours after our designated start time. The league play timer will be set to 75 minutes and starts when league should begin. This allows the final end to play out, and enough time to get equipment off of the ice.
• NEW to 2017/18:
  • If a rostered member on multiple teams has multiple teams that make the Championship, the rostered member must choose one team to play through. If on the first round elimination night, the team the member had chosen is eliminated, the member can join their other team from another league if that team has made it through to the playoffs.

Before Play Begins

1. Before play begins all four participants should shake hands, accompanied by the phrase "Good Curling" to help promote good sportsmanship.
2. The two team’s thirds should then decide who begins with the hammer through a coin flip.
   1. Should a coin not be available, the thirds must agree on an alternate way to decide who will start with the hammer.
   2. The team who loses the opening coin toss and throws first chooses his team’s color.
3. Any additional rules or requests from one team must be agreed upon by both team's skips before play begins.

Game Play

1. Teams
   1. Teams will consist of four players a first, second, third and skip. The skip acts as the team leader. There can be no more than 5 people that play per draw.
   2. Each player is required to throw two stones in the end.
   3. Should a team choose to play with three players the first and second players will throw three stones each, leaving two for the skip.
   4. Should the team’s fourth player show up late, he or she is allowed to enter the game only at the beginning of a new end. He or she is not allowed to throw or sweep once the end has begun.
   5. A team must have at least three players to start and play the game.
   6. A rostered member can only play on one team per league.
2. Substitutions
   1. A team can only have one substitute curler per draw.
   2. A team must play with at least two original or rostered members of their team.
      • If a team does not have two original team members, the team can still play
        their opponent, but the game is forfeited in favor of their opponent.
   3. Substitute curlers will always throw first rocks for their team.
3. Delivery
   1. The player throwing the stone must release the stone before the designated “hog line”
      • Should he or she fail to release the stone before the line that stone is "burnt" and removed from play
   2.  A thrown stone must completely pass the hog line in order for said stone to remain
      in play.
      • However, should a stone not cross the hog line on the playing end because it
        collided with a stone in play that stone will remain in play.
   3. If the stone comes in contact with a side line of the playing end, the stone will be
      removed from play if any part of the stone is over the line.
   4. Should the thrower fall while delivering the stone, the stone will remain in play
      should it land in bounds.
   5. If a player throws an opposing player’s stone by accident, the stone will be allowed
      to come to a rest and played as if it were the correct stone. Once it comes to rest
      the stone will then simply be replaced by the correct color.
   6. A delivery stick may be used if player cannot physically get into the hack to slide out.
      1. Players choosing to deliver with a delivery stick must use it for the entire draw.
      2. The stone must be delivered in a straight line from the hack to the intended target.
      3. The stone must be clearly released from the delivery stick before the stone has reached the hog line at the delivering end.
4. Sweeping
   1. Any number of players may sweep their own stone once it has been set in motion via delivery or a collision with another stone.
   2. No player may ever sweep an opposing player’s stone, unless it has cross the tee line.
      1. Behind the tee line only one player may sweep opposing players stones.
      2. Behind the tee line a skip or vice‐skip has first privilege of sweeping his own stone, but he or she cannot prevent the other team from sweeping as well.
5. Touching a moving stone
   
   1.  Should a moving stone be touched by its own team, with any foreign object the stone is burnt and should be removed from play immediately if touched before the hog line.
   2. If the stone is touched after the hog line, no more sweeping is allowed. The stone is to slide until it comes to rest. The opposing skip can leave the stones as they come to rest, or move the stones to where they may have reasonably set had the stone not been touched. They also have the option of moving the stones all back to their original positions and removing the burnt stone.
6. Scoring
   1. Any rock on the house is considered one point, no matter how close or far it is away from the button.
      1. The team scores by having their own rock(s) closer to the button than their opponent’s rock(s).
   2. The vice‐skips must agree on the score when an end is completed before moving onto the next end. There is to be no outside influence on deciding score. It is up to vice‐skips only!
7. Playing time
   1. A game in the Sioux Falls Curling Club lasts six ends or 75 minutes.
   2. An 75 minutes timer will be started when play is to begin.
      1. If all members of a team are not present to play, play may start with three members. The missing member can join the draw at the beginning of a new end.
      2. If only two members of a team are present at the sheet when the timer is started, the team with missing members will be penalized.
         • The opposing team with playable members will be awarded one point and hammer. This point will take place of end one. If another 10 minutes elapses, the opposing team will be awarded another point and hammer for end 2. If after another 10 minutes, the team does not have enough players to play, the game will be forfeited.
      3. Once the buzzer goes off, indicating the end of 75 minutes, teams are to finish the end they are currently playing. That will be the last end of the game.

Free Guard Zone Rule

1. The free guard zone consists of the first five throws of the end between both teams.
2. If a stone lands behind the hog line, not on the house, on the playing end, that stone cannot be removed by an opposing players stone until after the fourth stone of the end has been thrown.
3. If a stone in the free guard zone is eliminated by its own team then the play remains as it finishes.
4. If a stone in the free guard zone is eliminated by an opposing player’s stone, then the stone that was eliminated is replaced and the stone which removed the guarded rock is burnt and removed from play.
5. An opposing team’s stone CAN touch an opponent’s stone, as long as it does not remove it from play.

Drawing to the Button for Tie Breakers

1. One member from each team will deliver one stone each, with the goal of getting their stone closest to the button. Sweeping is allowed only on your team’s stone. The stone must be on the house in order for it to count towards a victory.
2. The team who scored the last point will throw first in the draw to the button.
3. Sweeping will be allowed, but opposing skips on the playing end will not be allowed to sweep the stone past the tee line.
4. Should the first teammate fail to get a rock on the house, another teammate will then attempt a throw to the button to claim victory. This continues until one team scores the winning shot.
5. When a stone is on the house, a measurement will be taken and a marker placed on the ice if possible.
6. It is illegal for one team to remove another team’s stone from the house in a draw to the button for the victory.
7. A club member filling in for a team may not throw in tiebreaker. He or she will be skipped over for the next player.

After Game

1. The winning team is to sweep the sheet, if there is a draw time afterwards.
2. All games end with a handshake and a Good Curling.
3. Broomstaking, winning team buying the losing team a drink, is highly encouraged!
4. If it is the last game of the night, all teams are responsible for cleaning up all equipment off of the ice and back into their respective hold areas.