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PUBLICATION OF NDFP DART REFERENCE MANUAL All Rights Reserved 2005
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| Elimination |
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Dart Leagues are generally round robin formats
run over eight, fourteen or more weeks between five, eight or
more teams.
Round robins are designed so the best team will win and the match
will be fair because everyone has to play everyone else. Most
of the time, round robin events do produce the best team as champion.
When setting up a round robin, you must first make sure you have
an even number of teams or make the number even by adding a “bye”.
The number of matches,(two teams playing) per round is the number
of teams divided by two. (10 teams format = 5 matches/rd) The
number of rounds in a round robin is always the number of teams
(including a “bye” if necessary) less one. (Don’t
forget that a team doesn’t play itself, thus in a 10 team
league, a team plays 9 rounds.)
The best way to set up each round is to put either team number
one or the “bye” in the first position and then rotate
around the first position each round. For example, a round robin
of eight teams would look like this:
| Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Round 5 |
Round 6 |
Round 7 |
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| 1 v 8 |
1 v 7 |
1 v 6 |
1 v 5 |
1 v 4 |
1 v 3 |
1 v 2 |
| 2 v 7 |
8 v 6 |
7 v 5 |
6 v 4 |
5 v 3 |
4 v 2 |
3 v 8 |
| 3 v 6 |
2 v 5 |
8 v 4 |
7 v 3 |
6 v 2 |
5 v 8 |
4 v 7 |
| 4 v 5 |
3 v 4 |
2 v 3 |
8 v 2 |
7 v 8 |
6 v 7 |
5 v 6 |
Notice how number one stays in the top left-hand
position and the other teams rotate down the left column and then
up the right column.
Now let’s look at a seven team round robin. After adding
the “bye” to make the number of teams even, we will
have four matches per round for seven rounds with each team receiving
a “bye”. In this case, we put team one in the first
position and rotate the rest of the teams around the team.
| Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Round 5 |
Round 6 |
Round 7 |
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| 1 v bye |
1 v 7 |
1 v 6 |
1 v 5 |
1 v 4 |
1 v 3 |
1 v 2 |
| 2 v 7 |
bye v 6 |
7 v 5 |
6 v 4 |
5 v 3 |
4 v 2 |
3 v bye |
| 3 v 6 |
2 v 5 |
bye v 4 |
7 v 3 |
6 v 2 |
5 v bye |
4 v 7 |
| 4 v 5 |
3 v 4 |
2 v 3 |
bye v 2 |
7 v bye |
6 v 7 |
5 v 6 |
Once you get the knack of setting up the schedules,
round robin events are easy to administer. You assign each team
a number and send out the schedule. After that, all you have to
do is receive the results and calculate the standings.
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| Championship |
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For a league with
eight teams, it is suggested that the Top 4 teams qualify for the
Championship. The Championship can be run using any of the following
formats:
A. Single Knock Out Format
In this format, the top team plays the 4th best team and the 2nd
best team plays the 3rd best team. (This is also known as the semi-finals
phase.) The winners play each other for the Championship. A variation
of this format is the twice-to beat privilege. for the top 2 teams.
This means that the top two teams just have to beat their opponents
once while the 3rd and 4th teams have to beat the top two teams
twice. Figure 1 illustrates a single knock-out chart:
B. Step-Ladder Format
In this format, the top team plays for waiting. This means that
the top team gets two “byes” while the 2nd best team
gets one “bye”. The 4th best team plays the 3rd best
team with the winner playing the 2nd best team. The winner of this
match goes on to play the top team for the Championship. Figure
2 illustrates a step-ladder chart:
For a league with more than eight
teams, it is possible to have the Top 6 teams qualify for the Championship.
The Championship can be run using the following format:
A. Single Knock Out with Play-off Format
In this format, the 3rd best team will play the 6th best team and
the 4th best team will play the 5th best team. (This is also known
as the play-offs phase.) The top team will play the winner of 3
versus 6 while the 2nd best team will play winner of 4 versus 5.
(This is also known as the semi-finals phase.) The winners of both
matches will play each other for the Championship. A variation is
that the top two teams could have the twice-to beat privilege. Figure
3 illustrates a single knock-out with play-off chart:
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| League Night |
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Most leagues are run
in the evening and since the league is run over a period of weeks,
the organizer can do anything he likes. The number of teams, boards
available and time are again the governing factors. The underlying
factor is that the players should enjoy the games.
Whichever match format you select, make sure that it is one that
will run quickly without a long wait between games, will be over
in three or four hours and will be one that the players enjoy. In
the final analysis, if you put together a poor format, you will
probably only have one or two teams because no one will show up
for the next league. |
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| Number of Games |
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It is recommended
that the there be nine to eleven games per night with a combination
of singles, doubles, triples and team games. Games could either
be best of one (single leg) or best of three. The maximum games
a player could play for the night could likewise be stipulated.
Again, this is up to the organizer. |
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| Points Allocation |
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There are numerous
variations of allotting points for the games. The most common system
is allotting points, depending on the type of game played. For instance,
four (4) pts for the team game, three (3) pts for the triples, two
(2) pts for each doubles game and one (1) pt for each singles game.
In this system, teams tend to focus more on the team and triples
games since these have more points. In so doing, teams have to “sacrifice”
the singles and doubles games so that they could put their best
players in the team and triples games.
It is therefore recommended that one (1) pt be allotted for each
game whether it is a singles, doubles, triples or a team game. In
so doing, the teams would no longer focus or concentrate more on
the team and the triples games. The matches now become a game of
strategy.
Below is an example of a league night with eleven (11) games per
match. All games are best of one (single leg). Games are as follows:
Game 1 : Team Game 1001 (minimum of 4 players and maximum
of 8 players)
Game 2 : Doubles 501
Games 3-5 : Singles 501
Games 6 : Doubles 501
Games 7-10 : Singles 501
Game 11 : Triples 701
• Each game is equivalent to one (1) point or one (1) win.
• A player can only play a maximum of two (2) singles, one
(1) doubles, one (1) triples and one (1) team game per match.
• First half is Games 1 to 5 and the second half is Games
6 to 11.
• Team captains will first list players for Games 1 to 5.
After Game 5, captains will list players for Games 6 to 11.
Below is another example of a league night with nine (9) games per
match. All games are best of one (single leg). Games are as follows:
Game 1 : Team Game 1001 (minimum of 4 players and maximum
of 6 players)
Game 2-5 : Doubles 501
Games 6 : Four-Man Team 701
Games 7-8 : Doubles 501
Game 9 : Team Game 1001 (minimum of 4 players and maximum
of 6 players)
• Each game is equivalent to one (1) point or one (1) win.
• For the doubles, a player will not be partnered twice with
another player and can only play a maximum of three (3) games per
match.
• First half is Games 1 to 5 and the second half is Games
6 to 9.
• Team captains will first list players for Games 1. After
Game 1, captains will list players for Games 2 to 5. After Game
5, captains will list players for Games 6 to 8. After Game 8, captains
will list players for Game 9.
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| Highlights
for the Night |
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It is also good
to take note of the highlights for the night such as T80’s,
high scores (T21 and up), high outs (T21 and up), double bull outs,
etc. These could be tabulated weekly so that the players are given
the proper recognition for their accomplishments. Should there be
special awards at the end of the league, the tabulated highlights
would serve as proof of these accomplishments. Furthermore, although
it is not a big factor, this could also help in determining the
Most Valuable Player of the league. |
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| Weekly Results
/ Tabulation |
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After each match,
the winning team captains are expected to send the score sheets
to the organizer for tabulation and posting of the weekly results,
standings and highlights. This would entail a lot of work on the
part of the organizer. First, the score sheets have to be collected.
Then, new standings are calculated. Finally, the scores, the current
standings and the schedule of the next matches are printed, posted
and distributed to the team captains. Hence, there is a need for
a statistician who shall accomplish all of these tasks. Examples
of Weekly Results Sheets are enclosed. |
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