League Format
Pools, Points and More
Pools, Points and More
We use pools to group teams of similar ability.
The season consists of multiple round robins, during which all teams in a pool play each other. Between rounds, the top teams move up to a higher pool, while the bottom teams move down to a lower one — unless they’re already in the highest or lowest pool.
This movement between pools gives teams the opportunity to face new opponents and helps rebalance the groups so that teams are more likely to compete against others of similar ability.
This season we have 5 pools of 10 teams, playing two 9-week round robins. After the first round, the top 3 teams in each pool move up and the bottom 3 move down.
Each pool awards a specific number of points for a win, tie, or loss. No points are given for a forfeit. After each game, teams receive the appropriate number of points based on the result.
Higher pools award more points for wins, ties, and losses than lower pools. This system helps determine playoff seeding. If we relied solely on win/loss records, a beginner team with a few strong performances might end up facing a highly experienced team in the playoffs — resulting in an uneven matchup.
The last 3 weeks of the season are for playoffs, and they’re optional: each team chooses whether to play. Sign-up opens at the end of the first round robin, first come, first served.
Playoffs are single elimination, in brackets of 8 teams: lose a game and you’re out. Teams that sign up are placed in brackets by their aggregate point totals from the round robins — the highest totals in one bracket, the next highest in another, and so on. There is modest prize money for the winner of each bracket.
Teams that don’t sign up keep playing recreational games during the playoff weeks, except on the final weekend, when only the playoff finals are scheduled.
Byes are weeks when your team doesn't have a game. Sometimes the entire league has a bye because the curling clubs are closed or hosting another event. If the league ever has more teams than there is room for on the ice, some teams will also sit out the occasional week.
Apollo Curling has 3 draw times on Saturdays at the North Hill Curling Club (6 sheets) and 1 Saturday afternoon draw at the Calgary Curling Club (8 sheets). That’s room for 26 games — or 52 teams — on a given Saturday, so with 52 teams or fewer, every team can play every week. If the league grows beyond 52 teams, some teams will get the occasional weekend off throughout the season.
In that case, the round robin will still be maintained — each team will play all others in the round — but it may take a bit longer to complete due to byes in the schedule.
Byes can only be requested in a season when the league has more teams than there is room for on the ice. In that case, if you know in advance (before the schedule is published) that most of your team will be away on a certain weekend, you can request a bye for that weekend through League Buddy.
A team needs at least 3 players to play a game, but no more than 4. Many teams struggle to have all 4 players available on a given game day, so spare players can occasionally be brought in to replace regular players.
Teams can have up to 7 players, but only 4 can play in any given game. Teams decide among themselves who will play, but to avoid a forfeit, you must have at least 2 regular players present.
If your team is short one or two players, you can request a player from the spare list to fill in. This request must be made through League Buddy to ensure the player is a registered spare. Spares from outside the league are not allowed.
If you can't find a spare from the list, you may ask another league player to fill in, assuming they are available. There are rules about which positions they can play, so it’s advised that you familiarize yourself with the Spare Rules.
If fewer than 2 registered players from your team can attend a game, unfortunately, your team must forfeit. You must indicate this in League Buddy, which will notify the other team and automatically update the standings page.
Forfeits are considered poor sportsmanship and should be avoided. Teams should ensure they can provide at least 2 regular players for every scheduled game.