Provincial Curling Championship

The No Tick rule will be in place at the 2025 MHSAA Curling Championships. 

Practice Ice/Coin Toss:
The coin toss shall occur 30 minutes before game time, allowing teams to determine who has first practice. Winner of the toss has choice of first or last practice OR stone colour. If a team is not present they will be deemed to have lost the coin toss.

- Teams are allowed 5 minutes of practice time.
- First practice will begin 20 minutes prior to game time.
- An official will signify the beginning and conclusion of each practice session allowing
for teams to switch over.

20 mins before game time – 1st practice begins.
15 mins before game time – 1st practice ends & 1st team draws for hammer.
10 mins before game time – 2nd practice begins.
5 mins before game time – 2nd practice ends & 2nd team draws for hammer.

Last Stone:
Last stone will be determined by a draw to the house at the completion of the team’s practice. The draw to the button should be thrown towards the viewing area. All draw measurements will be done and decided by the official.

Each team has one opportunity to draw to the house; if neither team hits the house a coin toss will be used to determine hammer.

FORMAT:
Boys & Girls: there will be a sixteen (16) team round robin of four (4) pools of four (4) teams. Play-offs will have the top 2 from each pool advance to an eight (8) team single elimination bracket.

Mixed Doubles: there will be a sixteen (12) team round robin of two (2) pools of six (6) teams. Play-offs will have the top 4 from each pool advance to an eight (8) team single elimination bracket.

RULES: Curling Canada Rules will be used unless special playing rules are put forth by the MHSAA. In this case, the MHSAA rules will take precedence.

Before provincial play commences for girls and boys play, a spare or fifth may be named (must be on curling eligibility sheet). If a player cannot continue to play in a particular game, they can be replaced by an alternate (fifth) player for that game only. Once the alternate player enters the game, they must remain playing for the entire game. In subsequent games, any four (4) players may start. For Mixed Doubles no alternates are permitted you must curl with the same partner you qualified with.

All boys & girls games will be eight (8) ends using the thinking-time system.

In the event of a tie, at the end of the 8th end, an extra end is necessary and shall be played in rotation until a winner is declared. Thinking time will be 32 minutes. For mixed doubles, all games will be six ends using the thinking-time system. Thinking time will be 22 minutes. If extra ends are required boys & girls will receive an additional 5 minutes and mixed doubles will receive an additional 3 minutes..

Warm-up – boys and girls teams will have 5 minutes and mixed doubles teams 3 minutes of warm-up time and will complete a single draw to the button at the completion of warm-up to determine who has the hammer. If neither team’s draw reaches the house a coin toss will be used to determine who has the hammer to start the game.

The Curling Canada broom moratorium will not be in effect for the MHSAA provincial curling championships.

Time-Outs – In the boys and girls curling teams may call two sixty second timeouts per game. For mixed doubles curling teams may call one sixty second timeout per game. The coach may confer with the team at that time. A player or coach of the team whose clock is running may only call a timeout. The team that called the time out may access the playing surface with their coach. The team that did not call the time out may confer with the coach, but they shall not access the playing surface. For boys and girls curling this will be in addition to the five-minute break after the 4th, and for mixed doubles to a three-minute break after the 3rd. Before the first extra end, there will be a two- minute break, where the coach is allowed to go onto the ice to talk to their rink.

If a team is unable to commence play at the designated time, it shall be assessed a penalty of one point and one end shall be considered played for the first 5 minutes the team is late. One penalty point shall be considered for each additional five minutes the team is late. When the game commences, the non-offending team will be given the choice of last rock. After thirty minutes have elapsed, the non-offending team shall be declared the winner.

Tie Breaking Procedure:

Two teams tied:

Head to head match up will determine tie breaker.

Three or more teams tied:

1. Head to head record of each team against the other teams that have tied. If one team has a better record, they would be declared the winner. If there is still a tie;

2. Last stone draws will determine placing. The lowest average of the last stone draws which were played by team members prior to the start of each game to determine the last rock of first end.

Scorecards will be placed behind each sheet. The winning team must sign the card and turn it into the umpire immediately after the game.

Thirds make their own measurements. If there are any concerns, the umpire can be summoned to assist.

Uniform Rule: Style and colour of uniform must be consistent throughout the team. Uniforms must also be representative of their school. No jeans or club affiliated clothing permitted. Hats are permitted but must be in school colors or a single solid color. Only school logos and manufacturers' logos are permitted on the hats. Advertising on uniforms must adhere to guidelines as outlined in MHSAA Handbook.

Coaches should be advised that if the uniform rule is not adhered to, the team may not be allowed to compete and may be fined up to $200. The school may also be put on probation (probation being that if the school violates the infraction again, the school may be fined $200 and be suspended from all MHSAA activities).

It is expected that all teams attend opening ceremonies and related functions. Non-attendance may result in fines and/or further sanctions against the school.

No smoking/vaping permitted on the Provincial sites.

AWARDS: In each division, the championship team will receive the Association championship banner, first place medals and Championship T-shirts (boys & girls max. of 6, mixed doubles max. of 3).

The runner-up team in the championship event will receive the Association finalist banner and second place medals (boys & girls max. of 6, mixed doubles max. of 3).

SUPERVISION: At all MHSAA Provincial Championships, interzone and wildcard games, participants must have a teacher from the school division in attendance as a supervisor, or they will not be allowed to compete. In individual sports where it may be unrealistic for one teacher to accompany one student, the zone may designate teacher supervisors for athletes. This must be a written request, signed by each principal involved, and approved by the MHSAA, well in advance. The designated teacher supervisor should have a copy of the letter with them during the championship.

Teachers employed in the school division where they are coaching a team, may be the supervisor for that team. The responsibility rests with the school to ensure that supervisor(s) are fully acquainted with all MHSAA rules, regulations and consequences. Violation of this rule may result in a fine up to a maximum of $200.

INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURE: The MHSAA, in cases of severe weather disruptions, may have to make decisions as to the possible rescheduling of Provincial Championships. MHSAA decisions will be based on Environment Canada weather reports, the Manitoba Highway reports and weather conditions at the host site.

Information on possible schedule changes will be posted on the host website between 6:30 and 7:00 am on the day of the Championship. Schools will also be emailed any changes. In case of inclement weather, schools should refrain from traveling to Provincial Championships until they receive notification from the MHSAA Assistant Executive Director with instructions and updated scheduling.

Schools deciding to travel prior to receiving notification from MHSAA Assistant Executive Director do so at their own risk and will be responsible for their travel and hotel costs, should the event be postponed or changed.

Many schools travel to Provincial Championships on the day prior to the championship beginning. In cases where most schools are already at the host site, the convenor along with MHSAA assistant director will try to modify schedules to accommodate teams that will be arriving later due to weather conditions.