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The History of Darts
The Scope of the Sport
Darts must rank among the most popular of sports. Very few people have not thrown a dart at some time or other, and vast numbers play in pubs and clubs on a regular basis. Until recently, darts was basically a pub sport with one or two national competitions. Now, suddenly, it has become international, and it has become big business, too.
Although darts is part of the British folk heritage, we know surprisingly little of its history. Those famed English archers are supposed to have played a form of darts before defeating the French at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The Pilgrim Fathers are supposed to have thrown darts as they travelled to America on the Mayflower in 1620. Goodness knows how they managed it as their tiny boat was tossed about in the North Atlantic.
We even know little of darts in Victorian times. What we do know, is that darts is essentially a twentieth century sport. And, incidentally, all true enthusiasts will insist that it is a sport and not a pastime such as cards. The important point here is that darts requires both physical and mental skill. The physical skill is obvious: you need that to project the dart at the board. The mental skill may be less obvious. But if you are left on 108, finishing on a double how are you going to do it? Come on, quick! You cannot ask because that is against the rules. lf you dither you may lose your concentration. The best answer is treble twenty, single sixteen, double sixteen. If your first dart hits single twenty by mistake, all is not lost. You can still try for treble sixteen, double twenty.
A counting chart to help with your finishes appears in the technique section. And if you are writing that 108 finish in darts shorthand, you would write T20, 16, D16.
The Seventies Boom
The News of the World was for a long time unchallenged as the top darts tournament. It did not become a national event until 1948, which shows how young darts is as a big-time sport. The National Darts Association of Great Britain was formed in 1954 and for many years it ran annual national competitions. These included a six-a-side for the splendid lord Lonsdale Trophy.
However, darts did not boom until the late Sixties and early Seventies. One reason for this was a switch to a new type of dart, made of tungsten. This generated commercial activity and sponsorship. In 1973 the British Darts Organisation was formed and it channelled the darts boom out of the pubs and clubs and on to the television screen. Among other events, the BDO is responsible for a national league of some sixty counties, for big tournaments such as the British Open, for staging England matches and for staging major world events such as the annual World Masters. And, of course, all this activity has attracted the attention of television and the newspapers, publicity which keeps the sponsors happy.
In the Seventies darts became an international sport. And by 1985, for example, the calendar contained the fifth World Cup, held in Brisbane. Eighteen countries took part in the men's event, and a further eighteen in the women's. Participants included Canada, England, Finland, France, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and West Germany. At the time there were more than thirty members of the World Darts Federation but a number of them were unable to make the long and costly trip to Australia.
Early in 2000, the most important event in darts, the Embassy World Professional Championship, took place in England, with extensive television coverage. Players from six nationalities made up the thirty-two strong field, and they were competing for prize money totalling ?2,500. After nine days play, one Englishman, Ted Hankey, beat another, Chris Mason. Truly, darts has joined the big league, and has become world wide.
The Professional Dartsman
So much prize money has come into darts that it is possible to become a professional player. A word of warning, however. Only the top half a dozen or so in the world can make a living from tournaments and exhibitions. An alternative way to make playing darts your job is to have the skill and personality to land a contract with a major darts manufacturer. That way you can visit all corners of the globe as an ambassador, company representative and player rolled into one. For the few who can make it, it must be a very pleasant way of life.
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