ASBA Point Competition

by The American Sport Blowgun Association (ASBA) 

Copyright @ 2006  Bruce Bell

The ASBA's website has some great targets and scoring pads available for a free download. 
 

I. Competition Area Setup

1. Adequate safety precautions must be taken so that no one can pass behind the target area while shooting is underway. 

2. The target is mounted to a backstop so that the center is positioned 63" (~160 cm.) above the ground or floor of the competition area.

3. For shooters in a wheelchair, the target height above the ground or floor is to be 49" (~125 cm) at the center of the target.

4. The distance to the target is 11 yards or 33 feet.  (Note that this is further than the IFA standard of 10 meters by 2.3".)

5. A toe or foul line is placed at the specified distance of 33 feet. 

II. The Target

1. The target is one of the 2 standard competition targets, one of which has a center highlight square for greater focus.   

2. The dimensions of the scoring areas are: a 6 cm. circle in the center, which is colored yellow and is worth 7 points; a 12 cm. ring that encompasses a red area worth 5 points and an outer 18 cm. ring that encompasses a light blue or cyan colored area worth 3 points.

III. The Equipment

1. The maximum allowed length of blowguns in competition is 48". 

2. The blowgun caliber shall not exceed .625. (Note that this rule differs from the International Fukiya Association (IFA) where there is no limit on the blowgun caliber)

3. No rear-mounted (mouthpiece-side) sights, no light-emitting sights, no barrel handles or other supports are permitted

4. Commercially produced (plastic) cone and (metal) wire target darts are to be used; no spear-head, broad-head or other types of darts are permitted with the exception of hand made Fukiya-style film/paper darts and the bamboo-shafted .625 target darts.  The Fukiya-style darts and .625 bamboo-shafted target darts will require the use of metal rings as separators between the scoring areas* or the use of the newly designed "Wide-Line" target.  This is due to their larger impact holes which would otherwise provide an advantage over the smaller caliber wire shafts.

IV. Game Play

1. Players will shoot 5 darts per round and 6 rounds per game, for a total of 30 darts.

2. Players may shoot one practice round of 5 darts only before the competition commences. (This rule differs from the IFA where only 3 "practice" darts are permitted before the competition.  The FSBA allows 5 darts.)

3. There is a time limit of 3 minutes per round and 25 minutes per game. 

4. Once the time has expired during either a round or the game, any darts that have not yet been shot are counted as zero (0).

5. While shooting, the competitors may not cross the foul line with their feet. 

6. The arms of the player may extend above and over the line along with the blowgun, but not their feet. 

7. Score keepers should watch the players while they are shooting and should alert them as soon as possible if they have crossed the foul line while shooting.

8. If a player's foot is seen to be over the line at any time while shooting, any shots made up to that time during the round are disqualified and count as zero points (unless it is clear that only a single dart had been shot before stopping the player). 

9. If it is determined that only a single dart was shot while the foul line was crossed, that dart counts as zero points if it can be identified which dart was shot.

10. If the single dart that was shot while the player was over the foul line cannot be identified, then one of the highest dart values is negated.

(Rules 7 - 10 listed above do not appear to be addressed by the FSBA or IFA at this time)

11. If a dart rebounds off of the target face or another dart, the player may shoot another dart in its place.

12. If a player accidentally loads more than a single dart into the barrel and shoots, each dart will count individually in points and towards the 5-dart limit for the round.  (This rule differs from the IFA, but is comparable to the FSBA )

13. If a dart slips out of the barrel before it is shot, the player may retrieve it as long as they do not cross the foul line with their feet.  They can pick up the dart by hand or use the blowgun to move the dart within their reach.  If they are unable to retrieve the dart in either manner, it will count as zero points.

14. If someone exceeds the 5-dart limit for a round, the excess number of darts is negated on the score sheet, starting from the highest point value and working downward from there.

15. During each round, the players will wait until all of the shooters have finished before advancing towards the target to check the scores.  This is a courtesy to avoid distracting the other players.

V. Scoring

1. Each player is to be paired with an individual score keeper if possible. 

2. Both the player and the score keeper will advance towards the target once a round of shooting has completed. 

3. The player will announce the number of  7s, 5s, 3s and 0s.

4. The score keeper will confirm, and then record the count of each on the score sheet. 

5. If there is any dispute, a third party is brought in (preferably a referee for the event) to judge the value of the dart(s) in question. 

6. The decision of the third party or referee is final.

7. If a dart lands in such a way that it breaks the dividing line (not just touches the line) between the scoring areas, the higher point value is awarded.

8. If one or more darts puncture the tail cone of a dart that is already in the target (an action known as a "Robin Hood"), they are valued the same as the dart that they puncture.  That is regardless of whether they are able to pierce the target face in a different scoring area.

9. Once the scoring has been confirmed and/or judged to be final, the darts may be removed. 

10. The shooting resumes for the next round once all of the players return past the foul line.

Tie Breaking in Competition for the Purpose of Determining Finalists

1. In the event of a tie score at any of the award levels in a competition, the highest count of darts in each scoring zone will determine the winner, in order of sevens first, then fives and then threes.

2. If the high score is tied and the count of darts in each scoring zone is identical, the next highest scores are used to determine the winner.

3. If the next highest scores are also tied, the highest count of darts is used once again in the same manner to determine the winner.

4. This method is continued through the remainder of games in the competition until a winner is determined.

5. In the unlikely event that two or more players have scored identical games with identical counts of darts in each scoring zone, a "sudden death" round ensues.

6. Sudden Death: Each player will shoot on separate targets, one dart each at a time.  Scores are reviewed after each dart to see if anyone has scored higher.  If someone scores a lesser dart than their opponent(s), they are eliminated and cannot continue.  The last remaining player after all of the other opponents are eliminated is then considered the winner of that level in the competition.

(Note: Tie Breaking rules 2-6 differ from FSBA and IFA methods at this time.  Rule 1 is comparable to the FSBA, but not the IFA.)

VI. Ranking System and Rules

The ASBA requires a minimum of three (3) scores within or beyond each scoring range for the attainment of the ranking levels indicated below.  The only exception is a single score of 210 for the Master 4 level.  This is consistent with what the France Sport Blowgun Association (FSBA) is doing at the time of this writing.  The FSBA and IFA however, are using different naming designations for the ranks that the ASBA defines as Master 1 - Master 4.  Their comparable ranks are known as Titanium, Platinum, Diamond and Perfect.  The point values are identical for each organization however.  The ASBA, has an additional level known as "Grand Master" as a forward-looking measure with the hopes that some day more people will have the skill required to complete such an achievement.  The ASBA has approved a rule allowing the skipping of ranks/levels.

Rank/Level                                                       Title Scoring

(Note that 201 and 209 are shown only as top ends of each respective range.  It is not actually possible to make those scores with our point system.  It is also impossible to score a 205 or 207.)