The following competitive rules are correct for the 2023/2024 Shetland Darts Association Men's league season.

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. The area of play shall be that area of the board bounded by the outer “double” board wire.
  5. Only those darts, which have their points sticking into the board within the area of play, will score. Darts, which lie under the wire, shall score that amount where the point of the dart entered the board, except where it enters from outside the area of play. No dart can be re-thrown.
  6. Games shall be straight start and finish on a double or bull.
  7. A player may be told what he has scored or what he has left during his throw by the marker if he so wishes.
  8. If a player scores more than he requires then he is “bust” and reverts to the required score on his next throw.

League

10. All teams must be registered at the AGM and pay the registration fee by the date determined at this meeting

a) Each team is allowed to register up to a total of 14 Male players. The team captain on paying his teams fees must provide a list of a minimum of 6 players for the forthcoming season.

b) Teams may sign players to their team during the season without exceeding the maximum limit of 14 players. The league secretary must be informed of any new signing to that team.

c) All players must be registered with the association to be eligible for selection towards the Shetland Intercounty Team.

d)Should a team not have the required amount of players to field a full team, they are permitted to make up to 2 emergency signings on the night. This can be people from an emergency pool of players if one is created, people from the venue or 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

11. Premier & 1st Division fixtures shall consist of three doubles games– best of 3 legs 501, six singles best of 5 legs 501 and one team game of a single leg 1001, 2nd Division games shall consist of three doubles – best of 3 legs 501, six singles best of 3 legs 501 and one team game of a single leg 1001. The away team throw first in the odd numbered legs for both the doubles and singles games and throws 1st in the team game. Only on the agreement of both team captains before fixture comences may the Beery leg be played at the start of the fixture or following the 6 doubles games to allow players to leave before the conclusion of the fixture.

(The format for each Division is decided on at the AGM, with the players from each division deciding on the number of legs each game in their own division is played over)

b) Each game will count as point for the Team they play for. A maximum of 10 points are available during each Fixture. Should the score be level following the completion of all games the overall fixture will result in a 5-5 draw, there is no need for an extra leg to be played to determine the winner.

12. The starting time of all games is to be NO LATER THAN 2000 HRS (8PM) on the night. Games may start beforehand if the captains of both teams agree to do so. Should a player of any team be unable to be at the venue for 8pm they may still be added to the teamsheet aslong as the opposition captain is in agreement for his late arrival. Players arriving late at the venue must be ready to play their games when their game is due to be played. Players not ready to play when they are called to the board will forfeit for game, .The order of play cannot be changed once both captains have completed filling in the teamsheet.

a). Team captains are to exchange team order before start of play using team sheets supplied. The home team should provide and complete the match details (Team names and date) on a team sheet for all league matches.
b). The home captain should fill in their 3 Doubles matches including first and last names (NO NICKNAMES) then fold the sheet before giving it to the opposing captain to do likewise.
c). On completion of 3 doubles, the home captain should complete the 6 Singles section of the sheet as per (b) and pass to the opposing captain to do likewise.

d). Substitutions must be included on team sheets and may be used following the 3 Doubles games and following the 6 Singles ahead of the Team game. Each Player may only play Once in the Doubles and Once in the singles

e). The home team is responsible for providing a marker for all games the use of electronic scoreboards is allowable during games provided that both captains agree before the match begins.

f). Markers must record the scores thrown by each player during their previous throw along with the score each player has remaining during each leg.

g) Team line ups (including subs) should be displayed beside the board during matches

h) Players are not entitled to practice on adjacent boards once the Singles, Doubles and the team game are taking place, Players may however practice on these boards following the completion of the doubles matchesand bebore singles matches start, and again following the completion of all Singles matches ahead of the Team Game

13. Team representatives are also requested to post a photo of weekly team sheet on the Facebook page or send a photo to the league secretary via “What’s App” “Messenger” or “Text message”. Please make every effort to get score sheets in for website stats. Failure to comply may result in penalties being imposed. Results must be with the Secretary no later than 1pm on Saturday following the Friday’s matches.

14. For league games; teams should consist of 6 players with up to 8 substitutes being allowed per game, however teams can play with a minimum of 4 players resulting in the forfeit of 1 Doubles game & 2 Singles games. The team game will be played but the team with less than 6 players will miss a number of throws depending on how many players are contesting the team game.

15. Fixture dates can be rearranged no later than 8pm on The MONDAY before their game is due to be played, if both captains agree and the SDA secretary (Gareth MacRitchie) or President (Stuart Paul) have been informed, any fixture postponed in first half of the season MUST be played before the second half starts. All second half fixtures must be completed by the last Friday of the of the season, failure to do so will result in a 10-point penalty carried over to following season. When a game is not played the team, who has been postponed against must give two dates to get the match replayed, if a date cannot be agreed the committee will set one in favor of the team who has been cancelled against. Failure to play on this date may result in a points deduction and the committee setting a score line of 6-0 in favor of the team who has been cancelled against.

16. Any team not ready to start in as per rules 12 & 14 or postponing a game after Monday before their game is due to take place as per Rule 15 shall forfeit 5 points

17. If any dispute arises during a match, which cannot be settled by the two captains, the match must be completed, and the committee being informed within the week of the match taking place.

18. 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.

20. NOTE any teams involved in Up Helly Aa/Fire Festivals are urged to play their matches in advance to avoid fixture congestion at end of season.

21. On Completion of the league season should 2 or several more teams be tied for 1st place or a promotion position, a playoff match of league format will be arranged to take place at a neutral venue on the following Friday of the last league fixture to determine final league placing. The same ruling applies for teams finishing bottom or in a relegation postion following the final fixtures of the season.

b). Should a team withdraw from the league during season, all results involving the withdrawn team will be void.

22. Any team altering venue or team name, due to a change in venue, but retaining six players of the original team can be placed in the league the original team played for

b). Team captain's may remove any player who has stated that they are unwilling to play for that team for the rest of the current season, League Secretary must be informed of this. Registered players may asked to be removed from a teams registration sheet in order to sign for another team as long as the Captain of the team he is leaving in full agreement and the committee has been informed.

23. Any new teams entering the league structure for the first time will be enter the league structure in the lower most league.

b). On completion of the season the bottom two teams from the Premier Division will be relegated to the First Division and Replaced by the top 2 sides finishing top of the First division who will be promoted in their place. The bottom two teams from the First Division will be relegated to the second Division and replaced by the 2 sides finishing top of the second division who will be promoted in their place.

c). League Structure is set at the AGM and should a team fold and not enter the following season or a new team enter the league, the number of teams relegated may be different to meet the structure set at AGM.

A Downloadable copy of the SDA Men's League Cometitive Rules can be found here:competitiverules_202…pdf