Spare Rule

General

Curling is a team sport, and as such, the team suffers when a member cannot show up to play.

When other commitments may interfere with a player’s ability to play, spares are used to ensure teams have a full complement of players and everyone enjoys the sport on a level playing ground.

This policy sets out some high-level guidelines for the use of spares. The existence of a sparing policy recognizes that appropriate use of spares is critical to the smooth functioning of all leagues in any curling club and if not handled in a fair and consistent manner will quickly become an irritant to all club members.

The sparing guidelines below have been created by your Directors and League’s Committee in the belief that guidelines may be more effective than detailed rules, as they allow for common sense to be applied in the spirit of good sportsmanship, fair play and in the interest of promoting 

Effective May 2023

Guidelines

When arranging for spares, MGC strongly recommends the following process:

• For leagues that have teams with a bye week, first approach the bye team skip or team member to ask if a team member is available
• Second is to ask for a spare from the club league member spare list (available on the website or ask your league captain).
• If no league spare members are available, then a club member could be used.
• Non-club members may be used when it is not possible to arrange a spare from within the club or extraordinary circumstances exist. This can be an effective way to introduce new non-members to Mission. However, we ask that non-club spares to be limited to no more than 2 appearances in any given league.
• The intent of a spare is to be a temporary replacement.
• A spare can only be used when the position on the team that they are replacing has been paid for.
• Non-club members may spare a maximum of 2 games per league and must be registered in another club in BC or complete the drop in waiver and pay a $1 fee.
• At least 2 registered team members must play in the game, or the game is forfeited. For
• doubles there must be at least 1 (during playoffs only).
• Spares must be registered by the night captain in a binder to be kept at the bar.
• Spares must play the position they are replacing or lower.
• (In the spirit of fairness, spares should be of approximate ability and regularly play the position of the person they are replacing)
• The exception to the spare rules would be severe injury, illness, or relocation. In this case the intent would be to replace the missing player as soon as possible. The replacement would pay the membership fee only if the position is paid for. If the position is not paid for, the league fee will apply.
• Infractions to the spare rules will result in the forfeiture of the game in which the offense occurs.
• For championship and\or playoffs games non-Mission GC spares are not allowed. Spares must play front end positions. (Second or Lead)
• Complaints should be directed to the club president and are not to be dealt with on the ice.

Buzzer Rule

General

The Mission Granite Curling Club uses a buzzer for leagues with 2 draws (an early and late draw) to indicate when the current draw will be completed. The buzzer ensures that players on the late draw are able to start their game on time. Playing to the buzzer or trying to manipulate the flow of the game is considered unsportsmanlike; all teams should attempt to maintain a reasonable pace of play for the sake of timely and fair play. 

Guidelines

• The buzzer will ring 1 hour and 40 minutes after the start time of the first draw.
• When the buzzer rings, games playing the current draw must complete the end they are currently playing and play 1 more end.
  • An end is considered ‘complete’ when the final rock of the end has come to a stop.
  • The next end has started immediately after the previous end is ‘complete’.
• All leagues with a 2nd draw shall use a buzzer to ensure timely and fair play.

5th Player Rules

Guidelines

• A fifth team member is a player selected by the team to act as their designated spare in the event one of the registered team members is not available for any game. There will be no cost associated to naming a 5th team member.
• To qualify as a 5th team member, they must be registered and paid member for MGC.
• A 5th team member will be considered a team member and not as a spare and as such will be allowed to play any position on the team. This also allows a team to play with one regular player, their 5th player and 2 additional spares and they will not default their game.
• It will be left to each individual team to decide if they would like to name a 5th member and if they choose to do so it will be that team’s responsibility to find and sign on the additional member.
• If a team selects a 5th team member and in order to qualify as such it will be the skips responsibility to provide the name of the 5th player to their league captain. This must be done during the registration period and the 5th team member must be confirmed and registered before November 30th of the season.
• If a team has a designated 5th team member and that 5th team member is not available to play in a game when called upon then that team can use up to 2 regular spares as per the spare rules.
• A team may have a 5th and 6th team member on a team.

Tie-Breaking Rules

General

• At the conclusion of the regular season schedule, if there is a tie for any position in the league, the standing of the teams will be determined by the following tie-breaking procedure.
  • The team with the best record in head-to-head competition shall be declared higher in the standings.
  • The team with the greater number of regular wins during the regular season shall be declared higher in the standings.
  • If more than two teams remain tied, the percentage of available points earned in games among the teams which are still tied shall be used to determine the standings.
• During the season all team members will throw one rock to the button. The league captain will record the combined measurements for the team. The team with the overall lowest combined total will be declared higher in the standings if teams are tied. (Players that hog a rock or throw threw the house will be given a distance of 21 feet)