Rules for Blue Water Amusement Dart Leagues

BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS provides dart leagues and tournaments to their players with the goal of providing the greatest soft-tip darts experience possible. Participating in sanctioned BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS leagues enables players, who meet certain standards, an opportunity to compete in Major Tournaments!

League Assistance Line –920-521-9010/262-357-1442

BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS League Coordinator will monitor a “League Assistance” phone dedicated to helping players through situations that require immediate assistance. This phone is monitored daily between 9 am CST and 9 pm CST. Players needing assistance should contact this number to leave a detailed voicemail or text message. Coordinator will respond ASAP when messages are received.

VERY IMPORTANT – REQUIRED ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Blue Water Amusements “CODE OF CONDUCT”, applicable to all players.

A player who registers for, and or participates in, any Blue Water activity accepts and agrees to abide by the player Code of Conduct and agrees to accept the consequences for failing to uphold these Standards

All players are required to adhere to the following Code of Conduct:

All players shall exhibit high ethical standards at all times when engaged in any activity involving* the sport of darts. Failure to maintain this Code is deemed “Actions Detrimental to the Sport” and cause for penalty.

All players are required to exhibit leadership and good sportsmanship at all times, to assist others whenever possible and share information about darts without animosity, complaint or sarcasm. All players shall refrain from derogatory comments intended as humor because humor is often misunderstood, especially in the context of a written comment. Confrontational behavior (physical or verbal), insulting, demeaning, rude, argumentative or arrogant comments are never acceptable. All persons involved in any darting activity and interactions are to be treated with utmost respect at all times.

Drinking alcohol, competitive outburst or any other loss of emotional control is not an excuse for any misbehavior or nefarious comment. *“involvement” in darts extends beyond actual darting activities such as league or tournament competition. “Involved” also includes interactions and discussions of any kind relating to darts, or because of darts, including personal interactions and within the context of social media, electronic messaging, texting and every other interactive scenario.

Player Etiquette, Good Sportsmanship & Ethics

Respectful Conversation: Do not argue or disrespect opponents. Opponents should NEVER argue. Get help from admins to resolve any issues. This includes negative comments about strategy.

Unless a team is violating the rules – keep it to yourself. VIOLATIONS OF THIS RULE ARE MEANS FOR AT LEAST AN IMMEDIATE 30-DAY SUSPENSION.

PLAY AT YOUR RISK. At any time DO NOT post on Facebook about opponents to accuse someone of sandbagging or throwing higher/lower than you believe they should. These claims should all be submitted to Blue Water staff. Once received, staff will review, investigate the issue & be in contact with you within 3-5 business days.

Negative, uncooperative, aggressive, or abusive behavior of any kind is penalized. Blue Water Amusements reserves the right to address misconduct once reported stemming from any Blue Water Event. Bad behavior results in disciplinary action and/or possible suspension from the Blue Water activities. Treat others how you wish to be treated.

Player Etiquette & Good Sportsmanship: Players are required to conduct themselves in a positive manner. Misguided competitiveness is not an excuse! Drinking is not an excuse! Always work with the other team to resolve a problem as quickly and reasonably as possible. Blue Water Amusements DOES NOT TOLERATE poor sportsmanship or unethical conduct! Any negative, aggressive, or abusive behavior of any kind will result in penalty. Blue Water reserves the right to address any misconduct once reported stemming from any darting activity including but not limited to: Blue Water leagues, or any other darts activity. Bad behavior will result in disciplinary action and/or expulsion from the Blue Water program at sole discretion of Blue Water Amusements.

Ethics…Unethical conduct such as but not limited to abuse of equipment, poor sportsmanship, unwillingness to make up a scheduled match or any attempt to manipulate league standings is unethical and cause for penalty at Blue Water discretion. Violations may be cause for forfeiture of: a match, probation, expulsion from league including forfeiture of all league prize monies, a tournament suspension or suspension from all tournaments. The degree of the penalty assessed by Blue Water is at Blue Water Amusements sole discretion.

These rules are meant to provide a foundation for an enjoyable dart playing experience. Never use any rule out of the context for which it was written. In doing so you may be causing more problems than the rule was originally meant to help or prevent. Never allow misplaced competitiveness to overshadow the real purpose of the dart leagues, which is to have FUN.

An action deemed “detrimental to the sport of the darts” is cause for penalty. Penalties are assessed by Blue Water staff at any time following an incident deemed detrimental to the sport by Blue Water staff. Access to all privileges associated with Blue Water are at stake and may be lost to the player without player recourse whatsoever. Blue Water assessed penalties may include any or all of the following and at Blue Water staff discretion:

a) Blue Water Leagues.,

b) All Blue Water Tournaments in person and remote,

c) Blue Water Traveling Series,

d) DRTs and all other PPD events accessed thru Blue Water Amusements.

The penalties assessed by Blue Water Amusements are determined by the severity of the violations, and are solely at the discretion of Blue Water Staff.

Penalties may include but are not limited to,

1. 30 day warning.

2. Minimum, but not limited to 30 day suspension from Blue Water.

3. Expulsion from Blue Water Amusements.

Any player who is penalized has the opportunity to appeal decisions made by Blue Water through the players committee ONLY. DO NOT message staff members directly!

The aforementioned applies to EVERYONE including staff, playing/participating in any Blue Water Leagues, Tournament, or any other event hosted by Blue Water Amusements.

Section A – Team Captain Responsibilities

Team Captain Responsibilities: Upon signing up for league, Team captains are texted at least 2 days prior to league start. On the day the league starts, the team captain can find the new league’s schedule & captain’s list via Blue Water Dart Group or www.bluewateramusements.com Reach out to coordinator if needed assistance.

Team captains must engage in pre-match contact 15 minutes prior to every league match. Do not add money into the machine or start a match without talking via text or call with opponents. Pre-match contact is REQUIRED. Call or message your opponents in advance to confirm the match & again upon arriving at the location and being ready to start. Team captains are responsible for confirming their contact number is correct on the captains list for league. The captain’s list is for contacting about scheduling. Always treat opponents with respect. If there are ever issues with a team, contact LEAGUE COORDINATOR on the League Assistance Line at 920-521-9010/262-357-1442. Opponents should never argue, get League Coordinator involved!

By submitting a team, the team captain accepts responsibility for collecting team fees, setting up each league match and resolving league issues of any kind. No Call No Shows penalties are strictly enforced. If a team needs to reschedule, they must contact opponents at LEAST 2 hours prior to match start time or receive No Call No Show penalties starting at a verbal warning up to a 30-day suspension from BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS Major Tournaments/Leagues. Dropping from remote league without a verifiable emergency garners the penalty of 1-year suspension from all BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS activity including league, Daily Remote Tournaments, and Major Tournaments.

When a Captain’s number has changed, it is the Captain’s responsibility to update their number in their by calling the league coordinator. Failure to update Captain’s phone number is subject to penalties including but not limited to the following options:

1. First offense: VERBAL WARNING
2. Second offense: The above penalty option plus a 1-week suspension from pending league, an appropriate probationary period at BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS discretion.

In Blue Water Amusements Dart Discussion Facebook Group and www.bluewateramusements.com website you will find:

a. Leagues which include Stats, Schedules, and Captain’s lists w/phone numbers for each team.
b. Pretty much everything dart related will be posted in the dart discussion group.

Section B– Playing Order, Roster & Substitutes

A team captain may change shooting order before the beginning of a match. Starting next league all rosters will be posted on Blue Water Amusements dart discussion group. Any substitutes being used in ALL LEAGUES must have prior approval from League Coordinator. You cannot add subs manually at the dart board.

New Subs can only be used if they are at or above 2 PPD and .2 MPR if shooting in a lower division. If player you are adding as a sub is at or below the player you are replacing, this rule does not apply. This is a clarification of the rule, Updated on 11/26/23.

During the Last 2 weeks of league play for each half, a sub that has not played prior cannot be used. They must have shot prior to the Last 2 weeks.

Substitutes with unknown stats across all leagues/Divisions will start at the following:
Men (2.5 MPR and 25.00 in PPD)
Women (1.5 MPR and 15.00 PPD)

When adding a sub with no known stats in our league system, their best-known stats will come from Darts Toc.

Players cannot sub for another team if they shoot for a team in the same Division or League. If the League has Multiple Divisions, they can sub for a team in a different Division, upon approval from Blue Water League Coordinator. Blue Water league coordinators decision will be based on criteria (2 PPD, .2 MPR)

The first two weeks of league play, your stats will come from best known stats on TOC. Then it reverts to your current stats after week 2 of league play.

Section C – Reschedules, No Call/No Shows and Match Forfeits

Rescheduling Matches: Matches in the 1st half of the season must be completed prior to the start of the 2nd half of the season to enable 1st half position standings. During the 2nd half of the season, matches must be complete on or before the end season. There are two make up weeks per league so if you must reschedule, this gives you time to remake. It is every teams’ responsibility to reschedule a match, regardless of why the match needs rescheduled.

IMPORTANT: If/when a team has three (3) matches to reschedule, without having communicated with THE LEAGUE COORDINATOR, the team is expelled and turned into a bye, forfeiting all privileges at BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS discretion. A one-year BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS-program suspension is assessed against all players on the team.

Match Forfeits: When a rescheduled match does not occur prior to the mid-season, end-of-season, or make-up night, a match forfeit score of 13-0 will be issued to the non-cooperative team. Match forfeits require league fees deducted from non-cooperative team’s league payouts. BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS discretion in enforcing rules related to a no call/no show match, failed rescheduled match or match forfeit is based upon both teams’ willingness to resolve and reschedule a match.

No Call/No Shows: When an attempt to contact an opposing team result in a disconnected number, no answer, no voicemail, etc. the next step is to contact the BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS assistance line. When contact with a team remains unobtainable, – send all details including proof of all contact attempts (screen shots of text message and/or call log) to LEAGUE COORDINATOR. LEAGUE COORDINATOR will determine the appropriate penalties for the team. Penalties for No Call, No Show If a team needs to reschedule, they must contact opponents at LEAST 2 hours prior to match start time or receive No Call No Show penalties starting at a verbal warning up to a 1year suspension from BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS Major Tournaments/leagues.

Delay of Match/ Abuse of Shot Clock Feature: The shot clock allows up to 45 seconds per dart plus a player change-over time of 8 seconds. Each player is expected to be at the throw line and ready to throw when it is their turn. The player change-over time of eight seconds and 45 seconds for the first dart is enough time to get to the line. When a dart is thrown – the shot clock starts over at 45 seconds for each of the remaining darts during a player’s turn. When, during a player’s turn, a dart is not thrown prior to the shot clock reaching zero (0) the player loses all remaining darts in that turn. A missed dart sometimes does not register and won’t stop the shot clock, Immediately make contact with opponent and apply shooter advantage rule (Section E)
When a miss-scored dart or any discrepancy occurs during a match, the shot clock may be stopped by pressing the backup button. Doing so will give both teams an opportunity to communicate and then correct the problem. If, after discussion, no correction is needed, simply continue the game.
Protesting a match: When a protest is made, LEAGUE COORDINATOR will first refer to the rules to make sure there is a reasonable dispute, then apply the appropriate rule to address the dispute. Match protests must be sent to LEAGUE COORDINATOR via contact information found at bottom of rules booklet within 48 hours. Protest found to be made in error may result in penalty application to the team that filed the flawed protest.

Section D – Machine Errors and Remote Camera Malfunctions

Common Courtesy – When you get to your Home location, please set up your league to make sure cameras are working and your board is functioning properly. This gives Bluewater Techs/League Coordinator to fix the problem if one occurs.

Dart machine errors, Suspending or Canceling a Match: When a machine is not operating correctly team Captains must communicate to discuss the problem and decide what to do. Options include:

a. You can use the back-up feature, of the machine, to resolve miss-scored darts by pressing the up arrow to pause the game. DO NOT remove your darts. Take a picture of the miss-scored dart and send it to the other team. Once they have confirmed you can simply tap your dart to register the miss-scored dart.
b. To suspend the match while a team with a malfunctioning machine moves to another machine or location or to make the match up later. When this option is chosen, both teams must unplug the board. Do not select “Cancel Match”. Cancelling a match discards all match data. If there is not an option to suspend the match simply unplug the board. The team on the good machine must finish the suspended match on the originally selected machine used in the first match-effort. A suspended match can be completed at any time or date, if at least one team is using the original machine used in the first match-effort.
c. To “Cancel the Match”. When cancelling a match, teams must notify League Coordinator if they desire to save and count any of the win/losses from the cancelled match. When this option is chosen, a refund is made upon request and details provided to League Coordinator. The match can be re-played from the beginning or picked up where it was cancelled if the teams agree. Early match-games can be pressed through as long as details are reported to the League Coordinator to enable deletion of those stats. To “cancel a match” pause a game then follow instructions to cancel the match.

Remote Camera Malfunctions: When a camera fails, stop the match by pressing the back-up button. Initiate contact with the other team to let them know their camera is not working. Work with them to reboot their location’s router. Usually rebooting the router solves the problem. Most camera failures can also be the result of a location’s inadequate internet upload speed. A G3 dart board requires at least 3mb of Download/Upload speed. When rebooting the location router does not solve the camera problem:

1. Suspend the match. The team must inform the League Coordinator so that a speed test can be performed at the location with the defective camera. Players can also perform a speed test at a location by visiting www.speedtest.net on a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Then follow instructions. Knowing your locations speed is important in preventing future league and tournament problems for you and your team.

2. If the test produces greater than 3mb download/3mb upload speed per machine at the location, the malfunction is simply a faulty camera and the match can be:
a. Moved to another available dart board in that location or move to another available locations.
b. Suspend the match until the camera has been repaired.

3. If the test produces less than 3mp download/upload speed, the location’s internet access is not strong enough to provide camera functionality and the match must b:
c. Moved to another location.
d. Suspended until the upload speed has been corrected by the location.

When evaluating download/upload speed for each dart board, you must also consider other equipment in the location that also uses internet, such as the jukebox, POS systems, public wi-fi, etc. In locations with numerous items on one internet connection and multiple teams participating in multiple leagues on multiple machines, the location may be required to provide a dedicated internet service for dart board connectivity.

Section E – The Shooter’s Advantage

The Shooter’s Advantage = backing up darts to correct a beneficial, but, miss-scored dart or non-scoring dart.

Short form: “A dart that sticks in a target but does not register that target, can be manually scored. A dart that flights a beneficial target on the way in, but sticks elsewhere, is not manually unscored.”

Detailed scenarios:
1. A dart that beneficially flights another dart as it sticks into a beneficial target remains, as scored by the machine, to the advantage of the shooter.

2. A dart that sticks in a target that is beneficial to the shooter, but did not register that target because it flighted a nonbeneficial dart on the way in, or did not score at all, for any reason; may be manually scored to the advantage of the shooter. Communication between teams is required. Leave the darts in the board and contact the opposing team. Stop the match by pressing the back-up button and continue to press the back-up button until contact is established with the other team. Send a photo, if necessary, to show the beneficial dart that is needed to be manually scored or re-scored. Communicate with the other team until the back-up and or scoring issue is approved and resolved to complete the turn.

Notice: Withholding agreement to allow manual re-scoring of a beneficial dart as described in this Shooter’s advantage rule is cause for penalty when reported and verified by administrative review of match video.

Section F – Fouls, Errors, Solutions

Throw Lines: Throw lines are to be positioned eight feet from board face. Players throw from behind the line. Players can lean across the line during their throw as long as their foot does not touch the floor before the dart leaves their hand.

Throwing on your Teammates Turn: When a player throws while the machine is displaying the name of the player’s partner: A) If caught soon enough, contact the other team and back up the game to allow the correct player to throw. Or B) if not caught soon enough, contact the team to sort out how far to back up the game to make the score correct and allow the correct throwing order to resume. Press the back-up button and contact the other team to resolve the problem.

Section G – Player Etiquette, Good Sportsmanship and Ethics

Player Etiquette & Good Sportsmanship…Players are required to conduct themselves in a positive manner. Misguided competitiveness is not an excuse! Drinking is not an excuse! Always work with the other team to resolve a problem as quickly and reasonably as possible. BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS DOES NOT TOLERATE poor sportsmanship or unethical conduct! Any negative, aggressive or abusive behavior of any kind will result in penalty. BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS reserves the right to address any misconduct once reported stemming from any darting activity including but not limited to: BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS sanctioned league match play, or any other darts activity, whether BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS sanctioned league function or not. Bad behavior will result in disciplinary action and/or expulsion from the BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS DART LEAGUE program at sole discretion of the BLUE WATER AMUSMENTS DART LEAGUE COORDINATOR.

• Throwing practice darts or standing at the throw line during your opponent’s turn is considered poor darting etiquette. You are not allowed to stand on line while opponent is shooting. Do NOT distract or irritate opponents in the camera by waving hands around, etc. We shouldn’t need this rule, it’s common courtesy. Treat others how you wish to be treated.

• Breaks during a match: The only league format where scheduling breaks becomes necessary, is the regular doubles league. For regular doubles leagues ONLY, communicate about when breaks will be taken & how long. All other league format types do not include breaks because each player sits out for 3 games each night. Players can take breaks during the games they are not playing in within the match. Keep breaks short, agreed upon times. Taking an unscheduled break is considered unnecessary match delay and garners penalties at Blue Water Staff discretion.

Ethics…Unethical conduct such as but not limited to abuse of equipment, poor sportsmanship, unwillingness to make up a scheduled match or any attempt to manipulate league standings is unethical and cause for penalty at BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS discretion. Violations may be cause for forfeiture of: a match, probation, expulsion from league including forfeiture of all league prize earnings, a tournament suspension or suspension from all tournaments. The degree of penalty assessed by the LEAGUE COORDINATOR.

“3 Strike Rule”

1.) Verbal Warning
2.) 2 Week suspension
3.) 1 year suspension

The degree of penalty assessed by the LEAGUE COORDINATOR.
DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE PENALTY COULD RESULT IN A PERMANET BAN OF BLUEWATER AMUSEMENT LEAGUES, TOURNAMENTS, AND ANY BLUEWATER DART RELATED ACTIVITES!!!

A team that is expelled from a BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS league may be expelled for any time frame deemed appropriate by the LEAGUE COORDINATOR. An expelled team or player forfeits all BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS privileges.

BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS DOES NOT TOLERATE poor sportsmanship or unethical conduct! Any negative, aggressive or abusive behavior of any kind will result in penalty. BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS reserves the right to address any misconduct once reported stemming from any darting activity including but not limited to: BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS sanctioned league match play, or any other darts activity, whether BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS sanctioned league function or not. Bad behavior will result in disciplinary action and/or expulsion from the BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS program at sole discretion of the BLUE WATER AMUSEMENTS LEAGUE COORDINATOR.

These rules are meant to provide a foundation for an enjoyable dart playing experience. Never use any rule out of the context for which it was written. In doing so you may be causing more problems than the rule was originally meant to help or prevent. Never allow misplaced competitiveness to over shadow the real purpose of the dart leagues, which is to have FUN. Common sense and good sportsmanship will always solve a problem if you will allow it.

THROW DARTS, RELAX AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Section H – LEAGUE COORDINATOR CONTACT INFORMATION

BLUE WATER SERVICE LINE- 920-521-9010
ISAAC SCHWARTZ: 254-226-4140
TRACY KIZEWSKI: 262-357-1442
AUSTIN KIZEWSKI: 920-559-1607

We will follow the National Dart Association Rules 65167 MBoyd Guidebook (arachnid360.com)