OLD DOMINION DART LEAGUE

 FALL 2017 RULES

The following rules are a set of guidelines to help the captains solve a problem when a disagreement arises. Common Sense and Good Sportsmanship are to be used to cover any questions that may arise during a match and are not covered explicitly in these rules.  If, however, the Captains cannot come to an agreement and the question or problem is taken to the Dart League Coordinator and/or the Rules Committee, then their decision is final. If you feel a protest should be filed, see Rule 19. Remember dart throwers are playing to enjoy themselves and to have a good time.

1.      TEAMS

Listed Player: a person that is listed on the roster sheet for a specific team before the start of the season.

A.    Teams must submit a roster at Registration and may make changes until the announced cutoff prior to the Captain’s meeting. A roster is finalized upon the start of the 1^st week of play. If no roster changes are submitted, the initial roster will be used as the final roster. Any roster changes made after the 1^st week of play must be for extreme circumstances and be approved by the Dart League Coordinator and/or the Rules Committee. Do not assume your roster change will be approved!

B.   Listed Players on the final roster must shoot at least 80% of regular season league play. The only exception to this rule would be due to work schedule conflicts and must be approved by the Dart League Coordinator and the player must shoot 60% of the regular season. No new players may be used or added at the board or to your roster the last 3 weeks of league. Only extreme circumstances may apply. If this is done, the added player’s games will not count and be counted as a “loss”.

C.   A person may be a Listed Player for more than one team, but not within the same division. 

D.    If a player who was on the original roster sheet as a Listed Player who drops, quits or can no longer partici­pate in the league (job trans­fer, accident, injury, etc.), then notifica­tion must be made to the Dart League Coordinator and State Amusement to replace that person on the roster sheet with the new Listed Player being added to the team league card. Once removed, the initial Listed Player that was removed cannot play or substitute in that division for the remainder of that season.

E.    A four (4) person team may delete a total of two (2) of the original Listed Players from their roster and add a total of two (2) new players and a two (2) person team may delete a total of one (1) of the original Listed Players from their roster and add a total of one (1) new player to their roster sheet only one time during the course of the season [See Rule 1-A].

F.    If a Mixed B or Mixed C team loses three (3) or four (4) of the original Listed Players from the roster sheet, that team has one (1) week to reorganize before the team becomes ineligible to participate for the remain­ing part of the season. All point monies will be forfeit­ed to that division.

G.    All players, Listed and/or Substitutes, must be 18 years or older. If under the age of 21, the Captain of the team must get bar owner/manager permission prior to the match being played. If the bar does not allow anyone under the age of 21, then the captain must get a substitute or play with a Blind.

H.    Any player, Listed or Substitute that is found to have played in the OLD DOMINION DART LEAGUE under a false name, the player and the Captain of the team on which this player participated will be banned from ODDL for five (5) years.

I.    Each team will play all other teams within their division at least twice.

J.    Teams will have as close to an equal number of Home games as Away games as possible.

K.    Locations may have only two (2) teams per dart board, per night of play per league.

L.    If a player participates in violation of any of these rules, then all games will be forfeited regardless of when the violation is noticed or reported.

2.      SUBSTITUTES

      Substitute: a person who plays in place of a Listed Player on a given night. 

A.    If your team has a vacant spot for a Substitute, you may fill it any time during the regular season except for the last three (3) weeks of the season. Substitutes are required to pay the one-time per session Participation Fee.

B.    No Substitutes are allowed for rescheduled matches unless approved by the Rules Committee and the Dart League Coordinator. 

C.     A Substitute's ranking cannot change a team’s ranking so that it is greater than that division's cap.

D.    A substitute's ranking cannot be greater than that division's individual player ranking cap (if applicable).

E.     It is the Captain's responsibility to determine a Substitutes eligibility.

F.     A “Floating Sub” can play for any league or division (A, B, or C) team as long as they are not a Listed Player or a dropped player [See Rule 1-D] and they fit under current team caps and individual rankings. Substitutes will not be added to the team league cards.

G.    Women cannot substitute for any men teams, nor can men substitute for any women's team.

H.    In league play, once a player's name is entered into the board computer, then no substitutes shall be used in place of that player. 

I.       When you manually enter a Substitute, PLEASE SPELL THE NAMES CORRECTLY FIRST AND LAST!! This will cause trouble when establishing a Player’s ranking, please enter first and last names-double check spelling and write the Substitute’s name on your money envelope.

J.      There must be at least half of the team’s Listed Players playing on any given night. If a team shows up at a location with three (3) or four (4) substitutes to play in a match, then that team will be declared illegal and will forfeit all games for that night of play. The forfeit­ing team is still responsible for league fees for that match and they must be paid before or on the night of their next match [See Rule 16-C].

K.   If a player participates in violation of any of these rules, then all games will be forfeited regardless of when the violation is noticed or reported.

3.      DIVISIONS OF COMPETITION BY LEAGUES:

MENS LEAGUE-(2 men players)-13 Games

Open League

No Cap

 1 player at 1.50 or higher

 1 player under  1.50                                                                                                            

 WOMEN'S LEAGUE-(2 women players)-11 Games

 Open League

 No Cap

 MIXED LEAGUE

 A Division-(2 Men, 2 Women)-13 Games

 No Team Cap

 1 player at 1.50 or higher

 3 players under 1.50

                         B Division-(2 Men, 2 Women)-11 Games

 Team Cap - 5.50

 No Individual Cap    

 C Division-(2 Men, 2 Women)-9 Games

 Team Cap - 3.50

 No Individual Cap

4.      MATCH FORMATS OF COMPETITION

13 Games

8 games of 301 DI/DO

4 games of Cricket

1 game of 701 DI/DO

 11 Games      

6 games of 301 DI/DO

4 games of Cricket

1 game of 701 OI/DO

  9 Games

4 games of 301 DI/DO

4 games of Cricket

1 game of 701 OI/DO  

B.     When a Man or Woman throws in the Mixed C for two years, they have to move up to Mixed B after the two years.

5.      RANKING SYSTEM

A.    ODDL will use a ranking system similar to the National Dart Association's ranking system. 

B.     A player earns a ranking by competing a minimum of three (3) weeks of play.

C.     ODDL may go back up to three (3) years to determine a rank­ing. 

D.    A female player who marries since the last time she earned a league ranking must list her maiden name, along with her new married name on the league roster sheet. Failure to do so could lead to all games forfeited and that player's team removed from the division because of the team being incorrectly placed due to the inaccurate informa­tion on that person's ranking. All point monies will be forfeited to the conference.

E.     If a player’s name is spelled incorrectly on the team league card, call State amusement and arrangements will be made to correct your team league card. It’s the responsibility of the team Captain to make these changes. 

F.      A player earns a ranking for each league - Men's, Women's, Mixed.

G.    If a new player participates in the league, but has a ranking from another league, then ODDL will use the most current ranking that the player has to determine individu­al cap and their team total. 

H.    Each team's league cap is a total of the rankings of that team's players. If during the course of the season a team adds a player to their roster or a substitute is used for a Listed Player, then neither the new member's or the substitute's ranking can change the team's league cap to a higher division. When this does occur then the offending team will forfeit all games.

I.       In order to insure the parity and integrity of divisions of competition within ODDL, all new players (persons who have never participated in ODDL) or persons who have not participated in ODDL within the past 3 years, will be given a new player's/retired player’s ranking.

MEN: 0.600                                       WOMEN: 0.400

Returning “retired” Man: 1.0           Returning “retired” Woman: 0.6

         ***A new player's ranking will be reviewed after the first three (3) weeks of play***

6.      MATCH TIME 

A.    Match starting time is 7:30 PM standard time, NOT bar time.

B.     No open practice is allowed after 7:00 PM on boards to be used for league play to allow for the warm-up session of the teams playing that night. Warm-up session consists of count-up games only. No Cricket games are permitted during the warm-up session. League players may not shoot on any other board once play has begun. No practicing once the match has started. 

C.     A team in its entirety has fifteen (15) minutes to show. If at that time (7:45 PM standard time) no one from that team has shown, the other team follows Rule 16-A. The forfeiting team is responsible to pay the league fees for that nights match [Rule 16-C].

D.    It is the Captain's responsibility to have his/her players at the assigned location on league night. In the event of an absent player, the Captain or his/her designate will have thirty (30) minutes to fill the vacancy. The match will then start at no later than 8 PM standard time, NOT bar time regardless if there is a vacancy or not. 

E.     If at any time a player or sub fails to show up for league play you can sub the player out for a BLIND player.  A Team is only allowed to use the 151 Rule for one player per team.  301 games (freeze rule only) will be played under 151 Rule for the entire match.

·         The word BLIND is entered in for the absent player.

·         Blind score is pushed to 151 in handicap rounds for 301 games only.

·         Blind partner may take game out until frozen by opposing team.

·         Blind will be pushed off for all rounds once pushed to 151.

·         In 301 stacked, 501 and 701 games, the Blind score is pushed off each round – No 151 Rule.

·         In Cricket, the Blind score is pushed off each round – No 151 Rule.

F.      If a player's name is entered into the computer in anticipation of that player's arrival, then that player and only that player, will be allowed to play in any remaining games, not already in progress. 

G.    Any questions or problems occur the night of play, you may contact the Dart League Coordi­nator, Pam@#204-3684, if no answer please leave a message and she will contact you ASAP. 

H.    If a player participates in violation of any of these rules, then all games that night of play will be forfeited.

7.      GENERAL RULES 

A.    In the 701 - Open In/Double Out game all players will participate alternat­ing turns on one player's score.

B.     In the Cricket games, players assigned to the game will alternate turns on one (1) or two (2) players score depending on division and Double Bull is in effect.

C.     For the Double in/Double out games, a player may not enter the game by scoring a bulls-eye. Doing so constitutes an automatic loss of the game. However, a bulls-eye may be scored as a Double out to win in 301 Double In/Double Out and in 701 Open In/Double Out. 

D.    In the Mixed League, the player order for the match will be woman, man, woman, man. Failure to do so will result in loss of all games.

E.     You CANNOT change line-up during the match, the card gives that option but a failure to comply will result in loss of that game. 

F.      All questions pertaining to dart league rules, play, etc. are to be directed to the Dart League Coordinator who is the liaison of State Amusement Co. State Amusement is to ONLY be called if there are technical difficulties/malfunctions of the dart boards unless otherwise stated within the rules.

G.    Bars will not charge a cover charge to dart players during league play, but may do so after the league play is finished for the player(s) who choose to remain at the location.

8.      TOE/FOUL LINE 

A.    The Toe/Foul line will be positioned 96 inches or 8 feet from the face of the board.

B.     A player’s footwear can be flush with the toe/foul line. No part of a player's footwear may go past the legal edge of the toe/foul line. 

C.     A foot fault constitutes a foul. The Captain of team opposing the faulting player must inform the other Captain of the first occur­rence. There is no penalty for the first fault. If the player faults a second time, then that player loses any remaining darts in that turn, plus his/her next round (3 darts).

D.    No seating shall be placed between the toe/foul line and the dartboards.

9.      DARTS 

A.    Length - not to exceed 8 inches.

B.     Weight - not to exceed 18 grams total.

C.     It is the player’s responsibility to make sure his/her darts do not exceed the above mentioned specifications, regard­less of manufactures label. 

D.    If a player's darts are questioned about their legality, then these darts are placed in the league envelope and sealed for a State Amusement Representative or Dart League Coordinator to pick up before the Captains leave for the night. The darts will be examined the next morning. State Amusement will be responsible for the darts return (the player’s telephone number must be on the envelope so that the return of the darts may be ar­ranged.). If the darts are found to be illegal, then all games in which the offending player participated will be forfeited. Failure to turn over darts for inspection results in loss of all games that the player participated in.

10.  SPORTSMANSHIP 

A.    Proper behavior, conduct and sportsmanship are required of players at all times. No physical contact with intent to harm or foul or abusive language toward any player will be allowed. There is ZERO tolerance when it comes to violations of these rules.

B.     Any physical violence during league play may result in expulsion from the league for a player or the team and loss of all monies paid.

C.     Distracting behavior (kibitzing, harassment, etc.) by opponents while a player is throwing is not allowed and constitutes a foul. Penalty for fouling, unless otherwise stated, is loss of turn for the fouling player. All players must stand or be seated at least two (2) feet behind the toe/foul line.

D.    If there is more than one match playing at a given bar, use courtesy and sportsmanship rules, as far as talking to players on the line. No outside coaching by spectators. COACHING IS ALLOWED BY TEAM MEMBERS PLAYING THAT NIGHT’S MATCH ONLY!! If there is illegal coaching, notify the captain or the acting captain of the opposing team. If this doesn’t solve the problem ask the bartender/owner to remove the person from the area. If this doesn’t solve the problem then stop play and call the Dart League Coordinator. 

E.     Abuse of equipment (tilt of machine) during a game results in loss of game.

F.      Poor sportsmanship of unethical conduct may be grounds for forfei­ture of a game, a match or even suspension or expulsion from the league as determined by the Dart League Coordinator, Rules Committee and/or State Amusement.

G.    All players are to play their league play to an entirety before singing karaoke or dancing or will result in a forfeit of that game.

H.    Any player causing a potential violation of any A. B. C. Law and/or state or local codes or ordinances will be subject to suspension or expulsion from the league.

11.  SCORING          

B.     Prior to removing darts from the board, a player must press the player advance button at the end of his/her turn. Dartboard will not automatically advance.                                                                                                                                     

C.     A dart that sticks in the board but does not activate the electronic scoring (other than the “winning dart” – See Rule 11-A) may not be manually scored.

D.    Any dart thrown counts as a throw, whether or not it is registered on the machine. A throw counts if it misses the board and bounces out, or if it misses the board completely. A player may not throw the darts over. Dropped darts at the toe line may be thrown again. 

E.    If a dart is thrown before the "throw darts" message lights, the dart is considered a dart thrown and may not be thrown again.

F.      If machine displays a "segment stuck" the Captain of the opposing team must remove the stuck dart before continuing with his/her full round of throws. Whatever the machine scores is what the player receives on the stuck dart.

G.    A player who continues to throw a dart or darts after a "segment stuck" message appears, that dart or darts are forfeited.

H.    A player may pass his/her turn at any time during a game, OR he/she may throw one, two, or no darts. Player does not have to throw his/her turn.

I.       If the machine is operating incorrectly the two (2) Captains will decide to continue play, call State Amusement@#563-0881 for a Service Tech to come out with the score staying the same or to postpone and replay the match in its entirety before next week's scheduled matches. 

J.       If the Captains decide to play, but there is still a problem or error in match information, contact State Amusement the following day and give them the correct score.

K.    If the machine will not accept the dart card or one of the Captains does not have their card, Both Captains playing in the match must play on a manual score sheet (each Captain will receive one in their packet). If the Captains decide to resched­ule their match then notify the Dart League Coordinator by the following morning. 

L.     Teams will get one (1) point per win. Total team wins determine the standings.

12.  SCORING MISTAKES

A.    It is each player’s responsibility to see that the board is displaying the appropriate player number prior to throwing any darts. 

B.     If a player throws while the board is displaying an opponent’s score, the player may stop throwing if less than three (3) darts are thrown and advance the board to the correct player number and finish his/her turn and the game then proceeds normal­ly. If all three (3) darts are thrown before the infraction is noticed, then the player who threw on the opponent’s score will have completed his/her turn and the board is ad­vanced to the next player in order.

EXAMPLE: Player 2 has just thrown all three (3) darts on play­er 1's score. Player 2 has com­pleted his/her turn and the board is advanced back to player 1 so that he/she may have the cor­rect turn to throw.

C.     If a player does not press the Player Advance Button (Enter) and a dart is scored by mistake when touched, then that player loses his/her next turn (3 darts). 

D.    If a player throws all three (3) darts and a dart misses the board or does not count and has frozen/blocked his/her partner and the player does not press the Player Advance Button (Enter), and the dart is scored by mistake, and causes the player's partner not to be frozen/blocked then both player's lose their next turn (3 darts each).

EXAMPLE:  Player 1 - 60; Player 2 - 10; Player 3 - 28; Player 4 - 19.  Player 1 throws in round 5; first dart scores 20, second dart misses the board and dart didn't register, third dart scores double 5. Final score for player 1 is 30. But player 1 did not hit the Player Advance Button before he pulled his darts and it manually scored 20 more points, showing player 1 with a final score of 10. Prior to the manually scored dart, player 1's partner, player 3, was frozen/blocked. Because of the manually scored dart, the board showed that player 3 is not frozen/blocked. The resulting penalty to player 1 & 3 is loss of next turn (3 darts each). 

E.     If a player mistakenly scores points and wins a game before pressing Player Advance Button, then that player/team loses that game. The person on the opposing team with lowest score receives the win. Notification must be made to State Amusement the following day by the team who receives the win so that the information can be correctly entered into the computer and so that the standings will be accurate.

F.      If a player throws when the board is displaying the player number of his/her player's partner. If less than three (3) darts are thrown, the player may stop throwing and advance the board to the correct player number and finish his/her turn. The board is then advanced to the correct player number and play re­sumes. However, both players from the offending team lose their next turns. If a player has thrown all three (3) and completed his/her turn, the board is then advanced to the proper player number and play re­sumes. However, both players from offending team lose their next turn (3 darts each). 

13.  BLOCKING/FREEZE RULE

A.    (This rule only applies to the 301 games, 4 scores) A player may not take a game out when his/her partner's score is greater than the sum of the two (2) opponent's scores combined. If a player takes the game out (win) while frozen, your team loses that game. But, a player CAN take a game out (win) when his/her partner's score is equal to or less than the two opponent's scores combined.

EXAMPLE:  It's your turn. Your partner has 140 left. Your two opponents have 40 and 60 left respectively. Your partner's score of 140 is higher than their combined score of 100 so you are frozen. But, if your partner's score is 140 and your two opponents have 80 and 60 left respectively, you are NOT frozen and can take the game out (win). 

14.  POSTPONEMENTS/INCLEMENT WEATHER

A.    In case of extenuating circumstances, play may be made up on a later date, if the team makes arrangements with their opponents by 6:00 PM the night of their scheduled match. Notification must be made to the Dart League Coordinator, Pam@#204-3684 by 6:30 PM. If the match is postponed, it must be made up within two (2) weeks (or by the end of the season if postponed during the last two (2) weeks of the season) or the match, if not played, will be a forfeiture by the team that could not show. If a dispute arises over a reschedule date, the Dart League Coordinator will set the date. 

B.     Due to inclement weather, we will follow Virginia Western Community College’s (VWCC) Night Class schedule and you do not have to appear for league competition that night. The schedule will resume the following week. This will extend the season by however many matches that are canceled due to the weather.

C.     In the event both teams show-up for the match in spite of the weather, you may proceed with the match. However, you will then sit out the following week to allow the remaining teams to catch up on the schedule, if this happens NOTIFY the Dart League Coordinator, Pam@#204-3684 the following day. If played, scores are final! No complaints! 

15.  LEAGUE FEES

A.    Player Fees: ALL LEAGUES will be paying $6.00 each person. No IOU’s allowed. No money, No play! 

B.     State Amusement Co., no longer accepts personal checks due to the fact of returned check fees. CASH ONLY in the envelopes.

C.     It is the responsibility of the team Captains to make sure that all monies are enclosed in their team’s envelope provided by State Amusement and to be put in the dart board slot before the match starts.

D.    The proper information must be written on the front of the league envelope, DATE, HOME TEAM, VISITING TEAM. This is very important so the monies will be credited to the proper leagues.

E.    There is a $10.00 Participation fee that is to be paid by all Listed Players on the night of the Captain’s Meeting. IT IS NOT THE BARS RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY THIS FEE. This is a one-time payment per session. If a participant fails to do so, then that person will be an ineligible player and the team will forfeit all games.

F.    Quarters & League fees are to be paid by the player being substituted for.

G.    Sponsor Fees are to be billed to each bar by State Amusement and is $40.00 per bar location to be paid.

H.    There is a $40.00 charge which will be taken from the team’s point money at the end of the season for the dart cards that are not returned.

16.  FORFEITURES 

A.    Entering a forfeit into the Dart Machine:

·         Team will insert their team league card into the machine and setup their team as if you were getting ready to play the match.

·         When machine ask for the other team's card, re-insert your card and it will ask if this is a forfeit. Reply as the machine indicates and a forfeit will be recorded. 

B.     A team that forfeits a league match loses the match, which is ALL games.

C.     A team that forfeits a league match is responsible for that match's league fee, even though they did not play. Failure to pay these fees will result in that amount being sub­tracted from their point monies. 

D.    If a team forfeits two (2) matches during the season, they will be dropped from the league and proper schedule and standing adjustments will be made by State Amusement. The team dropped from the league, no matter when it occurs, will also forfeit all prize and point monies and/or suspension from the league for one (1) year.

17.  TEAMS WITHDRAWING

A.    Teams that drop from the league must have a valid reason, or the players involved may not be considered in good standing with the league. Players considered not in good standing may be asked not to play the following season at the discretion of State Amusement. 

B.     A team shall be considered to have withdrawn from the league as of the date of the receipt of written notice or text message to the Dart League Coordinator from the team Captain of the team withdrawing.

C.     If a team drops prior to the first night of league, the team will be removed from the league and the schedule will be re-generated. Players will be notified as soon as the League is aware the change is necessary.

D.    If a team drops after they have played at least one match but they have not played every team in the league at least once, the team will be removed from the league and a bye will be inserted into the schedule in their place. All wins/losses vs. this team will be backed out of the league. All player stats will remain so players get credit for the games they played.

E.     If a team drops after they have played every team in the league one or more times, the team will be removed from the league and a bye will be inserted into the schedule in their place. All wins/losses vs. this team will be backed out back to the point where they played every team equally. The wins/losses from the matches played prior to this point will remain in the league. All player stats will remain so players get credit for the games they played.

18.  PLAY-OFF'S 

A.    Situations

If there is a tie in team standings for 1st, 2nd or 3rd places at the end of the season for a single conference division. 

B.     Guidelines

Single Division Team Standings Tie Play-off will be a 1 match race to 10, with game format being the same as for the regular season with 701 Open In/Double Out played as the 19th game only. Home board advantage will be determined by match record, then game record, then toss of the coin.

C.     Eligibility

For any player to be eligible for any play-off, they must have participated in 80% of the regular season matches for the team [See Rule 1-B] in the play-off. No Substitutes are allowed in play-offs without prior approval from the Rules Committee and Dart League Coordinator. 

19.  PROTEST PROCEDURE

Protest: A protest is a difference between both teams that is not settled between a rules violation. 

A.    Only the team Captain has the authority to protest.

B.     A protest must be given to the Dart League Coordinator through State Amusement Co., in writing, within 48 hours (2 working days). A protest will be heard, dis­cussed and settled by the Rules/Protest Committee. Their decision will be final.

C.     The Dart League Coordinator has the right to disregard any protest not properly submitted. 

D.   The protest must be heard before the two (2) teams involved play again in league play, or the protest will be dissolved.

E.     Representative from both teams will be invited and MUST attend the protest hearing concern­ing their protest. If due to lack of proper representa­tion, the team represented wins the protest.

F.      When submitting the written protest, the following informa­tion will be included in the letter:

·         Name of both teams involved

·         Name of both team captains

·         Date of match under protest

·         Date of remittance of protest letter

·         A brief description of the reason for the protest

·         Telephone numbers of both captains

20.  AWARDS AND TROPHIES

A.    Prize Money Awards amounts are based on number of teams and weekly fees that will be collected. (Amounts may change due to the number of teams). 

   EXAMPLE:

           A League                             $1000.00    $800.00    $600.00

           B League                              $800.00     $600.00    $400.00  

B.    Point Money Awards are determined by Division. Point money will be paid on the basis of a minimum of twenty five cents (.25) per player, per team win. League fees collected during the year remains in that Division. Award monies and the cost of trophies is deducted from each Division totals and what remains determines point money returns. At no time does one Division pay for another Division. If a team drops out of the League at any time, they will NOT receive point or prize monies.

C.   First time patches/award pins will be awarded free for 6, 7, 8, and 9 darts out, Three in a Bed, Ton 80 (301), Hat Trick (301) and White Horse (Cricket). One of each patch/pin per player, per year. Darts must be witnessed by both Captains. 

D.    If a player earns more than one award pin, extra ones can be purchased at the Banquet at the end of the season or at State Amusement.

E.   Each division will be awarded individual trophies for the following:

Most Hattricks

Most Tons

Most Wins

Highest Ranking

Highest Dart Out