January 1, 2023.

Last week, I faced one of the most difficult decisions of my short tenure.  

On December 29th, we were informed that Team Chee had registered for the MOPAC U18 regional playdown with two players who had already competed in the Dakotas U18 regional playdown. After careful review, it was determined that the team, as registered, had to be declared ineligible because the rules prohibit players from competing on different teams at the same level of play.  

When they submitted their roster, the team was registering for the MOPAC U18 playdown. While a playdown was not held because only one team submitted, that was the event for which they registered. 

This decision was not reached quickly or easily, and it was made only after speaking with the parties involved. But the rules are clear in both substance and intent. It would be unfair to other U18 competitors that did follow the rules if we ignored them in this instance.  

• From the 2022-23 USA Curling Rules of Curling and Competition, USA Curling Championship Policies. In Section 2, under General Eligibility: 

(f) Level of Competition - No player may compete on more than one team at the same level of play leading to the same national championship.  

• From Section 3, Entry Process, Deadlines, and Fees in the 2022-23 USA Curling Rules of Curling and Competition: 

Parents or Legal Guardians of Minors are responsible for registering their children. Teams enter the playdown process through online registration at usacurling.org (Events tab under Event Registrations). All registrations and payments are made online. It is the athlete’s responsibility to see that all requirements are complete by the entry deadline date. Incomplete entries will not be accepted. Teams are encouraged to enter at least two weeks prior to the deadline date to avoid disqualification due to incomplete entries. It is important to keep contact information current on your MyUSACurling profile. 

• There was also no Request for Ruling received from the team, which the rules require when registering players from different regions. If this had occurred, the entire discussion about eligibility could have commenced far sooner. From Section 6, Personnel the 2022-23 USA Curling Rules of Curling and Competition:  

(f) Regional Playdowns and RFRs (Request for Rulings) - For any championship in which teams represent a region (and/or state), a team composed of players from more than one region (and/or state) is subject to the following team residency rule. (i) When a majority of a team’s players reside in a given Region (and/or State), the team must play down in that Region (and/or State). This is always the case when three or more team members reside in the same Region (and/or State), but also applies if two team members are from the same Region (and/or State) and the other two (or three) are each from separate Regions (and/or States). (ii) Where an athlete “resides” is the region they will be considered as registering to represent. Registration addresses are reviewed. Individuals who have any confusion or ambiguity regarding region of residence, should consult their regional association and USA Curling. (g) Request for Ruling required - Teams must apply to USA Curling to determine the Playdown Region (and/or State) when: (i) A team is comprised of four players, two players each from two Regions (and/or States); (ii) A team is comprised of five players, two players each from two Regions (and/or States) and another player from a third Region (and/or State); or UPDATED 10.12.22 19 (iii) A team is comprised of four (or five) players, each from four (or five) separate Regions (and/or States). (iv) A player will be considered to reside where he or she lives. Any questions regarding the interpretation of these rules should be clarified through a Request for Ruling. A “Request for Ruling” can be sent to competitions@usacurling.org. 

I want to make it abundantly clear that we take no pleasure in this decision. No matter where we landed, we knew there would be young curlers and parents who would be extremely disappointed because they were left out of the U18 National Championship.  

This team eligibility decision was reached after a thorough review of the rules, and made out of respect for all competitors. 

—DEAN GEMMELL