British Columbia Junior Curling Tour BCJCT STANDARDS & BEST PRACTICES 2017-18 MISSION To create awareness about junior curling and increase the number of junior (U21) & U18 teams competing in British Columbia. VISION To have junior events in every region of BC, increase competitiveness of our teams, and foster sportsmanship and comradery among our athletes. ABOUT The BCJCT provides a unique development opportunity for all U21 athletes while providing a training ground for our up and coming junior stars as they look to accomplish their goals to ultimately become Provincial, National and World Champions. It s important that teams compete against their peers to gauge where they are among their competition and what they need to improve to take that next step. Let s not forget about the many new friendships that are/will be formed when curlers come together at the varying events. The BC Junior Curling Tour will create some fun and friendly rivalries as everyone will be able to check out the tour ranking after each event. Since Tour Points acquired by teams count towards entrance into the BC Junior Championship, each event must be approved by the Curl BC Junior Curling Tour Committee. This year, four teams will qualify directly to the BC Junior Provincial Championships through the BC Junior Curling Tour. Each event is operated as a separate entity and all communications that are specific to an event must be directed to the event committee of the host curling club. Comments or questions about the BCJCT itself should be directed to the Curl BC Junior Curling Tour Committee (juniortour@curlbc.ca). We do value feedback about the tour so that we can continuously improve the experience for our athletes. The selection of the BCJCT events, listed below, was based on several items but it s important to know that events will be added as we establish and grow the BCJCT. The host committee and/or host curling club have the right to withdraw from being part of the BCJCT. The BCJCT also has the right to add or remove events after the completion of the current curling season. July, 2017 Page 1
For additional information and questions about any of these events please contact the host curling club. (Event contact information on last page of this doc) Abbotsford Dec 9-11, 2016 The Abbotsford Curling Club Junior Cashspiel* (completed) Parksville September 8-10 Parksville Junior Bonspiel Royal City Sept 22-24 The Anita Cochrane Memorial Junior West Coast Classic Prince George Oct 6-8 Prince George Curling Club Junior Spiel Vernon Oct 20-22 The Rick Cotter Memorial Junior Cashspiel Kimberley Nov 3-5 Kimberley Junior Bonspiel Esquimalt Nov 10-12 Optimist Junior Bonspiel Langley Dec 17-23 BC Junior Curling Championships TBD - February 18-20 BCJCT Players Championship & BCJCT Tour Challenge *points from 2016 Abbotsford Curling Club Junior Cashspiel will count towards the 2017-18 Provincial Qualification & BCJCT Players Championship BEST PRACTICES optional for events, but highly recommended As an event, below are good practices to follow as the teams will face these rules or similar rules in regional, provincial, and national events. RULES OF PLAY All games will be contested under the Curling Canada (CC) Rules of Curling for Officiated Play All games will be 8 ends or 10 ends. DRAW FORMAT event formats will vary and most likely depend on the number of teams entered. The events listed above will be endorsed as a BCJCT event based on meeting the following criteria: The event must have a minimum field of four teams for men and/or four teams for women Each gender must have its own competition (no crossovers) Double knockout, triple knockout, or round robin pool formats are acceptable with the simple conditions that the Four Rock Free Guard Zone Rule must be used and games must be 8 or 10 ends in length Events that have created their own formats from past years may request approval for qualifying as a BCJCT point s event. These formats will be evaluated on an individual basis. Additional BEST PRACTICES can be found on page 5 of this document. EVENT POINTS: Points will be determined separately for each qualifying tour event using the event base value and the Field Multiplier. Please see the pdf document saved as BCJCT Ranking System for detailed information on how points are calculated for each event. PRE-EVENT PRACTICE 10 minutes a sheet rotate sheets like a junior provincial. An agreed upon date/time prior to the event starting. July, 2017 Page 2
TIMING (if used) 30 minutes plus two (2) one (1) minute timeouts on the Thinking Time System. o 30 minutes per team for an 8-end game o 38 minutes per team for a 10-end game TIMEOUTS Games that are 8 or 10 ends will receive two (2) one (1) minute timeouts. One (1) timeout will be allowed for extra ends. Both coaches will be allowed to visit teams during timeouts. If the play is at the away end, please do not talk to your team until the coach reaches the far end. IF GAME IS ON SCHEDULE at the completion of the 4 th end then a five (5) minute break will be allowed. Coaches will be allowed to visit teams during this time. COACHING A certified competition coach is required for each team competing in the BC Junior Provincial Championship & BC U18 Provincial Championship. Teams would greatly benefit from that coach being involved in as many of the events on the BCJCT as possible. EXTRA ENDS Teams will be granted extra end(s) with one (1) minute timeout and four (4) minutes and thirty (30) seconds thinking time per team for each extra end PRIOR TO GAME/WARM-UP IF EVENT CHOOSES PRE-GAME PRACTICE 30 minutes prior to game, teams will flip a coin for rocks or 1 st /2 nd practice. Warm-up begins 24 minutes prior to game time. Once a team has declared their choice this decision is final and cannot be altered. This process will start no later than 30 minutes prior to game time. Warm-up consists of two rocks up and two rocks back for each player OR 9 minutes, whatever comes first. Then the team will be given 1 minute to throw their draw to the button for hammer. NO PRE-GAME PRACTICE Flip of a coin to determine hammer or rock selection. DRAW FOR HAMMER: Prior to the game starting, a player from each team will be required to draw to the button. The team closest to the button will have hammer. If the team with first practice covers the pinhole or does not touch the house, they will have a different player deliver another draw to the button immediately after recording the distance. Repeat until a measurable rock is delivered. Best Practice: The team delivering first must throw the clockwise rotation, the team delivering second must throw the counterclockwise rotation (new for 2017-18). July, 2017 Page 3
ROCK MEASUREMENTS: All rock measurements, whether for scoring or free guard zone purposes, are to be completed by the players. If it is determined by the players that the head official is required, the head official will be called in to measure, and the head official or host committee ruling will be final. SPARES / SUBSTITUTIONS: DISPUTES: DISCIPLINE: A team may use any person as a spare provided they are not registered with any other team competing in the event whether as a core member or alternate. Core is defined as lead, second, third (vice) and skip. A spare that is not registered with any competing team (e.g.: from a spare pool or local team) can be used by any team and used repeatedly within the event, by multiple teams if necessary. Rulings are to be deemed final from the head official or host committee. NOTE: To qualify for points a team must have 3 or 4 of their original team members that are registered for the BCJCT. Note that in any instance not clearly defined by Curling Canada s Rules of Curling for Officiated Play or this guide, the head official or host committee is responsible to use their best judgment to create a ruling. The decision of the head official is final if dispute does not have a clear resolution, the head official can consult with the committee of the event to help determine the appropriate action/decision taken in all situations. All teams (team includes the coach and players) are strictly prohibited from consuming alcohol and/or consuming illegal substances during events. If any participating team(s) and/or participating individuals are found under the influence of alcohol and/or illegal substances during events, they will be asked to leave the host curling club premises and entry fee will not be returned. Teams will be required to display a strong sense of sportsmanship to each other, and respect to the host club, officials, and host committees. A display of obscene behavior may result in suspensions at the discretion of the host committee or the BCJCT. IMPORTANT ALLERGY ALERT: Please DO NOT bring peanuts and/or nuts into the hosting Curling Club. There are teams that may have severe reactions if peanuts and/or nuts are present. Especially ensure that any and all snacks DO NOT contain peanuts or nuts. This is especially important as teams may not have a chance to clean their hands before going back on the ice and may leave peanut or nut residue on the rocks or when shaking hands at the start and completion of games. We cannot guarantee a peanut/nut free environment but as a collective group we can help reduce those risks. Thank you. July, 2017 Page 4
DRAW FORMATS: Event formats will vary, most likely depends on # of entries. Double/Triple Knockouts Use the BCJCT ranking as of the Tuesday before the event starts to create the event draw. Have extra ends if teams are tied after 8 or 10 ends of play. o If a second extra end is required, play another extra end. If time does not permit, draw to the button. If teams qualify through the A, B or C event and move into a qualifying round (similar to women/men s CTRS events) then teams qualifying in higher event get hammer and the other team gets choice of rocks & practice, if applicable) o I.e.: If A1 plays C2, A1 gets hammer & C2 gets rock and practice choice. o If teams qualify in the same event, then draw for hammer rules for hammer apply. Round Robin Format Use the BCJCT ranking as of the Tuesday before the event starts to create even pools. Have extra ends if teams are tied after 8 or 10 ends of play. o If a second extra end is required, play another extra end. If time does not permit, draw to the button. TEAM SHOOTOUT - after any game in round-robin play, each team will complete a team shootout. This helps with ranking and tiebreakers (see TIE-BREAKERS below). o HOW? Each player must throw a stone and each stone will be measured by the head official/volunteer from the pin to the rock. Sweeping is ALLOWED. Best three of four scores are added for a team total if a team total is zero, then the fourth stone will be counted in case of a tie (another team has three zeroes so tie breaker on fourth stone) if all four are zero, then a fifth stone will be thrown and subsequent stones until a distance is recorded. TIE-BREAKERS in the event that two or more teams are tied with the same record after the round robin the TEAM SHOOTOUT is used. Teams can advance directly to the playoffs with a better shootout then the teams they are tied with but no team will be eliminated on a tie unless sub-500 record. It s best to follow these guidelines. These same rules are used for the Grand Slam of Curling events. This is the preferred standard for major events across Canada and works extremely well. If three teams tied for two spots and one team won both games against the other two teams then the team who won advances. The other two teams play tie breaker game. OR If three teams are tied for the final two playoff spots, then the team with the best SHOOTOUT will advance to the playoff round while the two remaining teams will play for the final playoff spot. If four teams tied for two playoff spots, then two tie breaker games will be played with the winners advancing to the playoff round. Ranking of the four teams tied would be first Shootout score vs fourth best Shootout score as game number one and second-best Shootout score vs third best Shootout score as game two. RANKING: For playoff rounds, teams will be re-ranked by their round robin win/loss records, and if tied then by Team SHOOTOUT. Playoffs: The team with the higher ranking receives: Choice of hammer in the first end or rock color. The team without the hammer will get choice of first or second warm-up. July, 2017 Page 5
EVENT CONTACTS: Date Event Name Curling Club Contact Info Sept. 8-10, 2017 Parksville Junior Bonspiel Parksville Curling Club Daniel Wenzek juniortour@curlbc.ca Lena & Mike West Curling Club Phone: (250) 248-3764 lmwest@shaw.ca Sept. 22-24, 2017 Anita Cochrane Memorial Royal City Curling Club New Westminster Steve Kopf (604) 551-8180 skopf90@gmail.com Oct. 6-9, 2016 Prince George Curling Club Junior Spiel Prince George Curling Club Tracy Connell (250) 964 6197 taconnell@shaw.ca Oct 20-22, 2017? The Rick Cotter Memorial Junior Cashspiel Vernon Curling Club Jim Cotter (250) 558-0224 jimcotter@telus.net Curling Club Phone: (250) 542-6713 Nov. 3-5, 2017 Kimberley Junior Bonspiel Kimberley Curling Club Aaron Nelson (250) 427-2591 curlkimberley@gmail.com Nov. 10-12, 2017 Esquimalt Optimist Junior Cashspiel Esquimalt Curling Club Murray Walker (778) 265-0404 murray.walker@shaw.ca Curling Club Phone: (250) 412-8510 TBD (likely Feb. 16-18), 2018 BCJCT Players Championship (Invitational) AND BCJCT Tour Challenge TBD Daniel Wenzek juniortour@curlbc.ca TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP 6 (six) teams in each gender on tour will be invited to the BCJCT Players Championship. Teams must be registered on the BCJCT for consideration. Qualification will be through winning an event during the season. More details are in the tour championship document. The format for the Championship Event will be round robin. All teams not invited to the Players Championship will be able to enter the BCJCT Tour Challenge July, 2017 Page 6
KEY TOUR CONTACTS Name Daniel Wenzek Email juniortour@curlbc.ca OTHER QUESTIONS Please direct all questions you have that are not included on this document or the BCJCT points document to Daniel Wenzek at juniortour@curlbc.ca. Good Luck and Good Curling July, 2017 Page 7