Sittingbourne Charity League Rules

1)  Entrance fee to be £20.00 per team. Competition fees to be £1.00 per person per competition.

2)  Teams to consist of a minimum of 6 players, who may be all male, all female or mixed

3)  All league matches to be played as follows:- 3 doubles, best of 3 legs of 601, & 6 singles, best of 3 legs of 501. Home team to set for bullseye at the start of every leg, nearest to bullseye to start. THE PLAYER WHO SETS FOR THE FIRST LEG, MUST DO SO FOR ALL THE LEGS OF THAT GAME. All games to be "Blind Draw" to determine order of play. Each team captain can choose their own choice of pairs partners. They do not have to be the same people in the singles as in the pairs, a maximum of 12 players can be used. All players do not have to be present when the draw is made, but must be there when due to play. Shift workers can be allowed to go on early or late, at the agreement of both team captain. If a player is not present when due to play they will forfeit that game.

4)  The league have chosen to adopt the conventional points system of 2 points for win, 0 for losing team.

5)  All games to be played on a Tuesday evening, with a 8:15pm start, unless otherwise agreed by both teams. Teams arriving after 8:45pm will forfeit whole match, thus losing 9-0. (At 8:30 p.m a team can claim the first game if their opponents are not ready to start)

6)  All games to be a straight start with a double finish. The bullseye will count as double 25. The bust rule to apply. Once a game shot as been achieved (i.e the player hitting the required double to finish), any further darts going into the scoring areas of the dartboard will render it a bust score, and the offending player will go back to the required score needed at the start of their last throw. All darts must be thrown from the standing position (no kneeling or sitting), and players must be able to retrieve their own darts unaided, and stand on the oche unaided. PLAYERS WHO CAN THROW WITH EITHER HAND MAY NOT CHANGE THEIR THROWING HAND DURING A SHOT OF THREE DARTS. But could change if need be, at the next visit to the oche, but continue with that hand the entire visit.

7)  All result cards must be signed by both team captains at the end of the evenings play. Both captains to agree on the final score and entering any scores of 180 and any high check-outs. The fully completed card to be sent to the League Secretary by the Friday following the match by the WINNING CAPTAIN. Failure to do so will result in the winning team losing the points and the game being classed void. Results may be phoned or texted to League Secretary prior to card being sent in, but card is still required to follow

8)  No player can play for any team within the league once he has already played for another team within the league, or play for 2 teams at the same time. Persons found to be doing so will be expelled from the league with immediate effect. If a person needs to change teams for whatever reason, they must put a request in writing to the league , stating why they need to move. They must also inform the team they are playing for,of their wish to move. The Committee will then make a decision if the move is to be allowed or not. The Committee's decision will be final. If a Committee meeting is held to discuss a move, all relevent parties must be invited to the meeting. The said player will be excluded from all competitions.

9) Players who plays within another League on the same night as our League (Tuesdays), will not be allowed to play within our League at the same time. This includes Men & Women of all standards. Persons doing so will be banned from playing in our League. The only exception will be ladies who play Super League, who may play only when they have a bye or a free week, but would not be allowed to cancel a game to play in our league, doing so could result in expulsion. Also none of the said Ladies Super League players will not enter any competitions.

10)  In the event of a team withdrawing from the league before the league programme is completed, all their games will be classed as void, any points awarded for and against will be deducted , and any remaining games be classed as byes.

11) If for any reason a team can not fulfil a fixture , they must let their opponents know by 7:30pm the previous evening (i.e Monday) Failure to do so, the offending team will forfeit the game by a 9-0 loss. If the offending team is also an away team, they must reimburse the home team for any food that may have been prepared. The Committee has set a nominal fee of £10.

12) In event of inclement weather (i.e sudden snowfall or flooding etc), you must let your opponents know by 7:00pm on the match night, if you are unable to fulfill your fixture. Failure to do so as in rule 10.

13) Should a team be unable to get enough players for a game, they can play with a minimum of 4 players. But they would have to forfeit 1 pairs game, and 2 singles, (if 5 players, 1 pairs, 1 singles,(a player will not be allowed to play on their own in a doubles match).

14) All postponed matches to be played within 2 weeks of last official league match. It is the responsibility of the team postponing the match to re-arrange a suitable date to re-schedule the match. This can be any day of the week not just Tuesday's.

15) The height of the dartboard must be 5' 8" (1.73m) from the floor to the middle of the bullseye. The throwing distance must be 7' 9.25" (2.37m) along from the oche to a plumb line from the front of the dartboard. The diagonal distance from the bullseye to the back of the oche must be 9'7.5" (2.93m). A raised oche of at least 38mm is preferred, but is not essential. Some pubs may not to be able to have a permanent raised oche.

16) If at the end of a season two teams finish on exactly the same points at the top of a division, the title will be decided on leg difference. If the leg difference is identical, then a play-off will have to take place. The Committee will decide on a date and venue for any play-off to be played. It is vital importance that all result cards are filled in correctly, giving details of all games (e.g 2-1, 2-0, 1-2 etc) as this helps the League Secretary collate exact league tables. Incorrectly filled in cards could result in teams losing vital points, which could stop them winning trophies at the end of the season.

17)  All players must be signed on before playing (preferably at the start of the season). If you do need to sign on another player, you can do so on match nights, but you must enter this on result card, and both team captains sign it.

18)  All players must have played in 2 league matches before playing in any competitions.

19)  The minimum age for a player as been set at 16, but all players under the age of 18 are the full responsibility of their team captain. and all  Landlords/Landladies/Licensees have complete discretion whether to admit players under the age of 18. IF A TEAM IS SHORT OF PLAYERS, A PLAYER OVER 14 YEARS OF AGE MAY BE ALLOWED TO PLAY, AT THE DISCRETION OF BOTH TEAM CAPTAINS & LICENSEE, BUT ONLY IF SHORT, AND NOT AS A GENERAL OCCURRENCE. All Team Captains must be at least 18 years old.

20)  All teams must endeavour to finish league matches by 11:00pm if possible. If a match is running late both team captains can agree on a possible outcome to finish the match, (i.e either drop down to 301 or play just a single leg,etc) but all games must be finished or classed void. It is also unacceptable for a player to leave early without playing because they've got a taxi booked etc, if a player has to get away they must asked to be put on early if possible. A player does not have to be present when draw is made, but must be at venue when due to play or forfeit game. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PLAY ALL GAMES IN ANY SET ORDER. THE GENERAL RULE IS NORMALLY TO PLAY ALL 3 PAIRS FIRST, FOLLOWED BY THE 6 SINGLES. BUT THIS CAN BE CHANGED TO SUIT, IF A PERSON IS GOING TO BE LATE, OR HAS TO  LEAVE EARLY ETC.

21)  All registration fees must be paid before the season commences. Any team who has not paid by the first match of the season will be excluded from the league. Any team wishing to participate in the league must send a delegate to the A.G.M along with registration fees. If you can not attend the A.G.M but wish to enter, you must apply in writing enclosing the registration fees with your letter, at least 7 days prior to the A.G.M. Failure to do so and you will not be included in the league fixtures. All A.G.M dates will be sent to all teams 28 days before A.G.M takes place.

22)  All competition fees to be paid by a preset date, which will be entered on all fixture sheets. Any teams not paying by this date will not be entered into any competition draws. All forms must state all persons wishing to be entered, any names not registered will not be entered so make sure all forms are filled out correctly. NO NAME, NO ENTRY, NO EXCEPTION.

23)  All competition draws will be done by Committee members, in front of witnesses (who do not have to be league players), and signed by those persons as a true draw. Once players are picked to play at a venue, that is the venue they must play at. No changing venues to suit players. Players doing so will be excluded from further competitions. If a player needs to change a venue because they are barred, from a certain pub or etc, they must request a change of venue in writing to the Committee, and the Committees decision will be final.

24)  All venues for competitions will be chosen at the Committees discretion, depending on size, availability etc. All teams entering competitions will get at least 1 venue. A draw master/mistress will be designated at all venues, and that person has the responsibility of doing the draw. All players must report to that person when arriving at the venue. That person also has the power to exclude any players who turn up late, without prior notice. If there are any byes they must be in the first round of the evenings play. The scorer of the match is the 'Match Referee' whose decision is final during the match being played. All competitions are to start at 8:15pm, with the draw being made at 8:10pm, person arriving after that time will be excluded. All losing teams/players must score the next game after losing, persons not doing so will be ecluded from further competitions. NO EXCEPTION

25)  If there is a problem etc, at a match or competition try to get in touch with the League Secretary or a Committee member on the night in question if possible, or as early next day if you can. A drawmasters decision will be accepted as correct until a final decision can be made. The sooner a problem is reported the quicker it can be sorted out. Do not phone any persons after 11pm.

26)  The League Secretary/Committee has the power to put any team into any division it see's fitting to the teams strength etc. Just because you are a new team coming into the league, it does not mean you will go straight into the bottom division.

27)  Any result cards sent in without TEAM NAMES on will automatically be classed as void. And NO team will get points for the match. All results must be in within 3 days of match being plated (i.e Friday). Results not in by Friday will be classed as void and no team will be awarded any points. Results can be phoned or texted in prior to card being sent.

28)  Any person found to be intimidating or bullying other members of league, will get an immediate suspension from the league. All members of this league must be treated with equal respect , regardless of playing ability, sex, race etc.

29)  The Committee decision will be final on all matters.

30) A percentage of monies left after buying Trophies and expenses will be donated to the Designated Charity.

31)  All Landlords/Landladies shall be able to play for any one team in their premises, but only for one team on any given night. This will be for both Home and Away matches.

32)  It was decided at the last A.G.M. to do away with playing the Pairs & Singles Knockout Competitions only on a Divisional Basis

Amended December 2014