Tournament Darts International Guidlines

Spring 2000
Tournament Darts International prides itself on being a friendly yet competitive arena for ALL players. There are varying degrees and types of experience, and a corresponding variety in values. All players are reminded that within TDI, sportsmanship, friendliness, honesty and integrity are always appreciated and encouraged; captains are expected to lead their teams by example. Any player who feels that these ideals conflict with his or her personal interest is strongly encouraged to participate in another league. Above all else, HAVE FUN!

SHOOTING AND SPONSOR FEES:
- Captains are responsible for getting their fees in by the second week of the season. Captains are responsible for presenting the invoice in their Captain's Packet to the Team Sponsor and making sure that it is paid. Any team that has NOT PAID their league dues in full PRIOR TO WEEK 3 of a given season will FORFEIT all matches until fees are paid.
- TEAM FEES: $60.00 SPONSOR FEES: $60.00 Make checks payable to TDI.
SPRING FORMAT A AND B DIVISIONS:
- Spring TDI matches involving only A or B Division teams will follow a six-person format and consist of eleven games, all of which except the final "team" games are played best-of-three legs: Six games of singles 301 (DIDO -- double-in/double-out); Three games of 2-on-2 Cricket (with points, slop counts); Two "team" games of SINGLE-LEG 3-on-3 701 (FIDO -- free-in/double-out).
SPRING FORMAT--C DIVISION GAMES AND INTERDIVISIONAL C AND B DIVISION GAMES:
- Spring TDI matches involving C Division teams will follow a four-person format and consist of nine games, all of which except the final "team" game are played best-of-three legs: Four games of singles 301 (DIDO--double-in/double-out); Two games of 2-on-2 Cricket (with points, slop counts); Two games of 2-on-2 Cork Calls (DIDO 301, FIDO 401, or Cricket; closer dart to bull calls game for each leg); One "team" game of SINGLE LEG 4-on-4 FIDO 701.
STARTING TIMES:
- Matches should start at 7:30 pm, and except in extraordinary circumstances no later than 8:00 pm. This allows a match to begin before all team members arrive. Additional time may be requested by one captain or another, but there is NO OBLIGATION WHATSOEVER to grant such a request. If a team cannot field four players by 8:00 pm, and the opposing squad has six or more shooters present, the full team may claim a forfeit victory.
SUBSTITUTES:
- A TEAM MUST FIELD AT LEAST FIVE PLAYERS IN A SIX-PERSON MATCH, AND THREE PLAYERS IN A FOUR-PERSON MATCH IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED LEGAL. If a team is short-handed, the acquisition of substitute players is strongly encouraged. Opposing captains must agree on any player chosen as a substitute. Any player who substitutes for a team more than once is considered to be on that team's roster, and MAY NOT SUBSTITUTE for another team. Captains should record the full name of any substitute on the score sheet.
PLAYING SHORT-HANDED:
- SIX-PERSON FORMAT-- Playing short-handed is always discouraged by the league. If short-handed, captains should make every effort to acquire a substitute (or two) for the night's match. To promote play however, teams MAY play short. In 301 singles, if a team is short, the captain may elect to use a substitute, or may draw a player from his or her existing player base. In 301, if there are 5 players present, use a "blind draw" to determine which player will shoot twice. That player CANNOT be drawn to shoot twice in subsequent events. In Cricket, the short-handed team may draw from the remaining four names to determine which player will shoot twice. In 701, NO NAMES MAY BE DRAWN, and the team that is "shooting short" must play one game of that event with two shooters vs. three. In the 2 vs. 3 game, the short-handed team loses the turn that their third player would have had. In other words, the order for Team A vs. Team B (short), with Team A winning the toss would be: A,B,A,B,A A,B,A,B,A etc... If Team B wins the toss, the order would be: B,A,B,A,A B,A,B,A,A etc... If both teams are short, captains may want to shoot one team 701 game of 2 vs. 2, and one of three vs. three, although this is not mandatory.
  If a team elects to use a blind draw in 301 and Cricket, and a sixth team member arrives in time for the team 701 games, that player may shoot in a game that has not started, but CANNOT be used to fill the roster. If a team shoots short/uses a blind draw for two events, they MUST shoot short for the final event. If a sixth team member arrives in time to participate in Cricket, that player MAY be used in the team 701 games. In other words, if a team shoots short/uses a blind draw for two events, they MUST shoot short for the third event. The use of a blind draw is allowed only in regular season play, and not in playoff competition.
- FOUR-PERSON FORMAT-- The same basic rule applies regardless of the format followed in the match. In 301 singles, if a team is short, the captain may elect to use a substitute, or may draw a player from his or her existing player base. In 301, if there are 3 players present, use a "blind draw" to determine which player will shoot twice. That player CANNOT be drawn to shoot twice in subsequent events. In Cricket, the short-handed team may draw from the remaining two names to determine which player will shoot twice, and the player not drawn will shoot twice in Cork Calls. In 701, NO NAMES MAY BE DRAWN, and the team that is "shooting short" must play that event with three shooters vs. four. In the 3 vs. 4 game, the short-handed team loses the turn that their fourth player would have had. In other words, the order for Team A vs. Team B (short), with Team A winning the toss would be: A,B,A,B,A,B,A A,B,A,B,A,B,A etc.
  If a team elects to use a blind draw in 301, Cricket, and Cork Calls, and a fourth team member arrives in time for the team 701 game, that player may shoot in a game that has not started, but CANNOT be used to fill the roster. If a team shoots short/uses a blind draw for three events, they MUST shoot short for the final event. If a fourth team member arrives in time to participate in Cricket or Cork Calls, that player MAY be used in the team 701 game. In other words, if a team shoots short/uses a blind draw for three events, they MUST shoot short for the fourth event. The use of a blind draw is allowed only in regular season play, and not in playoff competition.
FORFEITS:
- In the event of a forfeit in a six-person match, the forfeiting team scores 0-11. The team claiming the forfeit victory scores 8-3. In a four-person match, the forfeiting team scores 0-9. The team claiming the forfeit victory scores 7-2.
ROSTERS:
- The HOME team captain completes his or her side of the score sheet FIRST, folds the sheet so as not to reveal his or her line-up, and presents it to the visiting captain. The visiting captain then records his or her line-up WITHOUT LOOKING at the home team's line-up. This is done prior to each segment; captains should fill out their rosters only for the event that is about to be played. Captains should not enter the name of any player on the score sheet until that player has arrived at the premises where the match is being played. Where one or both teams do not have full rosters present at the start, this may require filling in the 301 pairings in stages. In no case should the name of a player who does NOT actually shoot in an event be entered or remain on the score sheet.
STARTING:
- To determine shooting order in each game, one representative from each team throws one dart at bull. The team whose dart is closer to bull shoots first. To determine who shoots first at bull, one competing HOME team player will perform a coin toss. A competing representative of the VISITING team must call the toss while the coin is in the air. The winner of the toss has the OPTION of throwing bull first or second. If, and ONLY IF, the first player's attempt at bull yields a DOUBLE BULL, can the second player remove the first player's dart from the board. If both players' darts are the same distance from the center, they shoot again, in reverse order, until a winner has been decided. As with all darts, darts used to determine shooting order MUST STICK in the board to be counted. Unlike other darts however, players may make as many successive throws as they need to achieve this. The second leg of each game is "Mugs Away:" the loser of the first leg automatically begins the second. If a third leg is necessary, shooting order is again determined by throwing one dart at bull, with the LOSER OF THE ORIGINAL COIN TOSS having the option to throw bull first or second.
SCORING:
- In match play, only darts that are still sticking in the board at the end of a turn may be counted toward a player's turn. Darts that bounce out, are knocked out by another dart, or stick in the back of a previous dart DO NOT COUNT. To avoid controversy, players should SCORE each turn on the tote board BEFORE REMOVING THEIR DARTS from the dartboard. If mistakes in scoring are noticed later, they may be corrected with the consent of both teams.
SCORE SHEETS:
- The HOME team is responsible for providing, maintaining, and mailing the match score sheet. Captains are reminded to WRITE LEGIBLY and PROVIDE FULL PLAYER names; the League Executive Director may not know everyone on a given roster, and the league wants to give credit where credit is due. Both captains should sign the score sheet at the end of the match. The WHITE copy should be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to TDI NEWS, while the YELLOW copy goes to the HOME captain and the PINK copy to the VISITING captain. If a single sheet is used, the original should be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed. TO EXPEDITE THE PREPARATION OF GAME STATISTICS AND TDI NEWS, PLEASE MAIL, FAX, OR E-MAIL THE SCORE SHEET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER THE MATCH. In the event that one captain cannot be present at the end of a match, in order to avoid controversy, he or she should not "pre-sign," but should instead appoint a team representative to provide a signature.
BONUS POINTS:
- In matches involving inter-divisional play, any teams defeating another from a higher Division will receive an extra point in its win column. (For example, if a C Division team defeats a B Division team 6-5, the C team's win would be recorded as 7-5, while the B team's record would be unaffected, remaining 5-6.) Bonus points will not be awarded in the event of a forfeit.
SPRING DIVISIONAL STANDINGS/PLAYOFFS:
- Because of forfeits, bye weeks, or bonus points, teams in the same Division may not play the same number of matches or record the same number of game points. For this reason, standings will be determined by winning percentage rather than the "pure" number of wins. If teams have the same winning percentage, standings will be determined by their records in play against each other. The top four squads in each Division are eligible for the post-season playoff in that Division. In week one of the playoffs, first place will host fourth place, and second place will host third. The winners of these matches face each other the following week, and play for the Division Championship at the home bar of the team with the better regular season record. The use of substitutes is not permitted in playoff competition. With the consent of the opposing captain, a team may play short in the playoffs, but may NOT draw to fill the roster for any event. To be eligible for post season competition, a player must have shot at least one full game in a minimum of 50% of his or her team's matches. For purposes of this rule, forfeits and byes will not be counted, and a fraction of a game will be rounded up; for example, 50% of eleven matches will be considered to be six.
MATTERS NOT COVERED IN THESE RULES: