Welcome to the 2019-20 Season of the Dundas Valley Open League! We’ve had a tremendous influx of new teams and players which means some big changes in how the league is organized! I strongly encourage you all to read this email in full as well as check out the website for updated rules.
For all our new participants, the Open League is a CYOR ladder-based league, which means that you ultimately will be playing against teams of similar skill level to your own. You’ll play nearly every week of the curling season on Wednesday or Thursday at either 6:45PM or 9:00PM. The schedule is as balanced as having an odd-numbered-sheet curling club will allow so, over the course of the season, you should have close to an equal split over all 4 timeslots (with a greater emphasis on 6:45 vs 9:00 balance than Wed vs Thurs balance).
The season is broken into four 5-week series in which you’ll find yourself competing in A, B, C, or D Flyte (more on that later). After each series, teams are shifted up or down a flyte depending on your results! At the end of the season, we have a quick 3-game playoff before heading off to work on our tans for the summer.
While the Open League, in comparison to other leagues at Dundas, leans slightly more towards a competitive league than recreational, we are out there primarily to have fun and enjoy the game of curling!
MEMORIZE THIS:
League Website:
This is your source for all rules, schedules, standings, statistics, and league news (plus a ton of other things). Most league communication is done through the website, so bookmark it and check it often!
Please check the team page on the website to ensure that all spelling is correct and team members are present. Some of the writing on the signup sheet is very tough to read!
Game Result Submissions:
Please submit all results electronically (winner and final score), either by email or text message. Typically, scores are submitted by the winning team but it doesn’t hurt for both to submit. All information on the website is updated instantly as scores are submitted, so get them in quick!
ABSORB THIS INFORMATION:
Season Calendar / Series 1 Schedules:
The schedule for Series 1 is up and available on the website!
We have a tight schedule this season. As always, the schedule is subject to change based on unexpected weather closures.
Pre-season Practice Ice – October 7 to October 10
Series 1 – October 16 to November 21 (No Curling November 13-14: Mixed Districts)
Series 2 – November 20 to January 9 (No Curling December 25 to January 2)
No Curling – January 16-17 (Hamilton Districts)
Series 3 – January 22 to February 20
Series 4 – February 25 to March 26
Playoffs (Quarterfinals) – April 1 – 2
Playoffs (Semifinals) – April 8
Playoffs (Finals) / Club-Wide Season End Party and Banquet – April 9
After last year’s major success, we will be continuing with the club-wide season end party and banquet to coincide with our Open League finals. I strongly encourage everyone to attend (whether playing or cheering) as it’s a great time and open to all leagues!
League Format:
We have hit 40 teams! This is a league record and, with that, comes some big changes to the league format in order to accommodate additional teams.
A much more detailed explanation can be found in the league rules however, in summary:
- Addition of a second division in A Flyte
- Addition of a single division D Flyte
The addition of a second division in A Flyte is particularly exciting to me as it solves two long-standing format concerns: “It’s too challenging to get to / stay in A Flyte” and “A Flyte teams play each other too often”.
D Flyte will have a complete turnover every series, so no team needs to be worried about getting “Stuck in D Flyte”.
Of course, with all this talk about multiple divisions, I do want to remind new and returning members that there is no skill difference between Divisions 1 and 2 (They could also be referred to as East and West) and the only important thing is what Flyte you belong to. It’s simply an organizational method so that the gap and point differentials between the top and bottom flytes doesn’t get too big.
Rule Changes:
As was discussed last year, we are changing how Champions are crowned this season:
The team who collects the most points during the regular season will be crowed the Regular Season Champion (formerly Club Champion).
The team who wins the A Flyte Playoffs will be crowned the Club Champions (formerly A Flyte Playoff Winners).
THANK THESE PEOPLE:
Finally, a big thank you to McNally Construction for being the title sponsor and their longstanding support of this league. A new thank you to itscurling.com for providing webhosting to the league. We’re always looking for additional sponsors (I have a lot of ideas) so if you or your company is interested, let’s talk!
As always, have a great season and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the ice!
Good curling!
