2023/24 COMPETITVE RULES (WOMEN’S LEAGUE)

General

  1. The board should be fixed to the wall so that the centre is 5’ 8” above the floor.
  2. The oche should be on the floor at a distance of 7’ 9 ¼” from the board and parallel to it.
  3. The oche should not be stepped on or over whilst the player is throwing. If it is, the score for that throw will not count.
  4. Games shall be straight start and finish on a double or bull.
  5. A player may be told what they have scored or what they have left during their throw by the marker if they so wish.
  6. If a player scores more than they require then they are “bust” and revert to the required score on their next throw.
  7. Darts should not be removed from the board until the score has been called or written down by the marker and agreed by the thrower. Once agreed this score cannot then be disputed. However, any minor error made by the marker must be questioned by the player / team before their next throw. Where there is a clear error in the marking, common sense should prevail and the score changed to be correct.
  8. The leg ends once the required double has been hit. Any darts mistakenly thrown afterwards by the player does not count

League

  1. All teams must be registered at the AGM and pay the registration fee by the date determined at this meeting.
  2. Each team is allowed to register up to a total of 10 female players. The team captain, on paying the teams fees, must provide a list of a minimum of 4 players for the forthcoming season.
  3. Teams may sign players to their team during the season without exceeding the maximum limit of 10 players. The league secretary must be informed of any new signing to that team.
  4. All players must be registered with the association and membership fee paid to be eligible for selection towards Shetland Women’s Inter County team.
  5. Games shall consist of 4 doubles games and 4 singles games – best of 3 legs 501.
  6. Teams should consist of 4 players with up to 2 substitutes being allowed per game.
  7. When playing with 4 or more players, no person shall play more than once in the singles, and not more than twice in the doubles.
  8. Teams can begin play with 3 players with no forfeit. The first name drawn at random by the opposing team will play the extra singles game. The 2 remaining players will play 3 times each in the doubles.
  9. Should a team not have the required amount of players to field a full team, they are permitted to make an emergency signing on the night. This can be people from an emergency pool of players if one is created, people from the venue and also players from the opposing team if they have extra players and the opposing team is in agreement. This would only be for that night and any ‘extra’ players signed on the night can play for other teams in the future. This would hopefully lead to fixtures being able to be fulfilled and less postponements.
  10. The home team will bull up first. The winner will start legs 1 and 3. Legs will be started by the players who threw for the bull.
  11. The starting time of all games is to be no later than 7.30pm on the night.
  12. Games may start beforehand if the captains of both teams agree. Should a player of any team be unable to be at the venue for 7.30pm they may still be added to the team sheet as long as the opposing captain is in agreement for their late arrival. They must be in the venue by 8.30pm.
  13. Team captains should fill in the 4 doubles matches first using the sheets supplied.
  14. Any player arriving later who does not show by 8.30pm will have their doubles games forfeited. The singles, however, can then be played following the rules for playing with 3 players.
  15. Substitutions must be included on team sheets.
  16. The home team should provide and complete the match details of team names and date on a team sheet for all league matches.
  17. The home team is responsible for providing a marker for all games.
  18. Markers must record the scores thrown by each player during their previous throw along with the score each player has remaining during each leg.
  19. Team representatives are requested to post a photo of weekly team sheet on the Facebook page or send a photo to the league secretary via a suitable messaging app. Please make every effort to get score sheets in for website stats. Results must be with the Secretary no later than 1pm on Saturday following the Wednesday matches.
  20. Teams should make their best effort to play games as scheduled, playing with a team of 3 if necessary to avoid postponing. 24 hours notice must be given when cancelling a game and reasonable consideration should be shown if a team needs to do that at shorter notice due to unexpected sickness or circumstances. All games should be played before the end of that half of the league.
  21. There will be 2 points given for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss.
  22. At the end of the league, in the event of a draw, the number of wins shall be counted. If this is still equal, a playoff will decide the winner.
  23. If any dispute arises during a match which cannot be settled by the two captains, the match must be completed and the committee informed within a week of the match taking place.
  24. Teams wishing to appeal a decision by the committee must immediately contact a committee member stating their intention to appeal a decision. This appeal must then be backed up with a written letter and MUST be handed to a committee member before the following committee meeting. Failure to do so will result in committee decisions being upheld and appeals being invalid.
  25. Any teams involved in Up Helly Aa / Fire Festivals are urged to play their matches in advance to avoid fixture congestion at the end of season.
  26. Should a team withdraw from the league during season, all results involving the withdrawn team will be void

Competitions

  1. The non-Grand Prix competition formats may vary depending on the number of entrants.
  2. 16 and under will be a Round Robin format and over 16 will be a knock out competition. Names are to be in by 6.45 for a 7.00pm start. Players must be in the venue by 7.30pm.

A downloadable copy of the SWD 2023/24 Competitive rules can be found here23_swd_competitive_r…pdf