Strategic Plan – Expansion Goal
The league’s 2024-2027 strategic plan has a goal of “continuing to explore league expansion beyond 42 teams, if possible, and begin laying the groundwork for expansion over 2025-2026.”
Options Explored
The executive has spent the last several months exploring a range of options. That exploration will continue into this fall. So far we have been considering new day and time slots, considering ice time at other clubs, and considering additional Sunday draws at 11 AM or 7 PM. We also carefully evaluated the potential impacts on social events, such as the Christmas and end-of-year banquets, as well as the need to find more skips and attract additional curlers to support any growth.
Options for Considerations
So far, we’ve narrowed the path forward to three options: two expansion options and the option to maintain the status quo. To help members understand the differences, the chart below provides a side-by-side comparison of each. There is a separate, larger chart for each option that illustrates what the season would look like in greater detail. For illustrative purposes, these models are based on using a 7 PM time slot on Sundays.
Presently, we are waiting for the club to confirm all available options for additional time slots before we proceed. In the meantime, we have used the season Openr event and will use the first few Sundays of the season to share the work thus far with members.
Next steps would be to share firmer options with members and to vote on an option or to confirm to members that expansion is not possible at this time.
Table of Options
| Factors | Option 1: Current approach with 42 teams and 3 rounds and no end-of-year playoffs | Option 2: Expansion to 45 teams with 2 rounds and end-of-year playoffs | Option 3: Expansion to 48 teams with 3 rounds and no end-of-year playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| # of Teams & # of Curlers | 42 & 168 | 45 & 180 | 48 & 192 |
| # of Divisions & # of Teams/Division | 6 Divisions of 7 Teams | 5 Divisions of 9 Teams | 6 Divisions of 8 Teams |
| # of Rounds & Games/Round | 3 Rounds of 6 games = 18 | 2 Rounds of 8 Games = 16+ | 3 Rounds of 7 games = 21 |
| Playoff Games | 0 | 2 minimum (18+) | 0 |
| Byes & Days Off/Round | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1, 3 and 5 PM CurlingNOTE: 2, 4 and 6 PM on Saturdays | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 7 PM Curling | No | Yes | Yes |
| # of Sundays & Saturdays | 23 & 4 | 22 & 0 | 24 & 4 |
| Funspiels/Year | 2 | 2-3 | 1 |
| Saturday Social Events | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Notes:
- With an active attraction campaign and ongoing player development events, the executive is confident we can find additional curlers and new skips.
- The executive is committed to continuing our social events at the Ottawa Curling Club and we will explore new seating and dining formats to ensure as many league members as possible can participate.
- The executive will work to create a fair schedule for each round, ensuring all teams get an equitable mix of games across all of the time slots.