NASSAU DARTS ASSOCIATION

RULES AND REGULATIONS

As amended - september, 2002

* These are not a complete set of rules for the game of darts*

The ultimate goal for our Association is Sportsmanship

Everyone is urged to exhibit courtesy and fairness to each other during the season

SECTION ONE:   PLAYING AREA

The center of the board shall be Five Feet Eight Inches (5' 8") from the floor.

The distance from the floor directly below the front of the board to the throwing line shall be Seven Feet Nine and a Quarter Inches (7' 9-1/4").  Or the distance from the center of the Bull to the throwing line shall be Nine Feet Seven and a Half Inches (9' 7-1/2").

All boards used for play shall be Tournament Bristle Boards distinguished by the Double and Triple widths of Eight Millimeters (8mm).

Dart boards must be in good condition with wires undistorted from the original positions.

The dart board must be well lit, in such a way that prevents excessive shadows on the board.   Lights must be in such a position as not to distract the player.

The throwing area must be clear of any obstructions which will impede the player.

A score board must be provided and placed parallel to the dart board, so as to be in clear view of the thrower.

All venues are subject to surprise inspection by members of the NDA executive.

SECTION TWO:   PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

For a player to play, he/she must reside in the Bahamas.

A player must not be a member of any other league in The Bahamas.

A team may recruit new players until the end of the Open Season.  No new players may be recruited for Divisional play.   Failure to comply with this rule will result in a 12-0 forfeit.

Players are not allowed to transfer between teams once the Season has begun.   For this purpose a player is defined as anyone who has thrown a dart for a team during the current season.

A player must play in at least 2 matches in the Open Season in order to be able to play in the Divisional Season.

 SECTION THREE:   CONDUCT

During a game only the player or the Captains may communicate with the Scorer as to what has been thrown, or what is left.

No person shall be within Two feet (2') of the player while he/she is throwing.

No prompting shall be allowed from any person while the player is on the throwing line, however, a player may step off the throwing line for consultation for up to One (1) minute.

The Captains shall be the ones to communicate on rosters and disputes for the night.

Loud, foul language or antagonistic behaviour by any player shall not be allowed during the course of the match.   The player need not be playing for this rule to apply.

Any Captain who wishes to protest an infringement of the rules occurring during a match must complete the match, and must sign the opponents score sheet, and must add the words “UNDER PROTEST”.   Details of the protest must be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the NDA Executive within Three (3) days of the event.   Protests and/or penalties shall be decided by the NDA Executive at the next meeting.   A Special Protest may be similarly made based upon information obtained after a match has been played.

NOTE     The NDA Executive asks you to remember that darts is a pub sport, and that background noise from bar patrons is to be expected.   We ask for the rules of Good Sportsmanship to be followed in all NDA activities.

SECTION FOUR:   THE GAME

A Match shall consist of:

                    Three (3) Doubles Games      -       501     Straight In, Double Out

                    Two (2) Triples Games          -      701      Straight In, Double Out

                    Six (6) Singles Games            -       501     Straight In, Double Out

                    One (1) Team Game              -     1,001    Straight In, Double Out

A player is allowed a maximum of Six (6) practice darts before a game is called.

No practice darts shall be thrown during a game.   The throw ends when a bust score is obtained.   No practice darts should be thrown once the player has busted.

All games start with Two (2) players shooting for the Bull.   The Away team shoots for the Bull first.  The person shooting closest to the Bull plays first.

A dart thrown for Bull that fails to stick in the board must be thrown again.

If the first person hits a Bull (Double Bull or Single Bull) the second person has the option of having the dart marked and removed before shooting.

If both persons hit Double Bull, or if both hit Single Bull, then they shall shoot again with the second player shooting first.    If both persons again hit Double Bull, or Single Bull, then they shall shoot again alternating so that the second player will now shoot first.   They shall continue alternating until the Bull has been determined.

When a player throws out of turn, then the score for that throw shall be forfeit, and the player whose throw it was shall lose their turn.

All games must end with a Double and a score of Zero (0).   Any dart mistakenly thrown by a player after scoring the required Double shall not count, as the game is concluded by the dart scoring the required double.   No practice darts should be thrown once the player has scored the required Double.

The bust rule shall apply in all games.   That is, if a player obtains more than the score necessary then the score shall revert to what it was at the beginning of that throw.  The throw ends when a bust score is obtained.   No practice darts should be thrown once the player has busted.

When counting the number of darts in a Singles game, a bust score shall count as Three (3) darts.

 SECTION FIVE:   THROWING

A throw consists of Three (3) darts.

Players may throw from any position behind the throwing line.

Any dart that bounces off the board, or falls out of the board shall not be re-thrown.   This rule does not apply to darts thrown for Bull at the start of a game.

Any dropped dart not traveling more than Four feet (4') forward of the throwing line may be re-thrown.

A player at the throwing line may consult the Scorer as to what was scored or what is left, but any verbal mistakes are the responsibility of the player not the Scorer.

The Scorer or the Checker may not tell the player on the throwing line how to finish.   The player may step off the throwing line for up to One (1) minute to consult as to finishes.

 SECTION SIX:   SCORING

Each game must have One (1) official Scorer, and One (1) official Checker.

The Home team shall provide the Scorer.   The Away team may provide the Checker.

The Scorer is the Referee.   The decision of the Scorer is final.   Any disputes should be lodged as formal protests.

The Scorer should remain as still as possible, and not distract the player by talking, bobbing, smoking, erasing the score board, etc.

Center Bull is a double, counting for Fifty (50) points.

The player throwing, the Checker or either Captain may ask for the subtraction to be checked up to the beginning of the next player on the team whose score is being checked.

The Scorer cannot touch the darts in the board without the player’s permission.

For a dart to score it must be pulled from the board by the player.  If a dart falls from the board before it is pulled by the player it does not score.

Any objection to the score obtained may not be upheld once the darts have been removed from the board.

A dart removed from the board before the Scorer has checked the score shall be forfeit.

A new game shall not start until the Scorer calls his/her readiness.

The score board will show the score for each turn, and the score remaining.

The previous score and remainder should be crossed out when the score is 170 or below.

At the end of each Singles game the Scorer will call out the number of darts thrown by the winning player.

NOTE     The NDA Executive asks you to learn and follow the “Scorer’s Ten Commandments”.

SECTION SEVEN:   MISC. RULES

Any team unable to shoot on the scheduled night will forfeit the match.  No team may request a postponement.

By 8:15 p.m. each Captain should have exchanged the Doubles line-up, and the match should then commence.

Once a line-up has been posted it shall not be altered.   The line-up posted shall be the same as that on the score sheet.   This may be over-ruled by an agreement between the Two (2) Captains.

Line-ups are exchanged and posted at the beginning of each set of games (i.e., Doubles, Singles, Triples and Team).   If only Four (4) or Five (5) players show up, the short team must play those players present in the 1st and 2nd Doubles, the 1st Triple, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th (and 5th ) Singles.

Each team must consist of a minimum of Six (6) players.   If only Four (4) or Five (5) players show up, the short team may play the match, but must forfeit any game in which a player is not present within Five (5) minutes of a game in which he is scheduled to play being called (e.g., One (1) Doubles game, One (1) Triples game, One (1) or Two (2) Singles games, and the Team game).   If only Four (4) or Five (5) players show up, the short team must play those players present in the 1st and 2nd Doubles, the 1st Triple, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th (and 5th ) Singles.

If a player is not present within Five (5) minutes of a game in which he is scheduled to play being called, that game shall be forfeit.

Each Captain must fill in the score sheets for their team during the match.   The score sheets must be signed by the opposing Captain at the end of each match.

Score sheets may be obtained from the Executive of the NDA.

Score sheets must be delivered to the Press Secretary of the NDA by the Friday following the match.

Score sheets must be turned in to the Statistician of the NDA by One and a Half (1 ½) weeks after the match, or all individual statistics from that match may not be entered in the records.

NOTE     The NDA Executive asks you ensure that score sheets are turned in on time.

Score sheets may be turned in at Gibson’s Bar.

In the event of a power failure, the match is to be completed from the last completed game. Matches should be continued on the following Tuesday, or may be continued before the following Tuesday if both Captains agree on a date.

Where Two (2) or more teams play out of the same venue, if that venue is unable to accommodate both teams at home on the scheduled date, then the team listed last on the Schedule of Games shall play their match on the Tuesday immediately before the scheduled date.

Team placement scores shall be awarded in the following manner:

Two (2) points for a Win

One (1) point for a Tie

Zero (0) points for a Loss

Individual placement scores shall be awarded in the following manner:

Each 95 +                   =     ½  point

Each Doubles Win     =     1 point per player

Each Triples Win       =     1 point per player

Each Singles Win by:

                           9 - 12  darts     =      6    points

                         13 - 15 darts     =      5.5 points

                         16 - 18 darts     =      5    points

                         19 - 21 darts     =      4.5 points

                         22 - 24 darts     =      4    points

                         25 - 27 darts     =      3.5 points

                         28 - 30 darts     =      3    points

                         31 - 33 darts     =      2.5 points

                         34 - 36 darts     =      2    points

                         37 - 39 darts     =      1.5 points

                         40+      darts=      1   point

In the event of a tie in points at the end of the Season, the following criteria will be used:

           Most Matches won, if tied

           Least Matches lost, if tied

           Most Games for, if tied

           Least Games forfeited, if tied

           It’s a Draw !!

Any team defaulting Two (2) matches in the darts season will be taken out of the League for the rest of the year.   All statistics for that team and their previous opponents will be withdrawn, this includes individual statistics.

Any team defaulting any match in the Divisional Season will be suspended. All Divisional Season statistics for that team and their opponents will be withdrawn, this includes individual statistics.