Guisborough & District 5s&3s Domino League
LEAGUE RULES (Approved at League AGM 8 July 2014)
1. Following the League AGM, the League Secretary shall compile and issue a fixture list for the “A” and “B” League Competitions beginning on the first Thursday in September. Teams shall play each other on a home and away basis, with matches taking place on Thursday evenings, starting at 8.30 p.m. Home teams shall provide 3 match boards / double six sets of dominoes / peg (score) boards.
2. The League Secretary will add to the fixture list for the 1st round of each Cup Competition and the Individual / Pairs Competition and compile the proposed format for each Competition … i.e. straight knock-out / home & away / mini-league … taking account of the number of teams / players in the League to extend the season to the end of April.
2.1 The League Secretary shall organise the draw for each round of Competitions at the appropriate Monthly League Meetings. After the 1st Round for knock-out competitions, the team captains / player(s) drawn at home in subsequent rounds shall provide 3 potential fixture dates (maximum of 2 on the same week-days) to the away team captain / player(s) … who, after due consideration will confirm which date to accept. The League Secretary shall organise Finals Nights to accommodate the semi-finals and finals of each Competition.
3. Each Team shall be allowed to register a maximum of 12 players in their team squads (see rule 8 below)
3.1 Once a player has been registered / played for a Team, he/she cannot play for any other Team during the season – unless the Team that the player originally played for drops out of the League.
3.2 Any Team playing an ineligible player will forfeit that match to their opponents
4. Teams of 6 players shall be selected from team squads for each match. Team Captains shall draw 3 pairs from the players selected by the opposing teams to play three games against each other.
4.1 A Team must have a minimum of 4 players for the match to go ahead – player shortfalls shall be entered in the draw for the 3rd pair and the opposing team shall be automatically awarded the 3 points for that game.
5. After shuffling the dominoes, 3 dominoes shall be separated from the pack – one player from each pair draws a single domino and the nearest score to the remaining domino determines who ‘leads’ first. These dominoes are then returned and the dominoes reshuffled. Each player then draws 6 dominoes to make up their hand. The ‘down’ in subsequent ‘hands’ and the ‘lead’ in the 2nd and 3rd game shall rotate clockwise around the board.
5.1 The pair / player who has shuffled the dominoes shall allow their opponents to draw their dominoes first, the player who has shuffled shall draw his/her dominoes last.
6. When the open ends of the dominoes laid out add up to a multiple of three (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18) or five (5, 10, 15, 20) the player who makes such a play receives the number of points that each multiple can be applied (e.g. 3 = 1 pt, 6 = 2 pt, 9 = 3 pt, 12 = 4 pt, 18 = 6 pt, 5 = 1 pt, 10 = 2 pt, 20 = 4 pt) Plus, for open ends adding up to 15, the player receives 8 points as both multiples of three and five can be applied. A bonus point is awarded if the pair play out both hands (“chip out”). If the game is stopped without a pair “chipping out” all dominoes not played shall be shown to opponents. The game is won by the first pair to achieve exactly 61 points (i.e. if the final points scored, including bonus points take the pair’s total score in excess of 61 points, then these points will not count). The exact score of 61 points cannot be obtained direct from a player’s ‘down’.
6.1 If a marker is available to keep the score on the peg board, he /she must only respond when a player declares his/her score. The marker or any other spectator must not prompt a player and are not to interfere while the game is in play.
7. If any player makes a mistake during the game, it shall be deemed to be an honest mistake and no penalty shall be imposed. In the event of any dispute arising in a game (e.g. a difference of opinion on the rules / player accused of cheating, etc.) the Team Captains shall be called and shall attempt to resolve the situation taking into account the principles of fair play and sportsmanship. If agreement is reached, the game should continue and the final score shall stand. If agreement cannot be reached, that game should be abandoned and the problem referred to the League Secretary. … refer also to the attached schedule reflecting the outcome of rule amendment agreed at EGM dated 9th September 2012.
8. Each Team shall receive one match point for every game won, plus any Team winning a match with a maximum score 9 – 0 shall receive a bonus match point to make it 10 – 0. The Home Team Captain shall complete an official match result card - both Team Captains shall sign the card to confirm the result (unless there is a dispute that cannot be resolved) and deliver it to the League Secretary within 7 days. Teams failing to deliver the card within 7 days will be fined £1 and lose all match points gained in that match.
8.1 Players shall be registered as part of Team squads by being listed on match result cards.
9. Home teams shall normally provide after-match refreshments for League fixtures / mini-league fixtures / optionally for Cup fixtures.
10. The League Secretary shall keep a record and report all match results and compile League Tables / confirm Teams going forward into the next round of Cup competitions at League Meetings.
10.1 In the event of any Team dropping out of the League / being expelled from the League, all match points gained against this Team shall be deducted from League results / tables. Cup competitions – results for any Team dropping out of the League shall still stand / should any Team being expelled from the League have won a trophy, then that Team shall be disqualified and the Trophy awarded to the losing finalists.
11. Any team likely to arrive late for a match (9.30 p.m. at the latest) or be unable to fulfil a match fixture should notify the opposing team captain at the earliest opportunity. The team cancelling a fixture shall be responsible for taking the lead in re-arranging the fixture … at a date acceptable to the opposing team – within four weeks of the cancellation. The League Secretary should also be kept informed of this situation.
11.1 Any Team not notifying both the opposing Team Captain & League Secretary, giving adequate notice of cancellation, will be fined £5. Reimbursement of the cost of refreshments / travel unnecessarily incurred should also be offered by the offending Team. Any Team cancelling a match without good cause, i.e. adverse weather or other extenuating circumstances exist that are ratified by the Committee, may be expelled from the League.