RCCC Bonspiel Rules

The rules at Rocket City bonspiels are as follows:

Following USA Curling rules except as noted.
We are not using the "no tick" rule.
WCF brush heads are not required.
Stone colors are pre-assigned. Determine hammer by a coin flip.
Non-Championship Games will be 8 ends, or 2 hours, whichever is less. At 1 hour 45 minutes, the timer will sound. At that point, finish whatever end you have started and do not start another. The 'start of an end' officially happens when the last stone of the previous end comes to a stop. Note that because our scoreboard timer cannot be set higher than 90 minutes, the clock will sit at 90 for 15 minutes before starting. So don't panic when it isn't running.
In the event of a tie (with the exception of the Championship Draw) both teams will throw one skip stone to the button. Offensive sweeping is allowed. There will be no defensive sweeping of the skip stones.
There is a laser distance measurement tool at the scorekeepers bench. There will be a Rocket City volunteer manning the bench to assist with measurements.
Games in the Championship Draw will be a full 8 ends, regardless of time. Ties will be decided by playing an extra end. If the extra end is blanked, the team with hammer loses.

We expect most games to make it to 7 or 8 ends, and teams should watch the clock. Playing slowly when ahead to avoid the 8th end goes against the Spirit of Curling. If you are exceeding 15 minutes per end, please accelerate gameplay as much as reasonable to try to get back on schedule.

Hopefully we won’t have any issues. But there will always be a Rocket City volunteer at the scorekeepers bench with copies of the USCA Rules if problems or questions arise.

The clock will start at the designated time, but you’re welcome to start play as soon as you reach the ice and both teams are ready.