League Rules
2017/18 Winter Season /
Thurrock Monday Night Rules
Last Updated 18/09/2017
1. The League shall be called the Thurrock Men’s Darts League & shall be open to teams from the licenced houses and clubs in Tilbury, Thurrock and the surrounding areas.
2. The League shall be governed by the league officials & the decision of this body shall be final.
3. The league officials consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary & Treasurer. The positions may be filled by a non-dart player but the person must be attached to a team, the league can only be run with at least 3 of the 4 positions being filled.
4. The league officials have power to co-opt members as and when necessary.
5. The league officials can call an AGM, EGM, Secretaries or Committee meeting at time, date and venue agreed, where possible, at the previous meeting. All league meetings will be on competition nights at 8:00pm.
6. The league officials and committee shall be elected annually at the AGM unless otherwise notified.
7. Any items such as a player transferring from a defaulting team or amendments to the rules etc. shall be submitted to the secretary in writing and they will be discussed at the next meeting.
8. The league shall consist of a winter season starting in September each year.
9. New teams can register prior to the start of the league all applications for entry must be with the committee by the last Wednesday of July each year. Allowing the Application to be discussed at the AGM in August.
10.A team shall consist of 8 or more players registered as a team regardless of the team name or the venue at which they play.
11. If for any reason a team changes its home venue or name, this shall not affect is status in the league. In the case of some team members changing venue and others staying, then if 51% (or more) stay (or move) then they retain their league status, the other 49% (or less) are classed as a new team.
12. Points shall be awarded as follows:
3 points for an away win
2 points for a home win
The League championship shall be decided on points. Should two or more teams be level after all games are played, then a count back system will come into play, comprising of MOST LEAGUE LEGS over the season. If still level after this then the performance of teams involved against each other, on the same basis shall decide the championship
13. Both Captains in a league game, or competition officials in competitions, should mutually agree that the board & conditions are satisfactory. Protests or objections of any kind in both league matches & competitions including conditions of play (i.e. poor quality board) should be noted on the result sheet as “Played under protest” and sent to the league secretary within 7 days explaining the situation.
14. Any club or players proven guilty of any breach of the rules will be brought before the committee. Any player referred to the committee for violent or disorderly conduct or bringing the league into disrepute will be brought before the committee to explain their actions & may at the discretion of the league officials be banned from the league.
15. Any club playing an illegible player will be fined £5.00 and shall forfeit the game as an 11-0 loss.
16. In the event of a team dropping out of the league (or is expelled) in the first half of the season. All their results shall be null or void, and all points shall be deducted. If a team drops out in the second half of the season, then their results for the first half will stand. Any results in the second half will be null & void.
17. Non-attendances by a team secretary or a team representative at a league meeting will incur a £5.00 fine for their first offence. Each subsequent offence shall result in further £5.00 fines and a 3-point deduction to the point of zero points. When a fine has been levied against a team for whatever reason, including late result sheets, the team secretary will be notified by email or post & the fine must be paid to the league treasurer at the next meeting.
18. Every registered player has the right to attend the AGM but only one vote per team.
19. Teams must be registered prior to the start of the season.
20. Any team that does not return league paperwork on time i.e. player registration sheet & competition entry sheet shall be liable to a fine of £5.00, which will increase by £5.00 for every week or part of week that the paperwork is late.
21. Each player shall sign an official team registration sheet in their own handwriting declaring which team they shall play for in the coming season. Any player signing in a false or assumed name shall be liable to suspension. If for any reason a player who has signed for one team wishes to transfer to another, the request must be made to the committee at the next available meeting or to the league secretary if the next meeting is more than 10 days into the future for a decision to be made. Under no circumstances can a player transfer once they have played an official match for the original team during that season.
22. If a team has an underage player, it is their responsibility to contact the landlord of the home venue to ensure that the player will be allowed into the venue. This is purely at the landlord’s discretion. The underage player must be accompanied by their parent or parental representative.
23. No player shall sign for a team in the league if they have debts or liabilities to another team or the league itself.
24. No members will be eligible to play in any league or competitions until they have filled in & signed their names on their team’s registration sheet.
25. New members joining a club after the registration fee has been paid will be allowed to play 7 days following receipt of their registration & payment of late registration fee (£2.00). New member’s details can be written on the bottom of the result sheet & sent to the results secretary. Payment to treasurer in cash or cheque at the next available meeting. No cash in the post please. The league secretary will accept new members playing with less than 7 days’ notice if informed prior to playing as a matter or courtesy. If not informed rule 15 applies. No late signings will be permitted after the halfway stage, unless there are severe extenuating circumstances. (e.g. the team cannot carry on as they have less than the required number of players). In this case an application must be made to the committee for a new signing. In this case the team must declare the team members remaining and no one else from the original signing sheet shall be eligible to play.
26. Once a player has signed for a team in the Thurrock league, then that person is not eligible to sign for another team.
27. If the Captain, Treasurer or Secretary change during the season, the league secretary must be informed as soon as possible after the event, otherwise, the new governor, captain or secretary will be excluded from their respective competitions. Only named Captain, Treasurer and Secretary as written on player registration sheet will be allowed to compete in their respective competitions. If a vice captain is named on the registration sheet, they may compete in place of the captain, only if the captain is unable to attend.
28. A diamond wire board or similar should be used. The board shall be 5ft 8in (173cm) from the floor to the middle of the bull. The throw must be 7ft 9.25in (2.37metres), marked clearly preferably with a raised oche or a rigid line which should be 18” long by 1” wide, a chalk mark on the floor is not acceptable. Players must stand behind the oche; they must not stand on it. Any player over stepping the oche will be warned by the referee and if this happens again the referee is entitled to call “No Score”.
29. The league match will consist of 8 singles, 501, best of 3 legs and 3 pairs, 601, best of 3 legs. Straight dart start, double finish. Bull counts as double 25. Pairs are to be played first.
30. The home team starts the match and throws first in games 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11. Away team to throw first in the other games. The order is reversed in the second leg of each game.
31. The home team to chalk and away team to call in all league and cup games.
32. Results sheets must have the player’s full names entered (No Nicknames) & signed before the match starts. Players must be in attendance when the draw is done, if you have a player who is going to arrive late, you should tell the opposing captain; if you do not then the opposing captain has the right not to let that player play. Names must be legible otherwise no player of the season points are awarded.
33. The order of play in the singles league games is decided by the team’s captains or vice captains. They declare the player to play, match by match. The 3 pairs are all to be drawn together at the start of the night.
34.The League will allow some flexibility in this rule. Team captains can discuss and move the start time, providing both teams agree and are happy to do so, and that the match still takes place on the same evening given in the Fixtures. If no agreement can be made, the rules must stand. The match draw must take place at 8:30pm for an 8:45pm start. In the event of a team not being ready for the draw by 8:30pm, their opponents, if they wish may claim at 8:45pm providing there is no valid excuse. Telephone contact must be made with the opposing team captain/secretary before claiming the game and both Captains must send in an official written record of the reasons for non-play to the results secretary. The presenting team will be awarded an 11-0 win provided they send in a signed results sheet with their 8 names on & stating “Game Claimed”. If at the appointed time(8:30pm) a team is not complete (Minimum of 5 players) that team shall have defaulted. Two defaults in a season means expulsion from the league. In the event of the points secretary/committee not being satisfied that all the above rules have been followed, then a re-match shall be ordered. If players do not agree with mutually agreed change or start time, they must take this up with their Team officials and not the league officials.
35. In the event of a team having less than 5 players then the players without an opponent shall be awarded a walkover & given the 3 points which will represent 2-0 win on the players table
36. All league matches to be played in accordance with the official fixture list.
37.No call is to be made or information given except by the referee (The Caller) the player should ask the caller what is scored & what is left. Other players should not advise players on what to go for or what double to go for. The referee has the right to disqualify any player for not observing this rule.
38. To finish a game, the exact number must be thrown, if a player scores more than the required number, that throw shall not count, and the player shall revert to their original number.
39. Three darts shall constitute as a throw, all darts count under any circumstances, should a flight fall out while being thrown, it shall count, any protest as to the legality of a dart thrown should be made to the referee, who’s decision is final.
40. The score is to be taken on a blackboard & chalk or other suitable medium that is clearly visible to the players. In the event of a protest or objection arising during the match, the match must be played & the league secretary notified of the protest.
41. The method of scoring shall be by deduction. Electronic scoreboards are not permitted.
42. Match scoring is one point per game (a maximum of 11). The league winners shall be decided on points, should two or more teams have the same amount of points, the winners will be the team with the most league leg wins.
43. Open boards should be available to both teams from 8:15pm at the latest.
COMPETITIONS (SINGLES, PAIRS, THREES & FOURS)
44. The Running of all league competitions is the responsibility of theLeague Secretary, who will wherever possible, be at the venues to do the draw & ensure the smooth running of all competitions. All competitions (With the exclusion of charity night) MUST be pre entered by the league meeting preceding the competition. In all competitions, any club failing to make a representation shall incur a £5.00 fine. Loser must chalk the next game on the board on which he lost, failure to do so shall incur a £5.00 fine for the team they represent, which the team has the right to recover from the individual.
44a.Clarification (05/09/2016) The start of all competition matches will start with the nearest to bullseye. The player called first,must throw for the bull first. Should the game go to a third or fifth leg decider (I.E. 1-1 or 2-2) then the player that won the second or forth leg shall throw first at bullseye to decide who throws first in the deciding leg.
45. All competition players must be selected from players registered.
46. Competition entrants must be present by 8:30pm & the competition to start by 8:45pm. The draw will be done at no later than 8:30pm. The Ladder system will be used for successive rounds. The competition official may at their decision delay the start if they see fit to do so, but do not rely on this.
47. The highest finish, best legs (under 16 darts), and 180’s at competitions shall count in the tables, providing they are recorded on official results paperwork.
48. The winners & runners up in team competitions shall be entitled to 10 trophies. If the team require more, they will be required to pay for them. If a team loses or damages a perpetual trophy, they will be held responsible for the cost of repair or replacement. Teams are required to bring perpetual trophies back to a meeting when requested in a clean condition; failure to do so may incur a fine.
RESULTS SHEETS
49. Notification of results. Both teams shall keep a result sheet which should be available at each match and available to the results secretary when asked. Both captains must sign each sheet and the home team is responsible for informing the results secretary via text, immediately after the match has finished. Then the result sheet must be sent to the results secretary, either in person, photographed via email or Social media (Twitter @ThurrockDarts), or Picture Message. The results sheets should be handed in no later than the Thursday after the match to ensure tables can be updated in time for the following match night. It is the responsibility of both captains to ensure that the sheet is filled in correctly and is legible. If the results secretary receives an illegible, incorrectly filled in, or incomplete result sheet, then the team or players shall forfeit that result. If the result sheet is late, each team will receive one request to submit, following that a £5.00 fine will be imposed.
50. Missing results sheet: If a sheet has not turned up 10 days after the match or competition, it shall be deemed lost in post. Teams/Players shall be notified with which sheets are missing. The teams/players then have 7 days to contact the results secretary with the result.
CUP GAMES
51. John Brown & Marvel Cup – All cup competitions to be played the same as the league rules with the exception being that the start of the game is decided on the toss of a coin, home team to call. Cup competitions are on a knockout basis with the winners going through to the next game. A draw will be made after each round at the next available meeting.
52. Charity Night – Teams consisting of 3 players, a team can enter as many teams of 3 as they wish, providing they are all registered. 1 Singles player, maximum of 3 legs 501, 1 pair maximum of 3 legs (601) and, if necessary a decider, 1 Three 1 leg of 801. The winner, can nominate a charity to benefit from the nights proceeds.
53. Champion of Champions and Presentation night – After all player points have been awarded, there shall be a champion of champions competition consisting of the top 32 players in the league and shall be on a knock out basis. Presentation of all Trophies shall immediately follow the final.
GENERAL INFORMATION
54. Entrance Fees.
An entrance fee which is non-refundable for the league and knock out competitions shall be set at each AGM. All teams having indicated their desire to play for the season must pay in full at the first competition of the season. Along with the player signing sheet and £2 per registered player. NOTE anyone signing on after the first competition, shall be liable for a late signing fee of £1 (Registration fee + Late fee = £3)
55. If there are any rules you are not clear about, an email to the league will be received and read immediately with a response within 24 hours.
56. Any social club or public house that are unable to provide food for the away team must notify the league so that the opposing teams are informed prior to the match.
57. All perpetual trophies must be signed for at the presentation by the team secretary or captain