Rules and Format of SpeedDart (Updated 13th November 2023)

SpeedDart Rules (Updated 19 April 2024)

 

 

 

 

 

Official Rules and Regulations may be updated frequently. Major updates occur annually,

 

 

by calendar year. Minor updates may occur throughout the year.

 

 

Official Rules and Regulations may vary slightly by global region/partner.

 

 

 

1          Game Summary

  • Two teams will compete to gain the most points in a match by player tags and pressing the opposing team’s buzzer
  • Teams consist of 5 players, with 2 additional alternate players
  • Each match consists of 3 rounds.
    • Each round in a match will last no more than 3 minutes
    • Rounds will end when 3 minutes elapse, or by pressing the opposing team’s buzzer and sounding the alarm.
    • Teams will have 2 minutes between rounds prepare for the next round.
  • Points will be tallied at the end of each round and added to the teams overall score of the event.
    • Please see Article 2 for Tournament Format as scores will not be tracked for Double Elimination.
  • There are no respawns during a round, players must wait until the start of the next round after being tagged out.

The organizer may hold the tournament in the following formats: double elimination, or round robin depending on the number of teams and time available.

 

2          TOURNAMENTS

2.1       Tournament Format

A tournament may be held in the following formats: double elimination tournament, or round robin depending on the number of teams and time available. Multiple game formats may also be used in a tournament.

 

2.2       Double Elimination

  • The Double Elimination Tournament is a format in which teams ceases to be eligible to win the championship upon having lost two matches.
  • Matches for the Double Elimination Tournament will be, most points achieved in 3 rounds wins the match.
  • Points do not carry over from match to match.

 

2.3       Round Robin

  • The Round Robin Tournament is where teams play one another an equal number of times, accumulating points
  • Matches for the Round Robin Tournament will consist of 3 rounds
  • Teams’ placing will be determined by the number of points achieved throughout the event.
  • The organiser may announce a Playoff between the top scoring teams at the beginning of the tournament.
    • Best of Playoff
      • Points accumulated during the Round Robin is discarded for the Playoff.
      • The Playoff is a single elimination format where the 3rd and 4th placed teams will compete for third place, and the 1st and 2nd place teams will compete for the championship
      • A Playoff is not a requirement for the Round Robin Tournament, and it is at the discretion of the organiser.

 

3          MATCHES

3.1       Match Sequence

  • Each team starts at their designated breakout grid/home base. All blaster barrels must be physically touching or pointed towards the breakout grid/home base. 1 foot of each player is required to be inside or touching the breakout grid.
  • Players must stay within the boundaries of the field until they are either tagged out, they press the opposing team’s buzzer, or the time ends for that match.
    • Any step taken out of bounds will be considered a “tag” of said player
    • Shots taken while out of bounds are not counted.
  • Each player Is allowed to start round with a max of 60 darts.
    • After a round Is started, a player may carry more than 60 darts.
    • Players can scavenge darts.
    • Darts, Blasters, Gear, Mags etc… can be shared during rounds with active team members on the field.
  • Lead official will provide pre-game ready alert to both teams
  • Lead official will start the round by pressing the countdown buzzer
    • The countdown buzzer will begin to sound and will consist of 5 short beeps followed by 1 long beep.
    • Players may engage the round at the start of the long beep.
  • Players must use their blasters to tag opposing team members to remove them from active play for the remainder of that round.
  • Tagged players will immediately move off the field to the nearest boundary and signify being out of play by raising a hand and holding it above their head until they are off the field.
    • Players CANNOT verbally announce that they have been tagged.
    • Any Darts, Blasters, Gear, Mags etc… being carried at the time the player is tagged, cannot be passed to another player or dropped after the player is tagged. The player must carry the aforementioned items with them off the field.
  • Any dart that was fired before an active player was tagged out is still in play, and any dart fired after a player was tagged out is not counted.
  • When opponent's buzzer is pressed with alarm sounded to signal end game. If opponent buzzer is not pressed with match duration timer runs out, it will be a draw game and any points achieved from tags will be added to the final score.
  • When each round ends, teams are given 2 minutes to prepare for next round. Teams are allowed to swap equipment, mags, reload, substitute player/s, etc. during break

 

3.2       Player Loadout

  • Each player is allowed up to 2 blasters on themselves per game.
  • Players are allowed to place spare blasters or magazines in their designated breakout grid/home base. However, blasters must always be on the players and not allowed to be put down on the field. Players may not step out of bounds to retrieve them.
  • Spare blasters and magazines in the designated breakout grid / home base are not allowed to be retrieved during an active round.

3.3.1    Magazines & Darts

  • Each player Is allowed to start round with a max of 60 darts.
    • After a round Is started, a player may carry more than 60 darts.
  • Players can reload/swap magazines in between rounds.
  • Only half-length and full-length darts with soft tips are allowed.
  • Darts with hard tips are strictly prohibited. This includes darts with 3D printed dart tips and self-modified dart tips.
  • Bodies of darts must be made of foam material. Darts with bodies made of other material is not allowed
  • Commercially available glow-in-the-dark darts are allowed.

 

3.3.2    Blasters

  • Each player may register 3 blasters per event.
    • Those blasters may be used by anyone on their team.
  • A spring-loaded blaster may be manually actuated, or battery powered.
  • A blaster may also be a motorized flywheel
  • HPA - This is category of blaster is allowed only in the specific country/region where such blaster is

allowed in accordance with local laws, and/or at the discretion of local host

  • Recommend FPS cap is at 250fps. However, organizers can set their cap at their discretion based on location/environment and player demographic
  • Blasters will be chronographed before the start of the event.
  • Randomized checks on blaster fps may be done anytime during the tournament.
  • Modification of blaster to increase fps after initially chronographed may result in disqualification of the entire team for the tournament.

 

3.3.3    Other equipment/accessories

  • Assisted RDS, Scopes, etc. are allowed and must be always mounted on the blaster
  • SCAR, BCAR, and other similar projectile assisted device is allowed and must be always mounted on blaster.
  • Holster, Slings, mag pouch, tactical gear are allowed
  • Helmets and other headgears are allowed
  • Recording equipment are allowed but must all recorded media must be submitted to SpeedDart International for archival / marketing purposes
  • Flashlights are allowed, but subject to global region/partner approval
  • Tracers are mandatory to assist referees to manage hits on the field

3.3.4    Prohibited equipment

  • Shields are not allowed
  • Melee weapons are not allowed

 

3.4       Substitutions

  • Each team is allowed up to 2 additional players
  • Substitutions are allowed between each game
  • Subs must be registered for the events and on team active roster
  • It is not allowed to make substitutions for a player that has been disqualified during a match. Substitutions due to disqualification can only be made after all games in the match are played.
  • Substitutions due to injury is only allowed after the game has ended during the 2 minute preparation time in between games.

 

3.5       Spectators

  • All spectators, team members, coaches, managers, are not allowed to speak to, prompt or give instructions/direction to the teams playing
  • All non-competing players and spectators must stay in the designated areas
  • There will be designated player holding area, set away from spectators’ area
  • Only Team members, coaches/managers are allowed in team holding area

 

 

4       SCORING

Tournaments may be run in format: double elimination, or round robin.

 

4.1      

 

ACTION

POINTS

REMARKS

Opponents Buzzer Pressed

3 points

First team to press the opponent’s buzzer with an in-play player collects 3 points

Opponent Player Eliminated

1 point

A player is eliminated when he is tagged out by an in-play  opponent player

           

 

4.2      Definition of Tag

  • Any bodily contact with a dart fired from a blaster is considered a tag. This includes any part of the bodily gear or equipment (e.g. Blaster, Scopes, tactical gears, scopes, attachments, belts, holsters, slings, recording equipment, etc.)
  • Ricochets do not count as a tags
  • Friendly fire counts as a tag
  • If opposing players shoot each other in game at same time, both players are eliminated.
  • No minimum engagement distance, point blank will happen! No verbal hits calling (i.e. bang-bang...hit-hit..., etc.)
  • No melee kills, touching with limb or carrying blaster do not count as a hit.
  • Throwing darts at another player by hand or any other method other than using a blaster does not constitute as a tag.

 

4.3       TEAMS

  • Teams are made up of 5 players, with 2 more players allowed as substitutes. Each team are to elect a player as team captain.

 5         Clothing

  • All teams are recommended to wear the same theme/colorway/uniform/jerseys to be easily recognizable to the referees and spectators.
  • Protective gears, guards (elbow, knees, etc.), helmet, vest is allowed

 

6          Eye protection/goggle/facemask

  • Eye protection must be always worn by players/referees/other staff in the game area throughout the game duration.
  • It is strongly advised for players to wear full frontal face protection, like a goggle system or face mask manufactured for airsoft or paintball.
  • Eye protection/goggle/facemask must be always worn in the game area, chrony area, and test firing area.
  • No self-printed or self-made mask is allowed

 

7          Referees

  • Referees have a final say in calls
  • Players should not intervene with referee discussions.
  • Players should not wait for referees to make calls regarding tags. If a player is tagged, they should call themselves out and go to out of bounds. Intentionally not taking tags or waiting for a referee to make a call will result in penalties.
  • Any action, at the discretion of the referees, deemed to be cheating, unsafe, endangering, or harassing others will result in players being removed from the event and their team forfeiting their current match, or their next match if they are not currently playing.

 

For clarification of rules, do not hesitate to contact us at events@speeddartinternational.com