Special Notes

THESE RULES SUPERSEDE ALL OTHER RULES  

Items in ORANGE indicate a change or a revision in the previous rules played by, please make note of these revisions

Approved on 09/30/2002
Revised on 09/13/2007

  

 

Rules of Play

I. GENERAL

  1. The purpose of this league is to promote fellowship among the churches and to provide wholesome fun for the participants of the churches. As such, sportsmanlike conduct is expected.
  2. The season shall consist of as many weeks as are necessary to complete the games. Time off allowed for holidays. Season will end with a banquet and the championship game.
  3. If two teams have the same percentage of games won at the end of the season, they shall have a play-off series consisting of three games.
  4. PLAYER REQUIREMENTS: All players shall be in the attendance at the church or one of the Sunday School classes at the church with whom he/she plays. He/she must be in attendance 50% of the time. If the player attends a church that does not have a dartball team in the league, then the player may play on the team of another church of his/her choice within the league. Players under the age of 13 must have a parent or legal guardian present to play. Older players have the option to play and should be played first.
  5. Any player entering the game as a pinch hitter will be allowed five free darts if he desires.
  6. If a team needs to postpone a game, it is the duty of the manager (team captain) to contact the opponent and arrange another date.
  7. Each team will have a minimum of five players and not over nine players in each game. Each player less than nine will constitute an out each time he/she comes up to bat.
  8. Each manager (team captain) will appoint a board and foul line umpire. Each team will furnish a score keeper.  It is the duty of each manager (team captain) to see that the team bats in the right order.
  9. No smoking will be allowed in the room where the games are being played.
  10. Players must attend or play 50% of regular season games to be eligible for tournament play.
  11. Trophies will be awarded to the season winner, and tournament winner. Trophies will be awarded to the individual with the highest batting average (a player must bat no less than 75 times); to the individual with the most RBI's and to the home run leader.

II. SCHEDULE OF GAMES

  1. All games are to be played on Thursday nights at the various churches. Since it is impossible for each team to have every other game at home, the order of play shall be set forth by the president of the league, subject to a vote of approval by the participating team captains prior to the opening of the season.
  2. There will be three games played each Thursday night, with the first game starting at 7:30 p.m.. The games may be started earlier by consent of both managers (team captains).
  3. Snacks (refreshments) are to be set out prior to the start of the first game. No breaks are necessary to eat.
  4. Visiting teams will get 10 minutes to practice without interruption immediately prior to the start of the first game.

III. SETUP OF GAMES

  1. All darts are to be APEX 4-feather darts. The home team will furnish the darts to be used in the game.
  2. Not less than one dozen darts will be used for practice and the game.
  3. All dartboards are to be alike in size and the center of the board is to be 42 inches from the floor. The board is to be perpendicular to the floor.
  4. The foul line shall be 20 feet from the board.

IV. RULES OF PLAY

  1. Darts are to be thrown under-handed.
  2. Anyone stepping on or over the foul line will be called out.
  3. If a player does not bat when his turn comes to do so and this is discovered before the inning is over, he/she shall be out, and will lose his/her turn at bat. If any runs score after there should have been three outs they will not count. If it is not discovered until after the inning is finished, the inning will count as a legal inning. The lead off man/woman the next inning will be the one immediately following the man/woman who made the third out in the inning in question.
  4. A dart not hitting the board (inside the board's green border) is an out.
  5. A dart hitting the ceiling, floor or any other object before hitting the board is an out.
  6. A dart hitting the board but not sticking or falls off as soon as it hits the board is a "dead dart"--the batter must rethrow the dart.
  7. A dart sticking in another dart already on the board is declared a "dead dart"--the batter must rethrow the dart.
  8. A dart that lands on one of the bases is a live dart and must be left where it sticks. Do not remove the dart unless it is to advance the runner after the next batter. If the second batter hits the same base as the first batter, the first dart to land on that base will be the dart to be advanced to the next base. Do not place the darts in the corners of the bases after a hit just to make the bases more accessible.
  9. A dart hitting the "double play" with no runners on or with two outs is declared an out. A dart hitting the "double play" square with less than two outs and one or more runners on base is declared two outs. The runner nearest home plate is out along with the batter.
  10. A dart hitting the "sacrifice" square is declared an out. The batter is out. If there are runners on base with less than two outs, the runners all advance one base. If there are two or more outs, this out will end the bat for this side and no runs score.
  11. If a batter reaches the first base on a "walk" or an "error", no runners score until the bases are loaded.
  12. All runners on base will advance one base if the batter hits a single ("1").
  13. All runners on base will advance two bases if the batter hits a double ("2").
  14. All runners on base will advance three bases if the batter hits a triple ("3").
  15. All runners on base will score if the batter hits a home run ("H").
  16. "STRIKE"--If the dart sticks in any brown or unpainted surface of the board inside the green boarder--three strikes is an out.
  17. "FO'--is fly out or foul out, the batter is out.
  18. "BALL"--if dart hits here it is a ball, four balls is a walk and the batter will take first base.
  19. "E"--is an error. The batter goes to first base and any runners advance one base except the runner on third. The runner on third only advances to score a run if the bases were already loaded.
  20. "FOUL BALL"--If dart sticks here it is foul, batter throws another dart.