By-Laws

Objectives

Organize and unify American dart leagues and A.B.D.A tournaments under a common standards framework administered by the A.B.D.A.
Obtain sponsors to help promote the game of American darts.
Establish standardized rules to promote consistency across leagues and tournaments that choose to adopt A.B.D.A. standards.
Maintain an official website to publish statistics, rankings, averages, and news from participating leagues and players.
Establish standards for A.B.D.A. league qualifier and National Championship Tournaments.
Set dates, formats and locations for upcoming tournaments.

End-grain basswood dartboards shall be the official boards for A.B.D.A. National Championships and any tournament choosing to follow A.B.D.A. equipment standards. Darto, Deco, Widdy (wood), Dart Shark, American Style and Pro-Dart are acceptable boards.
All wooden dartboards must feature a red cork center and meet established classic American board specifications.
Teams and shooters may use any approved dart brand (Apex, Darto, Widdy, Pro-Dart). Team members are not required to use the same brand. Each shooter is responsible for changing darts when it is their turn. If the opposing team elects to use a different dart brand for a match, the lead-off shooter is responsible for changing the darts at the start of each inning.
The center of the cork shall be 5 feet 3 inches (5’-3”) from the floor.
The toe-board shall be constructed of wood, have a maximum radius width of 4 feet (4’-0”), and be positioned 7 feet 3 inches (7’-3”) from the face of the dartboard, or 107.5 inches diagonally from the center of the cork to the outside radius of the toe-board.
A light shall be installed in the top housing of the dartboard holder. The light must not produce glare or reflection that interferes with a shooter’s view of the board
All shooters must have league averages from the previous two (2) years (730 calendar days) posted online through the A.B.D.A. website to establish a qualifying average for participation in A.B.D.A. events. Averages from prior A.B.D.A. National Championships and/or PA State Dart Tournaments within the same 730-day period shall be included in the entering average calculation. Tenths of a point shall be dropped only from the final calculated entering average. The tournament director retains authority to review, verify, dispute, adjust, or uphold any player average used for entry.

National Championships Eligibility

An A.B.D.A. Player ID is required.
Minimum age is 16. Players under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Traveling leagues must maintain accurate and current averages for players using the A.B.D.A. website.
House leagues must maintain accurate and current averages for players using the A.B.D.A. website.
All shooters must provide a complete list of the averages (online) from the league(s) in which he/she participates.
The tournament director reserves the right to accept or deny a shooter’s eligibility.
Government-issued identification must be provided upon request.
An 18-game minimum A.B.D.A.-recorded average is required to be eligible for Nationals.
All current season league(s) average update must be submitted through the A.B.D.A. website prior to the start of the A.B.D.A. National Championships.
If team has not prepaid their entry fee, it is expected that team/shooters pay the entry fee IMMEDIATELY upon check-in on the day of the tournament.

Rules of Tournament Play

Each team may roster one substitute (fourth player), provided the substitute is a comparable replacement and does not cause the team to exceed the division average cap.
A player that has participated any division is not permitted to re-enter the tournament once on another team once that players original team has been eliminated.
A player/team is only allowed to re-enter a division (mainly B/C/D qualifier) only if their team has been eliminated.
A player may not re-enter the tournament on another team after their original team has been eliminated. A team or player may re-enter a division only after elimination and only if re-entry openings are available. Once a player qualifies on a team, that player may not participate on another qualified team or attempt to qualify with a different team. A player may not register in two divisions on the same day.
Registration into two different divisions by a player on the same day is not permitted at any time. A player can only participate in one division per day. The integrity of tournament brackets and divisions will not be compromised as a timeline is needed to be adhered to, so that divisional brackets can be completed in a timely manner.
Prior to Game #1, a coin toss determines which team throws first at bullseye to establish throwing order. The dart closest to bullseye selects the order of play. The losing team of Game #1 selects order for Game #2. If a Game #3 is required, the losing team of Game #2 throws first at bullseye to determine order. Cork beats cork. All bullseye darts must stick. If a dart falls out during the bullseye throw, it may be rethrown. During match play, darts must stick to score. Fallen darts may not be rethrown and score zero points.
Before the first game of a match, shooters may throw three (3) practice darts at any inning except the first inning. The shooter must verbally announce the practice throws to the opposing team or scorekeeper. If a practice dart lands in the first inning, the score shall count.
Scoring/calling of game darts. A shooter is required to approach dartboard and then CALL the darts (points). Do not touch, move, bend or remove the darts PRIOR to calling the points. Once points are called, the darts can be removed. This will give a shooter on opposing team the opportunity to view any dart points that may be in question.
Any shooter that shoots the wrong inning will forfeit the dart(s)/point(s) thrown in the wrong inning. Any shooter that shoots out of turn (Team Play) will forfeit any points he/she scored that inning.
Prior to the start of the match, teams must reach agreement regarding leaving the toe-board If one team decides that leaving the toe-board is not an option, then both teams must stay within the limits of the toe-board.
First name and last name is required on all scoresheets. The winning team score for each game must be circled on the score sheet.
Both teams in a match are responsible for keeping the scores of the games and match, and for returning the scoresheet back to tournament official(s). It is the responsibility of all shooters to check scoring accuracy throughout the match in progress. Any scoring mistakes by a shooter or scorekeeper are to be agreed upon and fixed prior to starting the next game. Once the next game has started, the previous game scores becomes valid and final. The final scoresheet must be signed by both team captains at the end of the match. Once the scoresheets are turned into the tournament official(s), the match is valid and final.

Unacceptable Behavior

The A.B.D.A. Player ID and rankings system are privileges, not rights. The A.B.D.A. reserves the right to revoke player privileges, which can include your A.B.D.A player ID, stats and averages for the following infractions:

Non-payment for entry into an A.B.D.A. National event. If team/shooters knowingly fail to honor their commitment to pay the entry fee the day of the tournament.
Impeding the progress of the tournament by prolonging a disagreement, causing a disruption, unruly behavior, or being argumentative with a tournament staff member.
Harassing a shooter, team, tournament official or the A.B.D.A board member, whether in person or social media.
Any unsportsmanlike conduct.
Altercation (fighting).
Cheating when calling points or altering a scoresheet.
Property damage inside or outside the facility.
Submitting a false shooter, team, league or other tournament statistic.
Bringing outside alcohol into the establishment (LCB Violation).
The A.B.D.A. reserves the right to take disciplinary action for any conduct deemed detrimental to the integrity of A.B.D.A. events or statistical systems.

How the A.B.D.A. Official Average is Calculated

The A.B.D.A. official average is calculated using a rolling 730-day (two-year) period.

Events are weighted differently:

All leagues: 100%
All tournaments except majors: 200%
All majors: 300%
Statistics older than 730 days automatically drop from the calculation.

Majors include:

A.B.D.A. Nationals
PA States
Battle of the Bars
Kroh Lucas Memorial
PA Shooters Cup Challenge