As we wrap up our first season of the Tournament Circuit, we wanted to provide some updates to the rules & approach based on great feedback from the community & observations we have made.
We ask that if you have feedback or ideas, please be sure to send your thoughts to [email protected].
Before we announce the updates, WATL and the WATL Council would like to take the time to thank some of the community members that helped us in the creation of this 2021 Spring Quarterly update. Particularly Ryan Smit, David Lewis, Tyler Flynn, Will Gelatko, Nick Guthrie, Anthony Szymkowiak, and the many others who contacted us directly for rules suggestions and feedback:
Gameplay Updates
Calling The Kill Shot:
- In the event of a stalemate caused by throwers refusing to call the Kill Shot first, this will be solved by a coin toss.
- The winner of the coin toss will choose who will call first.
Confirming Previous Kill Shots:
Judges should remind throwers on which Kill Shot they threw on, if the kill shot is hit during previous attempt(s), so the throwers know which kill shot is open.
It is also recommended that players confirm with the Judge, what the Kill Shot is open for subsequent throws when a previous kill shot is hit.
Target Updates
Starting Target
- Starting targets will be determined by the random selection initially made by the app.
End Grain
- End Grain wood is permitted for WATL targets as long as all proper measurements are followed as per Section I. Target Design
Proper Lighting
- WATL requires proper lighting insofar as boards can be seen clearly from behind the throwers.
- As per Section, I Target Design. viii: Projected Targets are not WATL compliant.
Securing Boards
- Boards all must be individually secured and not able to slide or lift off from the target during Competition.
Tournament Updates
Qualifying with Multiple Duals Teams
- When WATL announces that a player has earned a bid for a WATL sanctioned tournament with multiple duals teams, the player must notify WATL via [email protected] within 2 business days to declare their official team that will be receiving the bid. All other teams which the qualified player is a member of will not be eligible for a bid.
- Failure to communicate with WATL regarding official teams will result in a disqualification for all teams in which the player is a member.
Please note that circuit points are tied to a Duals team, not the individual players of the team.
Tournament Tiebreakers
For WATL sanctioned tournaments, bracket tiebreakers will be determined by the average bullseye hit percentage in the tournament.
- For example, in a tournament, if players A & B are tied in 5th and 6th place, the Player with the highest average bullseye percentage hit will be in 5th place and the subsequent player will be in 6th place.
- Duals bracket tiebreakers will be based on the total Duals team average bullseye hit percentage. Not the individual players in a team.
Circuit Points
Declaring Circuit Points
Instead of players declaring their desired league, players will be automatically assigned to the league that gives them the most Circuit Points.
Seasonal/Marathon League Points
League 1st Place (week 8 tournament) – 50 Points
League 2nd Place (week 8 tournament) – 25 Points
League Participation – 5 Points
Circuit points for sanctioned leagues will be capped at a maximum of 55 total points per season. (Points awarded for leaderboard standings are based on one league per thrower and the points are awarded separately from what is described below.)
Example 1: One player participates in two leagues – one regular league and one marathon league. They earn 1st place in the regular league, so they earn 50 (1st place) + 5 (participation) circuit points. They do not place 1st or 2nd in the marathon league, so they earn 5 (participation) circuit points. Their circuit point total for the season is 60, but the official cap is 55, so they earn 55 total circuit points.
Example 2: A player participates in two regular leagues. They place 2nd in one league, so they earn 25 (2nd place) + 5 (participation) circuit points. They do not place 1st or 2nd in the other league, so they earn 5 (participation) circuit points. Their circuit point total for the season is 35 total circuit points.
Example 3: A player participates in two regular league and one marathon league. They do not place 1st or 2nd in any of the leagues, so they earn 5 (participation) circuit points per league. Their circuit point total for the season is 15 total circuit points.
Locking Regions
Players will not be permitted to travel to another region to throw in Regional Tournaments. Players must participate in a regional tournament within the region their official league is located in or the region where the thrower resides; whichever region is closer to their residence.
- For example, if Player A lives in Syracuse but plays in a Marathon League in Orlando as their official league, they must participate in the Regional Tournament that contains the city of Syracuse
Exceptions
- An exception will be made if another Regional Tournament is geographically closer to a throwers home residence.
- If a thrower’s region does not host a discipline that a participant desires to participate in, the thrower must travel to the next geographically closest Regional Tournament which provides that discipline.
Breaking either of these rules will result in a loss of any Circuit Points gained from participating in the Regional Tournament where the infraction occurred.
Altering Regions Due To Ongoing Border Closure
The indefinite border closure between the United States and Canada has forced the WATL to temporarily redraw the Region map. These changes will be effective immediately will remain in place until cross-border travel is widely accessible again. These changes will be reassessed at the beginning of each Season.
The changes are reflected on the map and are as follows:
Canada
Canada will be divided into two parts:
West Canada: BC, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan
East Canada: Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada
The United States
Pacific will become: California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Alaska
East will now include: Michigan, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island
The WATL would like to stress that these measures are temporary and these measures will be repealed after the border reopens.
Please note: For those who earn a regional spot in a tournament that is reverted back to the original regions (West Canada or East Canada). Those regional placements will still be honoured for tournament bids.
Click below for a full list of rules
The WKTL Season is starting in Summer 2021
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