RULES & GUIDELINES

1. The League shall be called City of Brighton & Hove  Men’s Darts League.
2. No women to play in the League except in the Mixed Pairs Competition.
3. The headquarters of the League will be at the Secretaries residence.
4. A list of these rules should be displayed in every pub for reference on match nights.
5. All games shall be on a standard black dart board in good condition, otherwise the Home team will forfeit the match.  It must be 5ft 8ins from the floor to the centre.  Plumbing to the toe line should be permanently marked by a raised oche at 7ft 9¼ins from the front of the board.  On match nights the matchboard must be of good quality and made available to away teams for practice no later than 8.40pm.
6. Both Captains (or players in competitions) shall agree that the board and conditions of play are satisfactory and according to the rules.  NO protest appertaining to this rule will be entertained after the match has commenced.
7. All Teams must keep a book as a written record of games played with players full names listed for each such game, which must be made available to the Committee if so requested.
8. The Licensee reserves the right to refuse admission to his public house of any member of another pub’s team. The League has no minimum age limit, but if your team has any under 18 players it is the responsibility of the team Captain to contact the Licensee of any venue to confirm the pub rules on under 18’s. Failure to do so may result in the team forfeiting the game to 0.
9. The League shall be governed by the Committee of seven or more which are voted in at the AGM and shall stand for three years.  They shall meet on a regular basis or when necessary.
10. The League Committee will decide how many divisions there will be according to the number of entries and desired length of season.  The Committee also reserve the right to place newly registered teams in a division of the Committee’s choosing.
11. All League matches shall take place on Tuesday nights and shall commence by 9pm.  The Captains shall exchange teams by listing out their team and matching up with the opposing team’s Captain. Full names must be used.  Winter League/ Summer League and all Cup Games:  The Away Captain gets the choice if a singles or doubles is played in the odd number games i.e.1,3,5,7,9,(11). The Home captain gets to call the games in the even games i.e. 2,4,6,8,10. Home team to chalk on all games.  Chalking must show player’s score and balance, either manually or computerised.
12. Teams can list one substitute who will play if the opposing Captain calls a player who is not present in the pub at the time.  If the substitute is used the player he replaces cannot play for the team that night.  If no substitute is named before the match commences, or a second player is not present when called, the team will lose that game.
13. The Away team throws first in the odd numbered games, Home team in the even numbered games.  If a game goes to one leg all, whoever threw first in leg one will throw first in the third leg.
14. Any discrepancy in the scoring must be challenged BEFORE throwing any further darts.  Mistakes CANNOT be challenged after further darts have been thrown.
15. It is the responsibility of the WINNING TEAM or home team in the case of a draw to phone or E-Mail (brightondarts@aol.com) or text in the result to the League Secretary by Friday following the match, Constant faulty in giving results could end up with the team losing points or even ejection for the league   The League Secretary should also be informed of any finish of 100 and over.
16. The winning team will be awarded two points in both Summer and Winter Leagues.  In the Winter League, Teams who draw will receive one point each.  The Team with the most points at the end of the season shall be adjudged the winner of the division.  In the event of a tie, games difference will decide.  In the event of a tie on games difference, a play-off on a neutral board will be arranged to determine the winner.  Relegation and promotion shall be decided by the Committee prior to the commence of the season.
17. Forfeited games (where a team fails to inform their opponents or the League Secretary  of their inability to comply with the fixture) will be awarded to the opponents to NIL. Any team failing to honour fixtures may forfeit their chance of hosting a finals night at the end of the season.
18. Any Complaint for whatever reason should be in writing and sent to the League Secretary within 7 days.  This will then go forward to the Committee, whose decision shall be final.
19. Registration:  All teams will pay a registration fee of £45 per team, for Summer & Winter Leagues, £35 per team for just Winter League or £25 per team for Summer League.  These fees to be paid before the first match of the season, or the right to play shall be forfeited.  Any team leaving the league for whatever reason after paying the entry fee shall forfeit that fee. The Committee has the right to refuse the entrance of any team or venue.
20. All pubs must register their teams with the League Secretary as required by the Committee, complete with registration fee.
21. A copy of registration forms will be available on request from the Secretary   All new player registrations must be by Email or a letter sent by post (NO phone registrations will be accepted) and are subject to the committee approval, whose decision is final.   This will take 7 days.  Full names must be used.
22. A player may transfer to another team with the agreement of the Committee. No player to join a team after 50% of League matches have been played.
23. Team can only have 15 players registered at any one time. Teams can add and remove players so they do not go over the 15 players.
24. If any team withdraws from the League, all points and games involving this team will be cancelled. 
25. If a team withdraws from the League, players may transfer to another team with the approval of the Committee.
26. Any team found to have played an unregistered player will forfeit the match to NIL.  No player may compete for more than one team on one night, or play in another League on match nights.
27. An ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING shall be called at the end of the financial year, as directed by the Committee. All members can attend but only two votes per team, per proposal. At this meeting officers of the League shall be elected from the registered members of the previous season (every three years).
28. The final interpretation of these rules remain the right of the Committee.  Rules only to be altered at the AGM, or at an EGM, at which no other business shall be discussed other that the reason the EGM was called for.  All proposals put forward should be in writing and with the League Secretary at least 7 days before the commencement of the Meeting.  Alternatively, a postal ballot may be needed.
29. A Trophy will be awarded to the player with the highest finishing score in each division during the Winter League.

1. FORMATS be as follows,

Summer cup – Format. 2 x trebles (801 up), straight start, double finish, one game;   3 x doubles (601up), straight start, double finish, one game;  6 x singles (401up), Straight start, double finish, best of three games. The Committee will decide the amount of Division. Teams will be placed in Divisions according to there finishing position of the winter season.

Winter league – 3 x doubles, (601up), Straight start, double finish, one game; 7 singles, (501 up Top two Division , 401 up Lower two divisions), Straight start, double finish, best of 3 games.

Ben Truman cup, the Ben Truman Cup  – 2 doubles (601 up), Straight start, double finish best of 3 legs, 7 singles (401 up), Straight start, double finish, best of 3 legs, losing teams in the first round go into a Plate competition**.

 **If a team fails to turn up for the first round game they forfeit the right to take part in the Ben Truman Plate.

President Trophy/ Rileys Cup – if the League has four divisions – Presidents Trophy / Rileys Cup will be split into two, the top two division playing for one and the bottom two division for the other. 3 x doubles (601up), Double start, double finish, one leg only;  8 singles (401 up) Double start, double finish, one leg only.

1. COMPETITIONS The league will run singles (one for just the lower two divisions to enter) (£2), men’s doubles (£4), mixed doubles (£4), Captains (Free), Captain & Vice Captains (Free), and a Team Champion (Free) competition

      In Men’s doubles both players must be registered with the same team there are representing.

A replacement player may take the place of a competitor in the pairs first game of the Men’s doubles or Mixed doubles only (they can only play if they did not enter the competition originally). The original competitor may not return to the competition. No replacement can be made after the pair’s first game. Singles Play-off night will take place on a Tuesday night incorporated within the fixtures, with the finals night incorporated into the presentation night. All other competitions will be played on a Monday night (unless there is adequate time in the League fixture), all will commence at 9p.m. unless otherwise advised by the League Secretary.

In doubles competitions, if one player is absent, the remaining player will have one throw to the opponents two.

Before the start a coin must be tossed to decide who throws first in the opening leg. If the match goes one leg all, whoever throws first in the first leg throws first in the final leg. (NO additional coin toss)

In Mens Singles (best of 5 leg all rounds), Team Champion (best of 5 legs all rounds) 401 up Straight Start, Doubles Finish, Captain (401 up Straight Start, Doubles Finish), Mixed Pairs & Captain and Vice Captain (601 up Straight Start, Doubles Finish) cups, best of 3 legs (except the final is best of 5 legs). Men’s Pairs (601 up Straight Start, Doubles Finish) best of 5 legs all rounds.

Winners to advise the league secretary of the result within five days.

Finals nights (last 8 or 16) will be held at the best venues in the League (also semis & finals), even though this may mean more pubs do not get a finals night. A volunteer chalker for the first game then the loser chalks next game and so.