BELL MUSIC DART ASSOCIATION

 (Any changes or points that need emphasis are noted in bold.)

 

A. FEES

1.    Sponsor Fee:  $70.00 per 4-man team, $60.00 per 3-man team, $45.00 per 2-man team for the fall/spring session, $35.00 per team for the summer session.

 

2.    League Fee:  $6.00 per person per week in all leagues except Vegas leagues.  Cost of Vegas leagues will be determined by number of teams and posted at the start of the season.  Weekly league fees are paid directly into the dart boards.  Full amount due must be paid in order to proceed with the match.  (After you select your team from the list and set your players line-up, the board will prompt you to enter your league dues through the bill acceptor/coin slot.)

 

3.    Players are responsible for supplying the quarters for the games for each format.

 

B. GAME TIME AND FORFEITURES

   1.  The starting time for all weekend doubles matches is 5:00pm regular time (not bar time), weekday matches 7:00pm regular time (not bar time).  There is a 15-minute grace period to start a match.  If a team is not present and ready to start the match by 5:15pm on weekends, 7:15pm on weekdays, the team present may choose to take a forfeit win or wait for the team.

 

   2.  In case of forfeitures, the team showing receives 11 wins and 4 losses and the team forfeiting receives 15 losses for 15 game formats, 10 wins and 3 losses for the 13 game formats, 8 wins and 3 losses for 11 game formats and 7 wins 2 losses for 9 game formats. The team showing must contact Bell Music and register the forfeit and pay their weekly dues to receive the wins.

 

   3.  If a team drops out of the league, Bell Music will attempt to fill the spot with a new team.  If a new team cannot be put in, every team (including the teams that already played the team that dropped) will receive one forfeit win when they are scheduled to play that team.   The exception to this rule is if a team drops the first or second week of the session and there was also a BYE in the league, the schedule will be revised removing the BYE and the team that dropped.  The team that had the BYE and the team that was to play the team that dropped will be required to schedule a make-up match.  If a team drops out after the second week of the season, every team will receive a forfeit win and if the number of forfeits is uneven, the remaining weeks teams will receive “Byes” so a team doesn’t get an unfair advantage of extra forfeits.  Teams that drop out of the league may be ineligible to sign up for future sessions.

 

   4.  Teams are asked to make every attempt to not postpone a match.  If a team wishes to attempt to postpone a match, the team captain must contact Bell Music.  If the opposing team is able and willing to reschedule, the match will be postponed.  In the case of an emergency (bad weather, accident, etc,) good sportsmanship dictates rescheduling the match if possible.

 

   5.  All make-up matches must be made up by the last week of regular league play, as to not hold up the round robin.  Team captains must call Bell Music to notify us when and where all make-up matches are being played.

 

   6.  Any team that forfeits twice during a season without just cause may be disqualified from the league.  You must call Bell Music if you are forfeiting.  If you don’t, your team will risk being expelled from the league.

 

 7.  Any team walking out during a match forfeits the remaining games left in the match.

 

 

C. GAME

1.    See individual league format for how many and which games will be played in each league.

 

   2.  The FREEZE RULE is in effect for all "01" games played on 4 scores.  The freeze rule states, "In order for a player to go out, that player's partners score must be lower than the opposing two players scores combined."  If the partner’s score is higher, the player is Froze.  In the case of a tie, that player is not Froze, and the team going out wins the game.  If a player goes out when Froze, his/her team loses that game.

 

   3.  For Double-In/Double-Out games, the bullseye may not be used to Double-In (except in the Masters League where the Double Bull is activated.)  If a player hits the bullseye to Double-In when the Double Bull is not activated, it is an automatic loss for that team.  The bullseye may always be used to Double-Out in any Double Out game.

 

D. TEAMS

1.    Teams are to try to keep their rosters at a maximum of 8 players.  Once a player plays on the same team 4 times, they are considered on that team and may not play for another team in the same league.  

 

2.  Team members may shoot in any order.

 

   3.  All players must be at least 21 years of age, except in In-House or Remote leagues with the bar owners approval.

 

   4.  Teams must play out of the same location for both halves;  there will be no switching bars mid-season.

 

E. PLAYERS

   1.  All players that have played in the Bell Music Dart Leagues have an established rank.  It was determined by individual performance in previous seasons.  From this ranking list, players have been assigned a point value ranging from 1 to 12 with 12 being the highest ranked players. 

 

   2.  Any new player coming into the league must report any prior dart experience and/or ability.   If the player played in another league they must provide Bell Music with a copy of their final standings and their rank in Bell Music will be determined.  Any new player not from another league will be unranked.  All unranked players entering the leagues will automatically be assigned a rank of "4" for men and "1" for women.  However, if an unranked player believes his/her skill level is higher than a "4" for men and "1" for women, that player must declare it or risk possible disciplinary action toward the player and/or team.

 

   3.  Bell Music has the right at any time to assign a player a higher/lower ranking if that player's ability is proven to be higher/lower than currently ranked.

 

   4.  The conversions from the "letter rank" to the "points rank" are as follows:

 

“Master”=12    "A-1"=9,10 or 11    "A-2"=7 or 8    "B-1"=5 or 6    "B-2"=3 or 4    "C"=1 or 2

 

 

F. SUBS DURING REGULAR LEAGUE PLAY – SEE SECTION H #3 FOR RULES REGARDING SUBS DURING PLAYOFFS (ROUND ROBIN AND CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES)

1.    Subs are “floating players”, which means they are not assigned to any team and may play for any team that needs the sub as long as the sub’s rank doesn’t put the team over the point cap for that league.  Once a player subs on the same team 4 times, they are now on that team and may not sub for another team in the same league.  The regular player and/or team are responsible for the sub's league fee.  A team may use as many subs as needed to field the team.

 

   2.   A team may choose to use a sub in place of a regular player if they so choose (even if there is a regular player in the bar).  The players that start the match must finish the match.  The only exceptions to this is if a team captain informs the opposing captain of up to one player arriving late and which player he/she is going to replace upon arrival or of up to one player requiring to leave early and who is going to finish the match for that player.  In this case the player taking over for the other player is to start at the beginning of the next game, not mid-game.

 

  3.  If a sub that is not on a team’s roster is used, teams must punch in the subs FULL NAME in the machine in place of the player's name that is not present.  If the subs full name is not punched in, that players stats may be deleted including any wins that player may have had from the teams score.

 

4.   If a team cannot find a sub and does not want to forfeit, a “ghost” player may be used.  A ghost player is worth 1 point in the rankings.  When playing with a “ghost” player it is the same as skipping the missing player’s turn.  A “ghost” player does not get any points in ’01 games and does not get any marks in Cricket games.  You simply push the button when it is the “ghost’s” turn.

 

G. DARTS

       Players may use their own darts as long as they are unaltered factory issued darts and tips, and do not exceed 8 inches in length nor 20 grams in weight.

 

H. FOUL LINES

   1.  The front edge of the foul line is to be 8 feet from the designated hole on the bottom right side of the dart machine.

 

   2.  Players may stand on the foul line but not over the inside edge of the foul line.  It is legal to lean over the foul line.  Players may NOT cross the foul line during their turn.  Should a player have any portion of his feet or shoes over the throw line during a turn, the following is to occur: 
The first violation of this rule will result in a warning from the opposing team captain.  The second violation will result in the score of the dart(s) not counting and the "back up" button is to be used to remove any score received while violating this rule.  If a dart thrown while violating this rule causes a win, the opposing team will automatically win the game.

 

   3.  If a dart is dropped over the foul line, it may be picked up and thrown.  If a dart is thrown and lands over the foul line, it may not be picked up and rethrown.

 

 

 

 

RULES OF PLAY

 

A. ROUND

 

1.    The dartboards are set on auto-change meaning after the board registers 3 darts, it will automatically advance to the next player’s turn.  Players are to make sure they promptly pull their darts from the board.  If a player does not do so and manually scores a dart when pulling their darts from the board, the following conditions apply:

 

* If the score causes a win, the opposing team will receive the win.

 

* In all other cases, the “back-up” button is to be used to remove the incorrectly registered dart.

 

 

2.    Each player may, but is not required to, throw a maximum of 3 darts per round.  A player may pass all or part of their throw.  If a player wishes to end their turn before throwing all 3 darts, they must manually press the Player Change button BEFORE removing the darts from the machine.  If a player removes the darts before manually pressing the Player Change button causing the dart(s) to register a score, the following conditions apply:

 

* If the score causes a win, the opposing team will receive the win.

 

* In all other cases, the “back-up” button is to be used to remove the incorrectly registered dart.

 

B. SCORING

1.    The score recorded by the machine is the score the player receives unless the board is malfunctioning.  If the machine is repeatedly scoring incorrectly or not working properly, the team captains will decide whether to continue play, call for repairs, move to another board if available, or, as a last resort, make up the match or game.  If the match is completed, no protest will be allowed.

 

2.    A dart thrown that sticks in the board but does not score MAY be manually scored. 

 

3.    A dart thrown that indicates "Segment Stuck" must be handled in the following manner:

 

a.    The dart that indicates segment stuck will be manually scored by the captain tapping the dart until it scores, or by pushing player change to come back around to same player and then scoring manually.  The player will then finish throwing remaining darts left in hand.

 

b.    If segment number gives team the win, it is a win.  If it gives team a bust, it is a bust.

 

4.    NOTE:   The dart creating the "segment stuck" problem in some cases does not register until after the dart is pulled from the board.  Also, any subsequent darts thrown will not register, and/or it is not unusual to have a double score on the "segment stuck" dart.  THIS SCORE IS ALLOWED EVEN THOUGH IT IS SCORED MANUALLY.

 

5.    If a dart bounces off the board or is thrown before the "throw darts symbol" appears, it is considered a dart thrown and may not be thrown again.

 

C. INCORRECT SCORING

1.    It is each player's responsibility to see that the machine is displaying that player's name prior to throwing any darts.

 

2.    If a player throws when the machine is not displaying his/her name, the following conditions apply:

 

          *   If the score causes a win, the opposing team will automatically receive the win.

 

*   In all other cases, the “back-up” button can be used to remove the incorrectly registered dart(s) so the correct player can throw.  If this is not done, the team throwing out of turn will receive a loss for that game.

 

D. PENALTIES

   In addition to all other penalties specified in these rules, the following penalties will be enforced:

 

   (a) If a player does not follow the player order on the dartboard and plays in a game he/she is not supposed to be playing in and the team captains cannot find an agreeable solution, then for the first occurrence that game will be forfeited.  For the second occurrence, all games that player has participated in are forfeited.

 

   (b) If a player/team tilts or punches the machine, causing it to shut down or reset, they automatically forfeit that game.

 

E. UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

1.    Foul or abusive language, harassment, player or team abuse of equipment or any other unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.  The actions will be reviewed by Bell Music and, if need be, the dart committee and could result in expulsion from the league.

 

2.    Any physical violence may result in the player(s) being expelled from the league.

 

3.    Any player or team expelled from the league will forfeit any money paid to the league, and all prize money, awards and banquet privileges.

 

4.    Bell Music reserves the right to suspend and/or expel any player and/or team from the league if found to be disobeying these rules or otherwise disrupting the leagues in any way.

 

F.  PROTESTS

1.    A protested game or match can result when, during play, there is a difference of opinion between teams regarding the application or interpretation of the Rules of Play.

 

2.    To protest a game or match, all of the following must occur:

 

a.    Protesting team must notify the opposing team the moment the protest occurs.

 

b.    If no satisfactory solution can be reached between the two teams the match is to be stopped and both team captains must call Bell Music immediately at (330) 253-9171.  If the situation still cannot be resolved, the protesting captain must file the protest in writing.

 

c.    The protesting captain has 24 hours to file a protest with Bell Music. After 24 hours, the protest will not be allowed. 

 

d.    The protesting team must pay a $10.00 protest fee at the time of making the protest.  If the ruling is in favor of the protesting team, the fee will be returned.  If not, the fee will go into the league fund.  If the $10.00 fee is not included, the protest will be null and void.

 

3.    Bell Music league coordinator reserves the right to bring to the attention of the review committee any uncovered irregular rule application.

 

H. TEAM STANDINGS AND PLAYOFFS

1.    Teams will receive one point per win.  Total winning percentage determines standings.  In the case of a tie, head-to-head competition from earlier in the season will determine place.

 

2.    The top 4 teams from each league advance to the playoffs that are at the end of scheduled league session.  The Playoff Matches (4th Place –vs- 1st Place & 3rd Place –vs- 2nd Place) will be the first week of playoffs.  The second week of playoffs will be the Championship Match between the winners of the matches between 1st & 4th, and 2nd & 3rd.  The Playoff Matches and the Championship match are “race to win” matches.  For leagues with 15 games per match, the first team to win 8 games wins the match.  For leagues with 13 games per match, the first team to win 7 games wins the match.  For leagues with 11 games per match, the first team to win 6 games wins the match.  For leagues with 9 games per match, the first team to win 5 games wins the match. (For the playoffs, players do not have to pay weekly dues; players only pay the quarters needed for the games.)

 

3.    To be eligible to play in Playoff Matches and the Championship match), players must have either:

Played 4 or more weeks on the team

Or

A player from another team in the Bell Music leagues may sub for a team in the playoffs if the following 2 requirements are met:

1)    The sub has played a minimum of 6 weeks in any Bell Music league in the current season.

2)    Neither the sub’s PPD or MPR is higher than the PPD and MPR of the player he/she is replacing in any/all leagues the sub plays in.

 

4.    If a team plays the 1st half but not the 2nd half, that team is ineligible to participate in final league competition.

 

5.    Every attempt should be made to not postpone or reschedule Playoff Matches or the Championship Match.  These matches may be played in advance as long as the opposing team agrees.

 

I. PRIZES AND AWARDS

All money paid in by the players as league fees will be paid out as prize money after deducting for costs of the league: sanction fees, tournament fees, awards, etc. Prize money is based on wins, excluding any wins from playoff matches.  If a team drops out in the middle of a season, they lose all money paid in, awards, credit for games played, etc.  In addition, those players are unable to play or sub in the leagues for, at a minimum, the remainder of the season. 

 

TEAM CAPTAINS RESPONSIBILITIES

 

1.    Team captains must make sure Bell Music has their current phone number.

 

2.    Team captains must see that their team is on time and ready to play by the league start time.

 

3.    The team captain is responsible for making sure their team does not exceed the point limit for that league.  If a team plays over the point limit for their league a forfeit will be assessed by Bell Music.  All forfeits of teams playing over the point limit must be assessed within 7 days of the match.  If it is not caught within one week of the match, the score will stand as played.

 

4.    If there is a service problem during league the team captain is to call Bell Music at (330) 253-9171 and leave a message in the SERVICE DEPT. mailbox (by pressing 1 when the recording is reached.)  Make sure you leave your location name and phone number.  If there is an emergency regarding the dart league itself, the team captain is to call Bell Music at (330) 253-9171 and leave a message in the DART DEPT. mailbox (by pressing 2 when the recording is reached.)  All other questions are to be addressed by calling Bell Music during normal business hours – M-F, 8:30am-5:00pm.

 

5.    IT IS THE CAPTAIN'S RESPONSIBILITY TO SEE THAT TEAM MEMBERS CONDUCT THEMSELVES PROPERLY AND FOLLOWS THE RULES OF GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP.

 

 

ADDITIONAL F.Y.I.’S

 

The 2023 Bell Music $16,000+ Players Tournament will be held Saturday, May 20, 2023 at the Annunciation Greek Churh in Akron and is open to all Bell Music players with at least 120 games played during the qualifying dates.  The qualifying dates for the 2023 tournament are June 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023. (Playoff games do not count.)  Players who played at least 120 games in the Masters Doubles have the option of playing in the Masters Singles or in the division they get ranked.  The tournament is divided into 6 divisions based on your player ranking.  More information and details will be available closer to the tournament date.  If you have any questions, call Bell Music at (330) 253-9171.

 

Please visit our website at www.bellmusicco.com to view league standings, schedules, tournament info, etc.  Also, please make sure Bell Music has your current phone number and/or email address.  We are also on Facebook:  Bell Music Dart Leagues.

 

 

GOOD LUCK!  GOOD DARTS!  GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP!

 

League Coordinator – Mary Lynn

 

BELL MUSIC CO.

1314 Centerview Circle

Copley, Ohio  44321

(330) 253-9171 or 1-800-648-3774

Fax #: (330) 376-6337

www.bellmusicco.com