DARTS OVER THE WINDY CITY RULES OF PLAY

Article 1 – The Team and Its Captain

1            Each team shall consist of four (4) players.  Team members must be designated as players for the team intournament registration forms prior to play.

2            To establish eligibility, all players must be prepared to present a valid, state-issued photo identification during tournament registration and/or play.

3            The following determine eligibility for the tournament:

(a)   A player must be an amateur;

(b)  A player must have participated in a meaningful and ongoing way in LGBT dart leagues or events within the one year prior to the tournament;

(c)   A player may not have a masters or similar maximum-level rating in his or her home dart league;

(d)   A player may not be nationally ranked based on certain generally accepted national rankings systems determined at the time of registration closing. A player may not be listed among the following darters:

(i) American Darters Association (ADA): American Dart League (ADL) Top Darters & Pro List

1. Soft Tip Neutralizer Men
2. Soft Tip Neutralizer Women
3. Soft Tip American Open League Men
4. Soft Tip American Open League Woen
5. Steel Tip Neutralizer Men
6. Steel Tip Neutralizer Women
7. Steel Tip American Open League Men
8. Steel Tip American Open League Women
9. Pro Darters List

(ii) American Darts Organization (ADO)

1. ADO Men's National Rankings
2. ADO Women's National Rankings

(iii) Arachnid's Pro Lists (Bullshooter)

1. Pro List
2. Pro AA List
3. Women's A List
4. Women's AA List

(iv) National Dart Association (NDA)

       1.  '01 Rankings (Top 1,100 NDA players are prohibited from playing in this tournament);

(vii) Any other generally accepted rankings systems and/or lists determined the the Board.

(e)   In accordance with Article I, Section 4, below, the Board will make player-specific eligibility decisions on a case-by-case basis. 

4            The Board reserves the right to make all final and binding decisions as to the eligibility of any player to join a participating team.

5 (a)   If a player is determined to be ineligible after the start of tournament play, but before the conclusion of the tournament, all game points won by that player's team in which that player participated will be forfeited. Game points so-forfeited will be awarded to the opposing team.  

(b)   If a player is determined to be ineligible after the conclusion of tournament play, game point results will not be affected.  However, the ineligible player will receive a lifetime ban from tournament play and all players on the offending team will be banned from the tournament for the two (2) years following the infraction.

6            Each team must pay its appropriate tournament registration fee prior to tournament play to be eligible.

7            Each team must designate one (1) active player from the team to be its Captain pursuant to Section 8.

8            The Captain shall have the duty to:

(a)   Represent their team at all Captains’ Meetings;

(b)  Fulfill all requirements of the Rules of Play at each tournament match, including completion of the roster and score sheet, calling in or reporting the score, filing protests, etc.;

(c)   Inform the tournament Board promptly of any rule violations occurring during the course of competition, and to insure all concerns of team members regarding the tournament are submitted to the Board; and

(d)  Provide the Board with information required to validate memberships and/or eligibility, such as the roster, score sheets, and/or a form of identification on demand.

9            The Captain shall further be responsible for raising any and all issues, protests, and/or appeals with the tournament Board.  The Board shall have final authority to decide any and all disputes so-raised.

Article 2 – Equipment and Playing Area

1            Darts must weigh no more than twenty (20) grams to be eligible for tournament play.  A team in violation of this rule may be forced to forfeit all legs won in a particular match prior to the correction of the violation.

2            All match games will be played on Arachnid Galaxy II or II.5 electronic dart machines.

3            Each playing area must exhibit an identifiable toe line or oche, the front of which shall be no more or less than eight (8) feet from the face of the dart board.

4            All comments or protests concerning the equipment or playing area of a particular venue should be brought to the attention of the tournament Board prior to the beginning of a match.  If a condition cannot be corrected, the Board will reschedule the match to another location.

5            In general, “the dartboard never lies,” and whatever the machine registers will be taken as the shot hit with a particular dart.  There are two clarifications as follows:

(a)   If a dart is stuck within the playing surface of the board, i.e., within any area inside of the outer doubles, and it does not register, both Captains should confer and manually register the dart after the player has finished his or her full turn of three darts, unless the throw could set up a game point, in which case the correct amount should be immediately scored. 

(b)  If a dart is stuck in the board, but registers a number different than that which it should have registered, the Captains should confer and must manually score the correct amount after the player has finished his or her full turn of three darts, unless the throw could set up a game point, in which case the correct amount should be immediately scored.  This is so whether the machine scores a number that is more or less than what the dart shows clearly should have been scored.

6            If the game point ends on a falsely registered dart, as laid out in Subsections 5(a) and (b) above, the teams shall continue the game with manual scoring.  A game point shall not be won on a falsely registered dart or machine malfunction.

Article 3 – Timing Matters

1            Scheduled starting times for each match shall be posted at the tournament headquarters. 

2            Generally, a match should begin within a reasonable period after the scheduled start time.  All teams should be understanding of extenuating circumstances, but no team shall, for unsportsmanlike reasons, intentionally and unreasonably delay the start of a match. The tournament is held to play darts and all teams and participants should play the darts match when possible. Forfeits will be declared only in exceptional circumstances and are at the sole discretion of the Board.  

3            There shall be a maximum of two (2) minutes between each game point.  (Any team violating this rule will forfeit the game point to their opponents.)

4            There shall be a maximum of two (2) minutes between opposing team member’s turns. (Any person violating this rule will forfeit one turn in that leg.)

5            There shall be a maximum of one (1) minute between each dart thrown by a player.  (Any person violating this rule will forfeit their present turn.)

6            Prior to match play, each player may throw as many practice darts as desired, subject to the time constraints set forth in Section 2.  Once match play starts, there shall be no practice darts thrown by any player.

Article IV – The Match

1            A tournament match consists of four (4) games of team doubles 301 open in/open out and one (1) game of team 501 open in/double out on two (2) positions.

2            An initial coin-flip shall determine the team to throw first in each match.  This coin-flip decides which team throws first in the first and third legs of 301 team doubles.  The team losing the initial coin-flip shall throw first in legs two and four of 301 team doubles.  A second coin flip shall determine which team throws first in the 501 leg.  The second coin-toss should occur after the fourth leg of 301 team doubles is played, and directly before the start of the 501 leg.

3            Winning a game point requires a team player to get exactly zero (0).  The team with the lowest combined score wins the game point.  If the team score is tied, the team that reached zero (0) wins the game point.  If any team goes out, i.e., takes a game to zero (0), with a higher score than the combined scores of the opposite team members, that team loses the game and the team member on the winning team with the lowest score is credited with the win.

4            As described in Section 3, all match games are played subject to the Freeze Rule.  To complete a game point, a player’s or team’s score must be less than or equal to the combined score of their game opponents.  At the beginning of a player’s or team’s turn, if their teammate’s position score is less than or equal to the combined score of their game opponents, the player throwing is eligible to go out.

5            The Double Bull should be set to the OFF position for all team doubles 301 open in/open out tournament match play, i.e., all bullseyes are worth fifty (50) points in 301 games.

6            The Double Bull should be set to the ON position for all team 501 open in/double out on two positions tournament match play, i.e., all bullseyes are split or the single is worth twenty-five (25) points and the double is worth fifty (50) points in 501 games.

7 The fifth and final leg of each match is one leg of team 501 open in/double out on two positions--all four (4) players from each team will play in this leg.  To win the game point, a team must hit a double of any number on the board.

8            A player may pass on any or all darts during his or her turn.

9            The team winning three (3) out of the five (5) possible game points wins the match.

10          All five (5) legs or game points in each match must be played with the exception of the semifinal and final matches pursuant to Article V, Section 3.

11 Only a player's teammates may engage in so-called "coaching."  They may do so regardless of whether a player is on or off the oche.

12 It shall be the sole responsibility of the Captain of each team to ensure that the customary rules of darts are followed by both teams during match play.  Such rules include, among many others, throwing with a darter's foot behind the oche. Where violations of the customary rules of darts occur, the Captains should resolve the issue in an acceptable manner. The Board expects that experienced darters will govern themselves and behave in accordance with customary rules of play and these tournament rules. Where gross violations of customs and rules occur, the Board reserves the right to disqualify offending players from the tournament.

13  Players are reminded that the best of order should be maintained. Obnoxious or vexatious behavior is forbidden.  Any player engaging in such behavior, including fighting, angered yelling or swearing, unwanted physical contact, and/or any other similar conduct, shall, at the sole and final discretion of the tournament Board, be forbidden from playing in one or more subsequent matches.  The player's team may continue to play with an empty position during said suspension.

Article V – The Semifinal and Final Matches

1            The semifinal and final matches shall consist of the same games as all other tournament matches.

2            In the final match, the team with no match losses in the tournament must win one match.  The team with one tournament loss must win two matches.

3            In the semifinal and final matches, the match ends when any team reaches three (3) game points, i.e., all five (5) legs need not be played.