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    #26
    You have a dart board at work?

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      #27
      Well like I said, when we relocated at the end of last year, some bright spark had the idea we needed to be a modern workplace to keep the millennials from getting too bored. So in came a ping-pong table, fussball table and the board. The principle is these are only used before or after hours and at lunchtimes although this does seem to flex somewhat. As a member of the Management Team I have to make my arrows few and far between, generally before and after the working day.

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        #28
        We also have a dartboard at work, I spend at least half-hour on it every lunchtime. I seem to be the only one though.

        The worst thing about it is that it's immovable so I have to ask facilities to rotate it - this would be ok if they rotated it properly. The last time they did it they made the 20 the white and green segments and not black and red. It took me ages to get used to it and I still throw for the wrong number sometimes out of habit (say I need a T15 I'll instinctively aim at the T10 for example).

        Regarding changing scoring area - I'm a stickler for the T20 and will stay on it even when blocked. I have no doubt I've thrown darts away when I could have used a cover shot. I know a few players in my local leagues though who have always played on 19s (these are usually shorter players - I'm 5ft 7 and they tend to be shorted than me) and they absolutely batter people just through getting into their heads.

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          #29
          Well I'm 5'9" and a bit, and before leaving work I got 171 (without a witness sadly, apart from my iPhone camera) and not being a member of the 180 Club, that's my personal best, ever. Looks like this could become a habit, especially if it means I might get in people's heads!

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            #30
            I think what it does is confuse people - you're used to hearing people hit 60, 45, 100, 140, 125, etc... when you hear 57, 95, 117, it doesn't really register how well the guy is playing so you keep plugging at the 20s and you suddenly realise they're throwing for a double.

            It's quite unnerving - which is crucial in a game like darts which, in my view, is 80% mental and 20% skill.

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              #31
              The BDO World Professional Darts Championship is at Lakeside no more. After 34 years, the Worlds are moving to Indigo@O2 in London for the next 10 years.

              This is a massive thing because Lakeside Country Club is, to many (including myself), the home of World darts and things simply won't be the same. I understand the need to move it, Bob Potter (the owner) is not getting any younger and rumours are that he wants to start selling bits of it off to property developers. However, Lakeside have provided the £300k prize fund so it will be interesting to see what the BDO do here. They are known to struggle for sponsors (they still don't have one for the World Trophy which is on Eurosport in 3 and half weeks time) and the back up funds are starting to dwindle.

              In other news, the World Masters (now the One80 L-Style World Masters after Winmau pulled it's sponsorship at the end of it's contract in July) is being played at the first home of the PDC World Championships - The Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex. A 3 year deal has been agreed, with Eurosport also showing this event.

              This is crunch time for the BDO - failure to sell decent tickets for these events could see it disappearing into a black hole. Whilst the PDC is the cream, the BDO is amateur darts and if it was to go then there would be a lot of players with no system to play in.

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                #32
                Who's running the BDO now? Olly Croft used to run it out of his front room in Muswell Hill.

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                  #33
                  It's Des Jacklin now - he took over from Sue Williams last year.

                  He's the top dog in Lincolnshire darts. He splits opinion massively, mainly because he can't keep his mouth shut, but he's taken over a shitstorm and appears to slowly be turning it around.

                  With that being said, there have still been some disasters. Last week all 5 of the BDO's top referees resigned as one - with no formal reason being given. As I said before, there is still no sponsor for the World Darts Trophy and there's also, at present, no sponsor for the World Championships in January.

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                    #34
                    The PDC could do more for amateur players. I don't see why they can't do something similar to tennis and rugby union where they send tickets for the Worlds to darts 'clubs' so real players get a chance to see the pros rather than it being a massive jolly boys outing.

                    The system would be simple enough - they contact leagues around the country and offer affiliation for a fee. The fee could be nominal and covered by the entering darts teams. Each player becomes an amateur player member of the PDC. Through this they have access to tickets for the Worlds and other events. Going forward they could develop a system for players playing in the leagues to get points (if they were so inclined) for their actual darts performances and run competitions to suit for those who play in teams but don't want to do the events to get into 'Q school'.

                    The BDO hasn't moved with the times enough and is, sadly, being left behind. Should the BDO go it would be a good opportunity to pull everyone back together and move the game on further.

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                      #35
                      Originally posted by ingoldale View Post
                      The PDC could do more for amateur players. I don't see why they can't do something similar to tennis and rugby union where they send tickets for the Worlds to darts 'clubs' so real players get a chance to see the pros rather than it being a massive jolly boys outing.

                      The system would be simple enough - they contact leagues around the country and offer affiliation for a fee. The fee could be nominal and covered by the entering darts teams. Each player becomes an amateur player member of the PDC. Through this they have access to tickets for the Worlds and other events. Going forward they could develop a system for players playing in the leagues to get points (if they were so inclined) for their actual darts performances and run competitions to suit for those who play in teams but don't want to do the events to get into 'Q school'.

                      The BDO hasn't moved with the times enough and is, sadly, being left behind. Should the BDO go it would be a good opportunity to pull everyone back together and move the game on further.
                      They will never do this because the Jolly Boys Outing mob is exactly what Barry Hearn wants. He has no interest in the amateur game - it doesn't make money.

                      The other issue as well is that most leagues in the country are BDO affiliated. Pub leagues may not be officially, but they do follow BDO rules and, more often than not, the Super League in each county is filled with pub league players. The PDC may be a behemoth in the world of darts, but they still need to follow the Tomlin Order to some extent.

                      Regarding your points to avoid Q-School, they already have the Development and Challenge Tours. The Development is for any player up to the age of 24 (and over the age of 18 I believe) and the Challenge Tour is for players who don't qualify for a Tour Card at Q-School. To get on these tours you simply have to turn up for one day at Q-School, you can go out in the 1st round on the first day and then you are on the tour. Again, Hearn will never get rid of Q-School because, again, it's such a massive money spinner for the PDC. The winners of the Development and Challenge Tours win a tour card, and I think others do as well through making up the numbers in Pro Tour events and winning money to be added to the Order of Merit.

                      The BDO has it's place in darts and it is at the amateur end - they need to embrace this and, I think, slowly the penny is beginning to drop. In an interview last week Des Jacklin was honest about the fact they can't compete with the PDC, but they do have their place. They need to work it out though and do more to promote this aspect of the game.

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