World Dolf Federation
WDFF PLAYING & TOURNAMENT
RULES
Original Version
September 1st, 1999
First revised edition
November 13th, 2010
Definitions
WDFF PLAYING RULES
o 1.00 Throw
o 2.00 Starting and Finishing
o 3.00 Scoring
o 4.00 Tiebreak
o 5.00 Dartboards
o 6.00 Lighting
o 7.00 Oches
WDFF TOURNAMENT RULES
o 8.00 General
o 9.00 Regulation
o 10.00 Entry
o 11.00 Registration
o 12.00 Draw
o 13.00 Order of Play
o 14.00 Score Cards
o 15.00 Practice
o 16.00 Tournament Play
o 17.00 Conduct
o 18.00 Playing Attire
o 19.00 Advertising
o 20.00 Smoking and Drinking
o 21.00 Eligibility
o 22.00 Exclusion
o 23.00 Amendments and Additions
o 24.00 Copyright
Revision Notes
WDFF PLAYING & TOURNAMENT RULES
All International dolf tournaments that are organised under the exclusive jurisdiction of the World Dolf Federation, or its appointed Organisers shall be played under the WDFF Playing Rules.
The WDFF Playing & Tournament Rules are divided into two separate parts;
Playing Rules: 1.00 to 6.00 inclusive.
Tournament Rules: 7.00 to 23.00 inclusive.
“WDFF” – shall mean the World Dolf Federation, or the Executive of the World Dolf Federation.
“Organisers” – shall mean the World Dolf Federation, its Executive, or a dolf body appointed by the World Dolf Federation to carry out its functions in relation to a dolf tournament.
“Player” – shall include the singular, males and females.
“Referee” – shall mean the person appointed to take charge of tournament play at a tournament board, or on stage. A Referee may act as a Marker or Caller for the tournament.
“Caller” – shall mean the person appointed to announce the scores as they are made during tournament play.
“Marker” – shall mean the person appointed to mark the scores made and the scores remaining on the scoreboard. Except for staged tournament play, the Marker may act as the Caller of the tournament.
“Scorer” – shall mean the person appointed to record the scores, the results, and other relevant tournament play details on the score cards.
“Tournament” – shall mean the total play between any number of players; sometimes referred to as a ‘game’. A tournament may be divided into Rounds.
“Round” – shall consist of the completion of all 20 holes, in consecutive order from 1-20, by each player of the tournament.
“Hole” – shall mean the throw of all eligible Dolf for that hole.
“Eligible Dolf” – shall mean three Dolf. The player may acquire additional eligible Dolf for a hole as per scenario……..
“Eligible Area” – shall mean a single scoring area, a double, a triple of the hole the player is currently on, as well as ‘the 25’ and the Bull. All other areas are considered ‘ineligible areas’.
WDFF Playing & Tournament Rules
1.01 Players shall provide their own Dolf, which shall not exceed an overall length of 30.5 cm, nor weigh more than 50 grams. Each dart shall consist of a needle shaped point which shall be fixed to a barrel. At the rear of the barrel there shall be attached a flighted stem, which may consist of separate parts.
1.02 All Dolf shall be thrown deliberately, one at a time, by and from the hand.
1.03 A throw shall consist of a maximum of ‘three’ Dolf.
1.04 If a player, during a throw, touches any dart that is in the dartboard, then that throw shall be deemed to have been completed.
1.05 Any dart bouncing off or falling out of the dartboard shall not be rethrown.
1.06 Any dart falling out of the dartboard before the throw has been completed and the Dolf retrieved shall not count.
2.01 Each tournament or Leg shall be played with a straight start; IE: to begin scoring the player need only land a dart in dartboard inside the outer Doubles wire of the dartboard.
2.02 The winner of the tournament is the player with the lowest total aggregate score of all the rounds.
3.01 A dart shall only score if the point remains in or touches the face of the dartboard, within the outer double wire, until after the throw has been completed, and the score has been called and recorded on the scoreboard.
3.02 The Bull shall count as no points, instead the player shall receive two additional eligible Dolf, IE: if a player gets a Bull the player receives that dart back to rethrow, and another turn to throw an additional dart, there is no limit to the number of times a player can do this. In the circumstance where a player has an eligible dart, but there is no dart available to throw, a player may remove one of the Dolf on the board to use for use as an eligible dart. The dart that was removed will be scored as though it remained on the board.
3.03 The outer centre ring surrounding the Bull will be referred to as ‘the 25’. ‘The 25’ shall count as no points, instead the player shall receive that dart back as an eligible dart, IE: if a player gets ‘the 25’ the player receives that dart back to rethrow, there is no limit to the number of times a player can do this.
3.04 The score is counted from the side of the segment wire in which the point of the dart enters or touches the face of the dartboard.
3.05 The score will be announced by the Caller, and recorded by the Marker after each dart is thrown.
3.06 All Dolf shall be retrieved from the dartboard by the thrower, once all eligible Dolf have been called and marked.
3.07 A protest about the score attained, or called, after the retrieval of Dolf shall not be upheld.
3.08 Errors in arithmetic shall stand as written on the scoreboard unless corrected prior to the next throw of the player whose score is in error.
3.09 The hole for the current round and aggregate score by each player must be shown on the scoreboard, clearly visible, at eye level, in front of the players and the Referee.
3.10 The Referee shall act as umpire in all matters pertaining to the Playing Rules when conducting a dolf tournament and shall, if necessary, consult with Scorers and other Officials before announcing any decisions during the course of tournament play.
3.11 When a player throws a dart into the triple for the hole they are currently on they will be awarded -2 points.
3.12 When a player throws a dart in the double for the hole they are currently on they will be awarded -1 points.
3.13 When a player throws a dart in the single score area for the hole they are currently on they will be awarded 0 points. For each additional dart thrown into the single score area the player will be awarded -1.
3.14 Once a player is awarded 0 or less points for a hole, they may not be awarded >0 points for that hole on subsequent throws, for the current hole.
3.15 Scoring restarts for each hole.
3.16 When a player throws a dart into an ineligible area and the player has not yet been awarded zero or less points they will be awarded one point.
3.17 There is no minimum or maximum a player can receive for a given hole.
4.00 Tiebreak
4.01 During a tiebreak the previous rules of scoring do not apply.
4.02 If more than one player has the same score in the end of the final round of a tournament, a tiebreak round will be played with all such players. The tiebreak round will have each player attempt to shoot the Hooves, known as; the Bull, ‘the 25’, the triple 20.
4.03 If a dart does not land in one of the Hooves, the player’s turn is not over; they are to attempt the same hoof once again.
4.04 A player’s turn will end if their dart lands in a Hoof out of consecutive order.
4.05 A player to get the most Hooves in consecutive order will win the tiebreak.
4.06 If more than one player ties for the most amount of Hooves, the tiebreak will restart with those players. This process continues until there is only one player with the most amount of Hooves at the end of a tiebreak round.
IE:
(a) if player A throws and the dart lands ‘the 25’ first, player A’s turn is over and player B gets to attempt the Hooves sequence. Whoever scores the most Hooves after all players have completed their turn wins.
(b) if player A throws the first dart into the Bull and the second dart lands in a non hoof area then player A is still attempting to shoot at ‘the 25’.
5.01 All dartboards used in WDFF tournaments shall:
(a) be of the ‘bristle’ type.
(b) be of the ‘1 – 20’ clock pattern.
(c) have an inner centre ring, ‘Bull’.
(d) have an outer centre ring, referred to as ‘the 25’.
(e) have an inner narrow band, referred to as ‘the Triple ring’.
(f) have an outer narrow band, referred to as ‘the Double ring’.
(g) have all the wires that form the segments and Double, Triple, Bull, and outer centre rings, which together form the ‘Spider’, affixed to the face of the dartboard in such a manner that they lie flat on the face of the dartboard.
(h) have the following dimensions:
“Double’ and ‘Triple’ rings inside width = 8.0 mm.
‘Bull’ inside diameter = 12.7 mm.
‘the 25’ ring inside diameter = 31.8 mm.
Outside edge of ‘Double’ ring to centre = 170.0 mm.
Outside edge of ‘Triple’ ring to centre = 107.0 mm.
Overall dartboard diameter (+/- 3.0 mm.) = 453.0 mm.
‘Spider’ wire gauge shall be of 18 SWG min. up to 16 SWG max.
5.02 The dartboard shall be fixed such that the ’20’ segment is the darker of the two segment colours and is at the top centre of the dartboard.
5.03 The dartboard shall be fixed in such a manner that the vertical height from the floor, at the same level as the Oche, to a horizontal line through the centre of the ‘Bull’ shall measure 1.73 metres.
5.04 A player or team Official shall have the right to request that the dartboard be changed or moved before or during the course of a tournament, always providing that the opposing players or team Official concurs with the request.
5.05 Such change or move shall only be made before a tournament or between Holes of a tournament and shall be made by a WDFF appointed Official.
6.01 In tournament play each ‘floor’ dartboard shall be adequately lit by a suitably positioned light fitting of 100 Watts minimum intensity.
6.02 Dartboards used in staged finals shall be adequately lit by at least two suitably positioned light fittings of 100 Watts minimum intensity each.
6.03 All light fittings shall be fitted with screens to divert all light away from the player’s eyes when standing at the Oche.
6.04 In staged finals the general level of illumination may be augmented by the use of flood or spot lights, but care should be taken to prevent the introduction of shadows on the dartboard.
7.01 A raised Oche, 38 mm. high and 610 mm. long, shall be placed in position at the minimum throwing distance and shall measure from the back of the Oche, 2.37 metres along a horizontal line to a plumb line at the face of the dartboard.
7.02 The diagonal distance from the centre of the Bull to the back of the Oche at floor level shall measure 2.93 metres.
7.03 During tournament play no player shall tread on any part of the raised Oche, nor shall the player deliver any dart with his or her feet in any position other than behind the raised Oche.
7.04 A player throwing a dart from a position on either side of the raised Oche shall keep his or her feet behind an imaginary straight line extending on either side of the raised Oche.
7.05 Any player in breach of clause 6.03 or 6.04 shall first be warned by the Referee in the presence of the players.
7.06 Any dart subsequently delivered in breach of these clauses shall not score and shall be declared invalid by the Referee.
7.07 A player shall have the right to request that the Oche dimensions be checked and adjusted before and during the course of a tournament, always providing that the opposing player(s) concurs with the request.
7.08 Such check or adjustment shall only be made before a tournament, or between the Holes of a tournament, and shall only be made by a WDFF appointed Official.
7.09 All Member Dart Bodies are authorised to amend the dimensions of the dartboard height, and oche length, to suit the particular requirements of contestants in special events for disabled persons.
8.01 Each WDFF Tournament shall have a set of Playing Rules pertaining to that tournament. These Playing Rules shall be adopted by the WDFF, or for regional WDFF tournaments, by the regional WDFF official council made up of the regional Member Dolf Bodies.
8.02 The Playing Rules of the particular WDFF tournament shall also provide for the events to be played in that tournament.
8.03 The events included may be any, or all of the following:
Singles – which may be mens, or womens singles, or mixed.
Youth – which will be singles, which shall be limited to persons under a specific age.
9.01 The interpretation of the WDFF Playing Rules in relation to a dolf tournament shall be determined by the WDFF appointed Organisers, whose decision shall be final and binding. Information concerning such an interpretation shall be forwarded to the WDFF Executive.
9.02 Any matter not expressly covered by the WDFF Playing Rules shall be determined by the WDFF Executive, whose decision shall be final and binding.
9.03 The WDFF or its appointed Organisers shall reserve the right to cancel or change all dates, venues, and scheduled dolf events without prior notice.
9.04 All tournament players shall play within the WDFF Playing Rules, and the Playing Rules of the tournament and, where necessary, any supplementary Rules established by the appointed Organisers and laid down in the tournament Programme.
9.05 All players shall play under the supervision and direction of the WDFF appointed Organisers and Officials.
9.06 Any player failing to comply with any of the WDFF Playing Rules during a tournament shall be liable to disqualification from that tournament.
9.07 All trophies awarded to a player may be retained, except for perpetual types of trophies which shall be returned to the WDFF on request.
9.08 If a player is not present at the official presentation ceremony without the Organiser’s permission, that player shall forfeit the right to receive any awards in that tournament.
9.09 Any player who fails to complete all scheduled tournaments, unless excused by the Organisers for illness, injury, or other sufficient reason, shall forfeit the right to receive any awards in that tournament.
9.10 If any expenses are incurred due to a default by a player then that player shall be liable for those expenses.
10.01 The Organisers shall prepare official entry forms for the tournament and shall send the forms to the eligible WDFF Member Dolf Bodies. The entry forms shall provide for the listing of players in each of the events in the tournament.
10.02 A WDFF Member Dolf Body, or its appointed Organisers, shall reserve the right to refuse, or cancel, any entrant, at any stage prior to, during, or after a Dolf event which is within their jurisdiction, and their decision shall be final and binding in all tournaments relating to that Dolf event.
10.03 The WDFF, or its appointed Organisers, shall reserve the right to refuse, or cancel, any entrant, at any stage prior to, during, or after a Dolf event which is within their jurisdiction, and their decision shall be final and binding in all tournaments relating to that Dolf event.
10.04 The Organisers reserve the right to exclude a Member Dolf Body from a WDFF tournament if its lists of players is not received by the advised deadline, which deadline shall not be more than ’45’ days before the start of the tournament.
10.05 No substitutes shall be allowed. A person unable to play forfeits the tournament they are currently in.
10.06 No player shall be entered more than once in any event of the tournament.
10.07 No player shall play for more than one country in a tournament.
11.01 All tournament players shall be registered, for each event at the scheduled time.
11.02 Any player failing to be registered by the notified time shall be eliminated from that event in the tournament.
11.03 Any player that is not in attendance when called upon to play at the nominated time shall forfeit that tournament.
11.04 Only ‘5’ minutes shall be allowed from the time of the call on the public address system for the player to reach the Control Desk or the assigned tournament board, whichever requirement is called for.
12.01 There shall be only one draw for opponents which shall be conducted prior to the tournament.
12.02 Draw Charts shall be displayed at the Control Desk, in the tournament programme, and at a convenient place in the venue.
12.03 Times on a Draw Chart for beginning an event are for guidance only and the Organisers reserve the right to start an event earlier or later than the times indicated.
13.01 The Member Dolf Bodies shall designate the ‘Order of Throw’ of the players, to start the game. The names will be chosen randomly or at the WDFF’s discretion. This order will remain until the first half of the tournament is completed, after which players will throw in descending order of their aggregate tournament scores.
13.02 The order in the final round of the tournament will be the same as the order played in case of a tiebreak.
14.01 A score card for each tournament shall be made out at the Control Desk with the name of the event, the round of play, and the names of the players. If the order of play is determined at the Control Desk, the order of play shall be entered on the score card. The score card shall be picked up from the Control Desk by the player and presented to the Referee of the assigned tournament board.
14.02 Referees shall be responsible for ensuring that the order of play is strictly adhered to during the tournament.
14.03 On conclusion of the tournament the Referee shall ensure that all required information of the tournament, including the name of the winning player, has been entered on the score card and shall attest to this by his or her signature. The winning player shall return the score card immediately to the Control Desk.
14.04 The results of the tournaments shall be entered on the Draw Charts by the Control Desk Officials.
14.05 All players’ scores shall be recorded on the score cards so that averages and the best results may be computed.
14.06 The records of the tournament play, including the results of every tournament and players’ averages and the best results, shall be made available by the Organisers to all the WDFF Member Dolf Bodies.
15.01 Each player is entitled to ‘6’ six practice darts at the assigned tournament board prior to a tournament. No other practice darts may be thrown during the tournament without the permission of the tournament Referee.
15.02 No practice shall be allowed on unassigned tournament boards after the tournament has started.
15.03 Practice dartboards shall be provided for the exclusive use of tournament players.
16.01 In tournament play all players shall play under the supervision and direction of the Organisers and tournament Officials.
16.02 No person shall be allowed within the playing area other than the Referee Caller, Marker(s), Scorer(s), electronic indicator operators, and the assigned players.
16.03 Only Callers, Markers and electronic indicator operators shall be allowed to be situated in front of a player when playing.
16.04 Officials situated in front of a player shall restrict their movements to a minimum during each throw and shall not smoke or drink during a tournament.
16.05 A player’s opponent (s) shall stand at least 60 cms. to the rear of the player at the Oche.
16.06 In stage finals the players shall be under the supervision of the stage Officials and between throws shall be located in such a position as to afford an unrestricted view of proceedings for players, Officials, spectators, and, if applicable, the television cameras.
16.07 A player at the Oche is entitled to consult with the Referee on the amount scored at any time during a throw.
16.08 Any enquiries on scores recorded or subtractions made shall not be entered into after the conclusion of the tournament.
16.09 Any protest concerning the score must be made to the Referee before the protesting player’s next throw. Any protest concerning the decision of the Caller or Marker, the alleged misconduct of a player, or other matter must be made immediately to the Referee or tournament Officials.
A judgement shall be given on the spot before the tournament is allowed to continue. Any late protests shall not be honoured.
16.10 If a player’s equipment becomes damaged or lost during the course of a throw then the player shall be allowed up to ‘3’ three minutes to repair or replace the equipment.
16.11 If, during the course of a tournament, a player has an urgent reason for leaving the playing area, the Referee may, in his or her sole discretion, allow the player to depart the playing area for up to ‘5’ five minutes.
17.01 During a tournament players shall conduct themselves in a manner of respect for the other player and shall refrain from annoying the other players or using offensive language or making offensive gestures and shall refrain from any unsportsmanlike conduct. (IE: such as deliberately losing a tournament, deliberately delaying tournament play, or interfering with the throw of another player.)
17.02 Any player found by the Organisers to be in breach of Clause 16.01 shall be deemed to have been brought the Sport of Dolf into disrepute and shall be disqualified from any further participation in the tournament and shall forfeit the right to any points or awards in that tournament.
However, if the player, or the Officials of the said player’s team challenge the disqualification, or forfeiture, the matter shall be appealed immediately to the WDFF Executive, whose decision shall be final and binding.
17.03 The decision of the WDFF Executive are present at the tournament, the appeal shall be put to a board made up of one official from each participating country and the decision of the Organisers may be overruled by a majority of the country Officials.
18.01 All players representing their country in a WDFF tournament shall wear their country’s approved playing attire at the opening ceremony, during the tournament itself (at least until eliminated from all events), and at the closing and award ceremony.
18.02 Players shall be uniformly attired; IE: collared shirts, blouses, dresses, and skirts or trousers/new looking jeans shall be accepted.
18.03 No player shall wear any clothing that bears any advertising material, slogans, or logos relating to a marketable product or concern without the prior permission of the Organisers.
18.04 No headgear shall be worn without the prior permission of the Organisers.
19.01 The Organisers reserve the rights to the use of all advertising materials, slogans, or logos in connection with the promotion and organisation of the tournament.
19.02 The Organisers reserve the right to protect their sponsors’ interests with regard to any advertising material, slogans, or logos used by players, or other sponsors.
19.03 Players and spectators in a WDFF tournament shall not be allowed to wear any clothing that bears any advertising material, slogans, or logos relating to any marketable product, or concern without the prior permission of the Organisers.
19.04 Players in a WDFF tournament shall not be allowed to use any playing equipment that bears any advertising material, slogans, or logos relating to any marketable product or concern without the prior permission of the Organisers.
19.05 Before a televised tournament, the Organisers are empowered to request a player to withdraw or remove any advertising material, slogans, or logos.
Any player who refuses to comply with such a request shall forfeit that tournament.
20.01 All players and Officials shall refrain from smoking and consuming alcoholic beverages while they are participating in any tournament play and during any introductions, interviews, or presentations.
20.02 Any player found to be in breach of clause 19.01 shall be liable to the forfeiture of the tournament during which the offence took place and shall be reported to the appropriate Dolf body for disciplinary proceedings to be considered.
21.01 To play for a Member Dolf Body in an official WDFF tournament, a person must have resided for at least three (3) years immediately prior to the tournament in the country represented by that Member Dolf Body.
21.02 In the case where two or more Member Dolf Bodies are situated within one national entity, the above requirement shall be interpreted as residence in the national entity.
21.03 These shall be considered the minimum requirements for eligibility and a Member Dolf Body may impose additional eligibility requirements for its players.
21.04 A person, eligible to play for a Member Dolf Body, who moves from the country, shall remain eligible to play for that Member Dolf Body until such time as he or she meets the eligibility requirements or another Member Dolf Body.
21.05 Any person who has played for a Member Dolf Body in an official WDFF tournament shall not play for another
21.06 Any person who has played for a Member Dolf Body in an official WDFF tournament shall not play for another Member Dolf Body in an official WDFF tournament earlier than the third calendar year after the last year in which he or she played for the former Member Dolf Body.
21.07 In the event of a dispute arising, the context shall be put to the WDFF Executive for a ruling which shall be final and binding. This procedure shall apply to all Dolf events promoted under the jurisdiction of the WDFF.
21.08 No player, official, or Agent who has participated in any capacity, at any stage, in a ‘World’, ‘International’, or National titled event, which is outside the jurisdiction of, and not recognised by the World Dolf Federation, or any of its Member Dolf Bodies, shall be eligible to participate in any WDFF Dolf event, or any WDFF ranked Dolf event.
21.09 No player, official, or agent who is involved, or has been involved, or has had dealings with any ‘World’ titled, or ‘International’ titled Dolf body which is outside the jurisdiction of, and not recognised by the World Dolf Federation shall be eligible to participate in any WDFF Dolf event, or WDFF ranked Dolf event.
21.10 The Right of Appeal by any person, or agent affected by a decision made under Clause 20.07 or 20.08 shall be afforded to that person, or agent on submission of a written appeal. The written appeal shall, together with all relevant documentation, be submitted to the WDFF Disciplinary Committee whose jurisdiction covers that person’s, or agent’s country of residence.
21.11 Any player, official, or agent wishing to enter, or re-enter a Member Dolf Body of the World Dolf Federation after participating in any capacity, or at any stage, in an event as under Clause 20.08, or having been involved, or having had dealings as under Clause 20.09, may apply for entry, or re-entry to that Member Dolf Body by written application.
21.12 The written application for entry, or re-entry, must be submitted through the Member Dolf Body representing the country of residence of the person, or agent making the application. The application shall be forwarded, together with all relevant documentation to the WDFF Regional Disciplinary Committee whose jurisdiction covers that Member Dolf Body.
21.13 Any decision of a WDFF Regional Disciplinary Committee shall be final, subject only to that person’s, or agent’s Right of Appeal. An eventual appeal must be submitted in writing to the WDFF Executive for consideration. Such an appeal must be accompanied by any information or documentation that has not been considered by the respective WDFF Regional Disciplinary Committee.
22.01 The World Dolf Federation reserves the right to exclude any player, official, or Member Dolf Body from any or all WDFF official tournaments if that player, Official, or Member Dolf Body is found to be in breach of any provision of the WDFF Playing Rules, the tournament Playing Rules, the WDFF Constitution, or the WDFF Bye-Laws.
22.02 The exclusion of any player, Official, or Member Dolf Body from WDFF official tournaments shall only be put into effect as the result of disciplinary proceedings being taken in accordance with WDFF rules and regulations in force at the time.
22.03 The World Dolf Federation reserves the right to ‘debt-suspend’ any player, Official, or Member Dolf Body from any or all WDFF official tournaments until such time as all outstanding debts have been cleared.
23.00 AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS
23.01 The World Dolf Federation reserves the right to amend, add to, or delete, any of the WDFF Playing Rules at any time to meet any purpose deemed to be necessary by the WDFF Executive.
24.01 The entire contents of the WDFF Playing Rules are the copyright of the World Dolf Federation and may not be reprinted, copied, duplicated, or otherwise reproduced, wholly, or in part, without the written consent of the copyright owner.