Group Games – Qualification – Playoffs

In case of discussions, the rules in the programm booklet are binding.

Group games will be played in 4 groups of 5 teams each. Within the groups a Round Robin will be played.
After the Round Robin an overall ranking will be established.
The following criteria (in this order) will be used to create the overall ranking at the end of the group matches:

Teams will be ranked based on their number of victory points.
If two or more teams are equal on points, the winning points from the direct games of these teams will decide, provided that all these teams have played against each other in a group.
If two or more teams have the same victory points from the direct games or if the teams come from different groups, the result of the Draw Shot Challenge (DSC) decides. The DSC result is the average distance of all Last Stone Draws (LSD) played during the Round Robin games. The worst individual result per team is dropped before the average distance is calculated. The team with the lower DSC average will be ranked higher.
If the DSC results are equal, the team with the best not equal LSD result will be ranked higher.
If these results are also identical, a coin toss decides on the better ranking.

Ranks 1 to 8 qualify for the playoffs. The remaining teams are eliminated after the Round Robin.
The quarterfinal pairings will be set according to the overall ranking: QF1: 1 vs 8, QF2: 2 vs 7, QF3: 3 vs 6, QF4: 4 vs 5.
The losers of the quarterfinals will be ranked together in 5th place
The semifinal pairings will be set as follows: winner QF1 vs winner QF4 and winner QF2 vs winner QF3
The 3rd/4th place game will not be played. Both losing teams of the semifinals will be ranked 3rd.

If not all groups have the same number of teams due to (short term) team drops, the following procedure will be used:

After the Round Robin, group rankings will be established. The same criteria as above apply.
The ranks 1 and 2 per group qualify for the playoffs.
The quarter final pairings will be seeded as follows: QF1: 1st Group A vs 2nd Group D, QF2: 1st Group B vs 2nd Group C, QF3: 1st Group C vs 2nd Group B, QF4: 1st Group D vs 2nd Group A.
The losers of the quarterfinals will be ranked together in 5th place.
The semifinal pairings will be set as follows: winner QF1 vs winner QF3 and winner QF2 vs winner QF4.
The 3rd/4th place game will not be played. Both losing teams of the semifinals will be ranked 3rd.

Pre-Game Practice

Before each game, each player plays her two stones against the Away End and back to the Home End.

Group Games:

In the group games, the first named team has the red stones.
Directly after the Pre-Game Practice, each team plays two stones against the Home End for the LSD. The first stone is played clockwise, the second is played counter-clockwise by another player. Sweeping is allowed.
The measured distances of both stones are added together to give the team's LSD for the following game.
The choice of the first or second stone in the first end is based on the last LSD played. The team with the shorter LSD distance has the choice of the hammer in the first end in that game. If the LSD distance of both teams is equal, the two individual LSD stones are compared. The team with the best, non-equal LSD distance has the choice of the hammer in the first end. If both teams have the exact same LSD distances, a coin toss will decide this choice.
LSD distances are measured and noted from the dolly to the closest part of the stone (not to the center of the stone). That is, the distance for stones that are not in the house is 185.4 cm.

Playoffs:

In the playoffs, the stone color is not pre-defined.
The team that has qualified from the better position in the overall ranking after the Round Robin has the choice of the hammer in the first end or the stone color.
If not all groups have the same number of teams, the following procedure will be followed:
In the quarter finals the group winners have the choice.
In the semifinals and finals, group winners have the choice if the other team is a group runner-up. In case of equal group classification, the team with the better DSC has the choice.

All games are played over eight ends. If a game is tied after eight ends, an extra end is played. If there is no decision even after the extra end, the team that did not have the right of the last stone in the extra end wins. Only in the final, extra ends will be played until a decision is made.
In the preliminary games there are no time limits. In case of slow play, a team may be encouraged to play faster by the director of play.
The semifinals and the final will be played with time limits. The thinking-time is 30 minutes per team for 8 ends plus one team time-out of 60 seconds. The thinking-time in an extra end is 4 minutes 30 seconds plus one team time-out of 60 seconds. The travel time is 60 seconds. Teams without a coach or substitute players are also entitled to the travel time.
A preliminary game may be abandoned at any time. In semifinals and final at least 6 ends must be played.
Forfeiting a semifinal or final game will be penalized with a fine of CHF 5.000.-