Chairman/ Treasurer Mr Stan Ifield

01621 855706

Vice Chairman/ Mr James Wright

Secretary/Webmaster 01621 859580

Maldon & District Darts League

www.maldondarts.co.uk

Rules as at 28^th March 2022

1. All Teams & Players must register with the league. A completed team registration form must be sent to the league secretary within 6 weeks from the first fixture of the season. Failure to complete this form will result in 10 points being deducted from the offending teams’ total (even if this takes the total to less than zero). Any new players can still be registered by adding their details to the bottom of the results sheet for the first game that the new player participates.

2. All matches are to be played on a home and away basis, unless in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

3. No new Players can register after the halfway stage of the season, unless with committee approval

4. Only players of 14 or above years of age may play in the league, unless venue or club rules do not permit entry. Otherwise at Landlords discretion.

5. No player is allowed to play for more than one team in a season, unless the team pulls out of the league before the halfway point or at the discretion of the committee.

6. Each team must provide a good match board. It must be 5ft 8” to the bull’s eye from the floor, adjusting for any natural slope. Darts must be thrown from behind a raised oche 7ft 9 ¼” from the board, unless an oche cannot be used for health and safety reasons. The board must also be well lit.
   Should a throw come into question, it must be notified to the committee. A committee representative will then visit the venue within a fortnight. Any recommendations made must be completed before the next home match or the match will be forfeit.

7. A chalk board or white board is to be used for scoring.

• The home team must provide a competent marker. Definition of a competent marker is as follows;-

i. Acts as the referee to the leg being played

ii. Must give 100% attention to the leg being played (i.e. not wandering off for food, talking to team mates or using mobile phones etc)

iii. Must write each score clearly and subtract it quickly from the remaining total

iv. Must try to remain as still as possible whilst players are throwing and only check scores when asked or when the player has finished throwing.

v. Can tell players what they have scored and what they have remaining when asked, but must not tell them which way to finish.

• Darts must remain in the board until the score has been recorded
• Darts must be retrieved by the player and not moved by the marker
• The marker must show both the amount scored and the amount remaining
• No corrections to the remaining amount can be made once the player has thrown again

8. The match board is to be open by 8.15pm with a start of no later than 8:45pm

9. All players must sign on before the end of the evening

10. A team consists of 6 or more players. A minimum of 5 players are allowed to play in the game. No player is allowed to play twice in the same section. In the event that both teams can only field 5 players, two singles cannot be played. In this event only a maximum of 15 points can be played for and not the usual 17. It is allowed to play two against one in the pairs and three against two in the threes. The 2 singles games that cannot be contested will be considered a walkover and the points awarded to the complete team. The Captain of the complete team shall be allowed a choice of 5 players to be part of the blind draw.

11. Teams may select their threes and pairs, but all match pairings must be decided by a blind draw by the opposing captain.

12. Match format:-

2 x Threes	1 Leg	801
3 x Pairs	1 Leg	601
6 x Singles	1 Leg	501
1 x Captains	1 Leg	501
6 x Singles	1 Leg	501

Throw to be decided by nearest to the Bull, home team to throw first. In the event both players hit either 25 or Bull, the throw is to be taken again away team first and then alternating until a winner is decided. If a Bull or 25 is scored, then once the Scorer has acknowledged it, the dart should be removed. Darts other than a Bull or 25 must not be moved when making a decision which is closest. If the Scorer cannot make a decision which is closest then the throw should be taken again.

13. Captain’s game is to be played by the Nominated Captain; if the Nominated Captain is unavailable then the Nominated Vice-Captain can play this game. In the event of a tie at the end of the season, only points earned by the Nominated Captain will count. If both the Nominated Captain and Nominated Vice-Captain are unavailable, then the Captains game will be given to the opposing team.

14. Any Team or Player reported for bad behaviour may be banned from the league. Reported Teams or Players will be discussed and dealt with by the committee.

15. Complaints to be sent in writing to the Secretary and will be dealt with by the Committee. Their decision will be final.

16. Result sheets will now constitute two parts (top sheet and bottom carbon copy). Once the game has finished and the sheet is signed by both Captains, the Captain of the winning side should retain the TOP copy and the Captain of the losing side should retain the BOTTOM copy. Each Captain should then return their copy of the result sheet to the league secretary. The result (including Captain’s result, 180’s & 100+ shot-outs) must be reported by the Saturday following the fixture date (by text, email or preferably the online result form). The result sheet must be returned within a fortnight of the fixture date. Failure to report the result by the Saturday will incur a 2 point penalty for the winning team. Failure to return either copy of the result sheet will incur a 2 point penalty for the team whose sheet is missing.
    
    ALTERNATIVELY – a photo of the result sheet sent via whatsapp to the MDDL Info group or directly to the league secretary on the match night or day after will negate the need to post either copy of the result sheet.

17. No matches are to be called off unless in the event of unforeseen circumstances (in this event the committee will provide a ruling). Should a team be unable to complete the fixture on the date specified, providing the opposing team have been notified more than 24 hours in advance and there has been no other postponed fixtures then there will be no penalty. Further postponements or postponements made within 24 hours of the given fixture will attract a 10 point deduction for the team unable to play. The fixture should then be replayed at the earliest convenience. Re-arranged games must be organised within 7 days of the original fixture and the league secretary notified of the pending dates. Re-arranged games must also be completed before the end-of-season knockouts and provision of two spare weeks will be made in the fixtures for this purpose. In the event that the game cannot be replayed, then 11pts shall be awarded to the opposing team plus the Captains game. (Captains game will not count towards the Captains Trophy in the event of a tie)
    
    
18. End of Season Competitions
• Players must be evenly distributed between the preliminary venues (if more than one)
• Blind draw to be made by 8.30pm Sharp
• Each Round to be best of 3 with the exception of the Semi-Finals and Final which are best of 5
• Singles to be 501, pairs to be 601 and trio’s 801
• Start to be decided by throwing for the Bull and the winner will start legs 1,3 & 5 (if all legs needed)
• Full names and team names must be given upon registration
• For the venues allocated for the competitions it is the responsibility of the Captain or Captains, if more than one team, to ensure the venue is available for the competition on the given date and that the competition paperwork is completed correctly and that the results are reported promptly to the league secretary
• Eligible players must have played a minimum of 1/3^rd of their teams fixtures and be available on finals night to be eligible to play for their Divisions competitions
• Volunteer Scorers will be required for the 1^st game on each board, following that it is the losing player(s) responsibility to provide a competent Scorer for the next game (should there be one). Should a Scorer not be provided within 5 minutes of the next match being announced then the losing player(s) shall be excluded from the remainder of the current season and following seasons knockout competitions

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY KNOCKOUT COMPETITION RULE COULD RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION

19. Knockout Cup

- Knockout cup is pre-drawn at start of the season and each round is re-drawn

- Losers of preliminary round and round 1 will be entered into a consolation cup which has also be pre drawn and redrawn at each round.

- Where possible fixtures will be as drawn, with the exception of fixture clashes where the 1^st pairing will take precedence (fixtures will be reviewed after each round is complete)

- The Final of each competition will be played at a neutral venue

- Format for the competition is 6 x Singles 1 leg 501, 6 x Singles 1 leg 501, 6 x Singles 1 leg 501

- The winning team is the 1^st team to reach 10 legs, though all games should be completed and the final result reported to the result secretary

- Should the teams be tied after all 18 legs have been played, each captain shall nominate a player to play best of 3 legs 501

- As usual the home team shall throw first at the bull to decide which player starts each leg, with the exception of a play off in which case the winner of the bull shall start the first and final leg.

- Any games unable to be played on the scheduled evening shall be deemed as a walkover. The team unable to play will be eliminated and the opposing team shall progress to the next round

20. League Division Winners

The winning team for each division shall be the team that has accrued the most points less any penalties during the complete season. In the event that two or more teams finish on the same points total, then the result is determined by the total points scored against each other. If in the unlikely event that there is still a tie, each captain must nominate a trio to play best of 3 legs 801 on Finals Night.

21. THE COMMITTEE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE RULES AND ANY DECISION MADE BY THE COMMITTEE IS FINAL.

22. ANY TEAM FOUND TO BE BREAKING THE MDDL RULES, MAY BE EXCLUDED FROM THE LEAGUE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMMITTEE.

23. LEAGUE TROPHIES – All annual trophies must be signed for by a team representative before they can be taken. The representative will be liable for a £100 replacement fee should the trophy be missing or returned damaged. If the team representative is not willing to be responsible for the trophy/trophies the Committee will retain the trophy until the following year.