General Rules & Sparing
Unless specified otherwise, the Curling Canada Rules of Curling for General Play will be in effect.
Teams are permitted to commence a game with a minimum of three players. The provision of spare players is allowed, and Apollo Curling maintains a Spare List specifically for the Western Cup. Please note that a spare player cannot be a registered member of another team participating in the bonspiel.
Spare players may substitute for a team member who is unable to play or take on a lower position. For instance, if the second player is unavailable, the spare will assume the role of the second or lead player. It is required that the opposing team be informed of any spares prior to the start of play.
Tournament Supervisors
Here are the volunteers responsible for organizing and running Western Cup Curling, and who you need to contact in case of a dispute, error, claiming a prize, and so on. (2026 supervisor list to be confirmed)
Basil
Colin
Geoff
Kerry
Mark
Phil
Tom
Zoltan
Divisions (NEW for 2026)
For 2026, teams will compete in one of two divisions during the round robin:
- Upper Division: For experienced and more competitive teams — the same Western Cup format teams have always played.
- Lower Division: For newer teams or those seeking closer, more balanced competition with fewer large mismatches.
Teams select their preferred division during registration. All teams — Upper and Lower — will advance into a single unified playoff structure, as in previous Western Cup events.
Points and Playoff Seeding
To ensure fair playoff seeding:
- Upper Division round robin games award full points
- Lower Division round robin games award half points
This guarantees that Lower Division teams will naturally be seeded into the lower playoff brackets, while still allowing all teams to participate in the same overall Western Cup playoff system.
Round Robin Play
Teams have been grouped into pools of four for a three-game round-robin, starting on the Thursday evening and ending by Friday evening. Each round-robin game will consist of a maximum of six ends, and ties are permitted. Buzzers will sound after 90 minutes of play. When the buzzer sounds, teams are only permitted to complete the end that is currently in progress. However, if the last (16th) stone has already crossed the nearer hog line when the buzzer sounds, an additional end may be played if you weren't already in your 6th end.
Ranking
Teams’ cumulative point totals after the round-robin will determine their rank. With 48 teams (or 56 if expanded), teams will be ranked accordingly. In case of a tie in standings, a tiebreaker will be used (see the tiebreaker section below).
Note: Lower Division teams earn half points, which naturally seeds them into the lower playoff brackets.
Playoff Brackets
Once the ranking is determined, all teams will be placed into a single-elimination playoff bracket. The top eight teams go to the A bracket, the next eight to the B bracket, and so on, down to the G bracket. Playoff games are eight ends, and ties are not allowed. A draw to the button tiebreaker will be used if the game is tied after eight ends, unless it is the final, in which case an extra end shall be played.
Round Robin Pools
Teams will be grouped into pools within their division (Upper or Lower) for a three-game round-robin. We make every effort to accommodate each team’s preferred first game (either Thursday evening or Friday morning).
We also try to ensure that pools include out-of-town teams where possible and avoid placing two out-of-town teams from the same city in the same pool.
Pool assignments will be announced after registration closes.
Tie Breaker
Each team can choose between the “Clever” or “Lucky” options.
If you opt for “Clever”, one team member will be chosen to answer 10 timed, multiple-choice, skill-testing questions. With this choice, you’re almost guaranteed a minimum of 20 points. For more information, click on “CLEVER”.
If “Lucky” is your preference, one player will be selected to draw a card from a shuffled standard deck. Each card carries a unique point value, ranging from 1 to 100. For more details, click on “LUCKY”.
Whether you choose “Clever” or “Lucky”, it’s sure to be more exciting than a coin toss! Please note, this tiebreaker is only used for seeding the playoff brackets and does not apply to playoff games, which will still be decided by a draw to the button contest. The chances of these tiebreaker results even being used is quite slim. In the event that a tie can't be broken because the teams have the same tiebreaker points, a coin toss will be performed by Western Cup organizers.