Running Leagues is a cornerstone of running a successful WATL® Affiliated Venue. Through Leagues, throwers at affiliated venues will be able to compete on our Global Leaderboard and gain access to higher levels of competition. 

Regular Season

1. Each year is broken up into 4 official eight-week seasons with a break in between each season. 
2. Leagues must take place during the stated sanctioned season dates, released by WATL.
   1. WATL must be notified at least 2 weeks in advance, before the end of the season, of delays to the end of a season due to acts beyond the reasonable control of the venue.
3. The first 7 weeks are gameplay where players contribute towards their seasonal score.
4. Week 8 is reserved for the league playoffs to determine the local champion. (see Playoffs section below)
5. Each week in the league can be played any day you wish, but the week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.
   1. It is recommended that league be scheduled the same night every week to allow league players a way to set their personal schedules.
6. Each league week allows every participant 4 games. Refer to the Gameplay Rules for information on how the games are played.
7. How long a league runs each week depends on:
   1. the number of throwers that participate
   2. the number of lanes that are used
   3. the disciplines that are hosted
8. For larger leagues, it is recommended to break up league days and disciplines if possible, or add more lanes to a single league night.

Multiple Sanctioned Leagues

1. A WATL-affiliated venue may host more than one sanctioned league per season.
   1. Each additional league a venue hosts must meet the minimum requirements for throwers, not counting throwers that are participating in another league at the same location (not including Marathon League Throwers).
      1. Throwers already participating in another sanctioned league at the same venue do not count towards the minimums.
         1. Marathon leagues are excepted from this rule, and throwers participating in marathon leagues may also count towards a regular league minimum
2. Each additional league must include:
   1. Hatchet: 6 throwers
   2. Big Axe: 4 throwers
   3. Duals: 2 teams (4 throwers)
3. Throwers may participate in as many sanctioned leagues as they wish, but only one league per season will be considered for Circuit Points.
4. Throwers participating in multiple sanctioned leagues must use the same profile and Player ID to compete in all leagues.
   1. WATL is not responsible for Circuit Point issues from using multiple Player IDs
5. Circuit Points will automatically be assigned to the single league that gives the player the most Circuit Points.

Marathon Leagues

1. Marathon Leagues may be held anytime during a WATL® League Season
2. Venues may host a maximum of two Marathon Leagues per discipline in any given season.
3. A Marathon League is officially sanctioned as long as it meets the following requirements:
   1. A Marathon League is a league that is held, in its entirety, within 24 hours.
   2. Meets the minimum thrower requirements as outlined in Specifications section below
4. Players may compete in multiple sanctioned marathon leagues in the same season.
5. All rules about regular season play, playoffs, Circuit Points, and qualifying apply.

Playoffs

1. During the League Playoff (Week 8) tournament all league members will have the opportunity to participate in a single or double-elimination bracket (unless otherwise in violation of a venue’s attendance policy.)
   1. A single-elimination tournament means throwers are eliminated from the tournament after their first loss.
   2. A double-elimination tournament means throwers have to lose 2 matches before they are eliminated. 
2. Seeding is done using the total game wins from weeks 1 through 7.
   1. In the case of a tie for game wins the seeding will be based on the total points gained during weeks 1-7 between the two tied players.
3. It is a venue’s choice as to whether they run with a single game per match format or best 2/3 games per match.
   1. Regardless of the tournament format, the final Championship round(s) consist of the best of 2/3 games.
   2. The final Championship round is between the winner of the A bracket and the winner of the B bracket. If running a double-elimination tournament:
      1. The A bracket winner must only win 1 match (2/3 games) to win the Championship.
      2. The B bracket winner must beat the A bracket winner in two matches (best 2/3 games) for the B winner to win the Championship.
4. The Week 8 Playoff tournament is set up in the App using the league rules format. However, venues are able to set their own policy regarding Week 8 rules, since no Circuit Points are awarded based on Week 8 performance.
   1. It is highly recommended (though not required) that Advanced throwers continue to throw under Advanced rules
   2. Venues cannot require Amateurs to compete under Advanced rules in Week 8

Specifications

1. Official WATL leagues must have a minimum number of throwers to count:
   1. Hatchet: 6 throwers
   2. Big Axe: 4 throwers
   3. Duals: 2 teams (4 throwers)
2. Exclusive leagues, referring to any league that is not open to all throwers, can only be held as recreational leagues. This includes but is not limited to women-only, youth-only, and statistics-based leagues (above a certain average, Pro status, etc).
3. Throwers are required to complete at least 12 games to be counted toward league minimums.
   1. If official league requirements are not met, the league will be considered a recreational league and will not be eligible for Circuit Points. 
4. Throwers are limited to 8 no-contest (single-thrower) games each league season. If it is necessary to play more than 8 no-contest games per season due to extenuating circumstances, WATL must be via email for approval at [email protected].
   1. If a Thrower records more than 8 single thrower games in a single season, without the prior approval of WATL, all single games after the 8th will be scored an automatic 0. 
   2. Additionally, any individual found manually creating games that WATL deems excessive (i.e. playing against the same person more than could be accounted for by the random matchups in the WATL app) may be subject to disqualification of their scores in league, and nullification of any circuit points gained from that league.
5. Each Official league run by a venue is self-contained and may not be combined with other leagues.
   1. Throwers may only compete at the venue and league they are registered for.
   2. There will be no scores recorded outside of that league or venue for their single registered league.
6. All scores must be uploaded into the WATL App in real time and uploaded to the leaderboard.
   1. If connectivity issues occur, all scores must be uploaded to the WATL® App within 48 hours.
   2. If connectivity issues happen for more than 2 weeks in a given season, the venue must contact WATL for guidance.
7. Venues should create their absence policy in advance of each official season and communicate that policy to league members before the first league night.
8. If a thrower leaves before all their league night games are completed, it is at the venue’s discretion to:
   1. allow the player to make up the game the next league night they are in attendance
   2. award their opponent the win, and the thrower that left receives a 0 for each throw. The opponent will still throw the games for a score.
9. Throwers are allowed to make up any amount of missed games during regular league nights, but all games must be made up by week 7. Games that are not completed at the end of week 7 will not be recorded as played.
10. Any games that are pre-thrown, or made up, MUST be completed during the regular league night.
    1. Games CANNOT be pre-thrown, or made up, outside of the regular league day/time.
    2.  All games that are made up, or pre-thrown will be subject to the single thrower and manual game creation rules defined above.