Anyone who wants to find a team in a OCC league should login, and add their name to the Free Agent Listing available from the Member Menu. 

Teams that are short players, should review the Free Agent Listing to see who is actively looking for a team to join. The list is purged at the end of the season, in advance of registration. The list was purged in May in preparation for the next season.

Please contact the Club Manager if you have any questions.

Curling etiquette

1. The game begins and ends with a customary greeting ("Good Curling", "Good Game").
2. The leads decide who has hammer usually by flipping a coin.
3. It is courtesy for non-throwing players to remain outside the hog line while the throwing player delivers.
4. It is courtesy for non-throwing players not to congregate behind the opposing player who is holding the broom.
5. It is better to purchase one’s own brush rather than use club supplied brushes.
6. Sweepers returning to the opposite end should walk single file at the side of the sheet rather than 2 by 2 so as not to block the view of the throwing player.
7. It is polite to stop moving while a player is throwing.
8. It is polite to delay walking by a sheet until the throwing player has released his/her rock.
9. It is important to both call and furnish the opposing skip with plenty of notice if your team cannot make a game. The club should also be informed so free ice can be reassigned.
10. A game can be played with 3 players. The club maintains a spares list to make it easier to find a fourth player, if needed. Spare players can also be found by contacting teams who have a bye that draw.

Practice Ice for members is suspended when regular operations are suspended (ie. it's summer... or a stat holiday...)

Practice ice bookings

Only the club manager can allocate / approve practice ice. Ice booked through anyone other than the club manager will be cancelled.

Due to high demand for practice ice, bookings are for 30 minutes only.

Booking confirmation: Once you book practice ice online, please wait to receive confirmation from the club manager by e-mail. Your ice time is not approved until you receive this confirmation.

Online booking for Members - Login and look for within "Member's Home" at the top Menu Bar, and select "Book Ice Time". 

Book by phone: 613-234-4119

Practice ice guidelines

1. Regular practice ice can be booked by members for 30 minute periods on weekdays between 12-2pm using the online tool 
2. You may ask the Club Manager for a longer booking by contacting the Club Manager via direct email.
   
3. If you do not require the ice you booked, please inform the club manager so the ice can be made available to others. Continued failure to notify will result in a financial penalty.
4. Your ice reservation may be cancelled at the discretion of the club manager. In such cases, every effort will be made to give you fair notification and accommodate you at other times.

 

Click on this link for Sparing Rules at the OCC

Click on this link for Curling etiquette at the OCC

General Play

The Ottawa Curling Club subscribes to the Canadian Curling Association’s Rules of Curling for General Play. 

5 rock rule

The Ottawa Curling Club will follow the rules for competitive curling, as sanctioned by Curling Canada, with the goal of increasing in equality of free guards, increasing offence, decreasing in blank ends, and improving ability to come back from a deficit. All leagues will adhere to this rule.

Slow play

It is important that all games start on time. Please ensure that the coin has been tossed, the lead is ready to throw first rock, and your team is on the ice and ready to curl by your start time.

The Match Committee has set time limits to ensure the late draw gets off the ice at a reasonable time. The on-ice clock is to be used as the official clock.

Monday Ladder, Tuesday Ladies, and Thursday Men: To ensure that the late draw starts on time; as of 8:05 p.m., the early draw teams will be allowed to finish the end they are in and play one more.

Wednesday Ca$h League: 8 end games, ties decided by skip’s rocks only for advancement in the following week, ca$h will be split equally.

Friday Mixed League: To ensure that the late draw starts on time; as of 8:35 p.m. the early draw teams will be allowed to finish the end they are in and play one more.

Saturday Open League: To ensure that all draw starts on time; as of 10:40 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. teams will be allowed to finish the end they are in and play one more.

Skips should be aware of a potential time problem and discuss it so that, if necessary, they can play the 7th end as if it were the 8th. Teams should not play slowly to ensure victory - this scenario will be addressed by the Match Committee.

Breaking ties

All leagues (except Saturday Open) will throw skip’s rocks; throwing team may sweep their stone; the opposing team may not sweep behind the tee line.

Equipment

On September 28, 2016, the OCC Match Committee decided to adopt Part Two (Recreational & Club Play) of Curling Canada's Sweeping Moratorium on Brush Head Technology as an interim measure for all leagues except Wednesday Cash, where teams may adopt either Part One or Part Two.

NEW RULE FOR CASH LEAGUE: Since each game is worth cash, all players and spares will be required to have sweeping equipment conforming to WCF specifications be used as a condition of competition - compliant WCF fabric, no plates or inserts (including WCF certified).  This rule was decided on June 3, 2022 with input from the 2022-23 registered Cash League members.

The practical effect of Part Two is that there is no moratorium for recreational play and you can keep using your current broom pad, regardless if it is now banned from elite competition (where Curling Canada CTRS points are available). However, we ask you to do so in the spirit of fair play. We think the following 2 excerpts from Part Two capture the situation best:

1. "In keeping with the ‘Spirit of Curling’, individuals who are elite competitors or very proficient sweepers should consider whether it is ‘fair’ that they use non-conforming equipment (broom pads) in a recreational competition even if the rules allow it", and
2. “We would also encourage everyone to consider the true spirit of the sport of curling, and regardless of the brush head in use, all players should revert to the sweeping techniques/styles in play prior to the 2015-16 season”.

Note that the convenors are not umpires or referees; any dispute about sweeping should be settled amicably between skips.

Burnt rocks

"displaced stationary" or "touched moving" rocks

Displaced Stationary Stones (Rules of Curling for General Play – Rule 10):

1. No effect on outcome: the non-offending team replaces it to their satisfaction
2. Would have had an effect: all rocks must come to rest and non-offending team decides:
   • Replace everything as it was before the violation and remove the thrown stone, or
   • Leave everything as is, where they came to rest, or
   • Place everything as they believe it would have happened had a stone not been displaced.

Touched Moving Stones (Rules of Curling for General Play – Rule 9):

1. Before the second Hog line: the offending team must remove the rock immediately
2. After the second Hog line: all rocks must come to rest and non-offending team decides:
   • Replace everything as it was before the violation and remove the thrown stone, or
   • Leave everything as is, where they came to rest, or
   • Place everything as they believe it would have happened had a stone not been touched.