All games officially begin at the scheduled start time, regardless of when the first rock is thrown. A game that begins late due to the late arrival of any players – including the number of players necessary to constitute a team – is still bound by the normal bell rule. Games should begin on time if three players of a team are present. The sheet is ready for play when the score from the previous game is taken down.
Exception: If the ice is not ready for you to begin play on time due to a delay in preparing the ice, the two skips shall calculate 1 hour and 35 minutes from the actual time the ice was made available and agree upon that time as the “bell” time for their game, notifying their vices accordingly. In the absence of such agreement, the normally-scheduled bell time will apply.
