CDDL LEAGUE RULES
Amended for the commencement of the 2019/20 season

           

1. The League shall be called the “Colchester & District Darts League” abbreviated to CDDL.

2. The League shall be Governed by a committee elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and shall consist of a Chairperson, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary, Competitions/Tournament Secretary and any Elected committee members.

3. A general meeting will be held before each season start. Voting will be decided by a majority of teams present with one vote per team.

4. If any changes to the rule are needed these will be discussed at the AGM but must be submitted in writing to the League Secretary 21 days prior to the date of the AGM. New teams will not be permitted to vote at the AGM.

5. New teams may only be permitted to join if they are within 10 miles (as the crow flies) of Colchester Town Hall which will for all intensive purposes be classed as the centre of Colchester for the means of measuring the 10-mile boundary.

6. All matches to be played on Monday nights. The full draw to take place by 8.15pm and match to commence no later than 8.30pm. Board to be open for practice by 8 pm.

7. Both men and ladies may register and play in any match. All players must register for that team and registrations to be sent to the Fixture Secretary with or before Teams first match of the Season. Players may play on the date of registration by signing in the appropriate section of the result sheet.

8. A.   Registrations allowed up to 12 noon on 31st January. Playing an unregistered player without consent will mean the team will forfeit the match 9-0.
   B.   New signings after the allotted registration date will be allowed at the discretion of the committee and will incur an administration fee of £5 this will need to be confirmed by the Fixture Secretary before the player may commence.

C.   Transfers will be permitted as follows; if a player has not been selected to play for four consecutive matches, he or she may transfer to another team at the discretion of the committee. The player, NOT the teams involved, will need to pay an administration fee of £10 to the League, and the transfer will need to be confirmed by the Fixture Secretary before the player may commence playing for the new team.

1. The draw to be made by the captains to determine order of play. Match to consist of 9 games. 3 pairs followed by 6 singles. All games will be three legs, 501 up. Straight start and finish on a double. Bull is recognised as a double 25. Boards must be in good condition. Start of games to alternate. Coin to be tossed by home captain. Winner of toss to start games 1, 3, 5 and 7. Loser of toss to start games 2, 4, 6 and 8. If at game 9 the scores are level at 4-4, toss of coin made by visiting captain, winner to start final game. In all games if legs are 1-1, the deciding leg will be started by whoever started the first leg. Height of board to be 5’ 8” from the bull’s eye to the floor measured vertically. Minimum throwing distance from the oche to the face of the board measured horizontally to be 7’ 9 ¼”. The bust rule will apply throughout.

2. Players may play only once in each section per match.

3. If a team is a player short then that team may enter a single player in the pairs but will only be permitted a single throw per rotation. Play would be Team A (team with 2 players) player 1 throws, team B (team with only one player) player 1 throws, team A player 2 throws, team B misses go, then repeat etc or reverse the order depending on which team starts.

4. Winning team to be awarded two points. Game average will be used to determine league tables if two or more teams finish equal on points. (Number of games won divided by number of matches played.) In the event of teams being equal on points and game average, and promotion and relegation issues being at stake, a play-off will be held on a neutral board to determine final positions. Promotion and relegation will be two up and two down with the league committee having powers to balance divisions at their discretion.

5. Failing to appear for a match will result in a 9-0 defeat and any team missing three league matches without reasonable cause will be expelled from the league and their record expunged.

6. A team arriving at a venue short of players must, if called upon, start the match at the appointed time. No reserves are allowed after the draw. Only those names in the draw may play.

7. If at any time in a Season, a team folds or pulls out of the league, all results for THAT half of Season will be deleted and a BYE placed in for the rest of the season.

8. The WINNING team is responsible for ensuring the result sheet is received by the Fixture Secretary no later than 12 noon on the Saturday following a match, by post, text, messenger or Email. Any result sheet received after this time will be recorded, but the winning points will NOT be awarded. Result sheets to be signed by both captains to certify that they are correct.

9. Any team no longer able to play at its home venue may, at the discretion of the Committee, change to another venue and maintain their divisional status.

10. All trophies MUST be kept at the premises to which they have been awarded and must be kept clean. These trophies are too returned in a CLEAN state to the Fixture/Tournament Secretary one month before the end of the season, any trophy not returned to the league or are lost must be paid for / replaced by the team /pub that it went to, this is the responsibility of the signatory of the trophy.

11. Each league & KO-Cup Winner’s and Runner’s up will have Eight (8) trophies per team, others can be ordered at a fee, if required you will need to let the Fixtures/Tournament Secretary know 4 weeks before finals night if required for that date or up to 4 weeks after finals night if wanting before start of next season.

12. Competition fees to be reviewed annually.

13. All matters not covered by these rules will be discussed by the committee and their decision will be final and binding, and the underlying principle will thereafter become a rule.

14. Clubs wishing to change venue must apply as a new team and enter the bottom division, unless agreed by the Committee.

15. A.    League game postponement will require at least 24 hours’ notice with the opposing captain and upon agreeing the postponement you must inform the league secretary before the day of the match otherwise the postponing team will forfeit the match 9-0.
    B.    League matches can be postponed in extenuating circumstances on the day of the match, such as inclement weather, when referred to the League Committee no later than 12 noon on the day of the match. Any team that calls for a match to be postponed MUST inform the league secretary by Phone call, text or email and the opposing captain BUT wait for a reply before any match is called off.
    C.    Failure to comply with above postponement rules will result in £10 being imposed on the team requesting the postponement/Failing to turn up which will be paid to the opposing team to cover costs, and the match being given 9-0 to their opponents.
    D.    Where teams are short of players, there will be a minimum requirement of four players to achieve a result in a match. Every effort should be made to play the match at the appointed time, depending on number of team within the league there may or may not be spare dates at the end of the season to re-arrange games, therefore each team should ensure they have enough players to cover these eventualities.

16. A.    Each team is to make sure that all equipment at their venue is of a reasonable standard for league play and that all heights, distances are correct. If opposing captain requests for it to be checked then every effort should be made to do so. (we would suggest to check oche length regularly)
    B.    Every effort should be made to make sure the dart board is well lit.
    C.    We would request to maintain consistency throughout venues that all match play dartboards should be ‘Staple Free’, if a stapled dart board must be used then every effort to replace with a staple free board should be made before the next match play.

17. A.    Complaints are to be made in writing to the complaints secretary wherever possible or sent to one of the other committee members if the complaints secretary is not available.
    B.    Every effort to resolve any problems should be made prior to sending in a complaint.
    C.    If you are unsure if it warrants a complaint then please speak to a committee member first who will advise you and if possible, take an informal approach to resolution on your behalf if requested or if they feel a complaint is needed will advise you upon this.

 

If any team/player requires help maintaining/understanding any of the aforementioned rules then please contact one of the committee members who will do their best to help where possible.

​