Patrick Chaplin - Darts Historian

Thirty-Five Years of the BDO

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OF THE BRITISH DARTS ORGANISATION

The British Darts Organisation is proudly celebrating its 35^th Anniversary Year in 2008, having been founded in 1973 by Olly Croft, Sam Hawkins, and several other like-minded individuals, who went on to create and establish the leading governing body for darts in the world.

Today, the British Darts Organisation is celebrating the proud and rich history of the organisation it founded 35 years ago, and nowhere is this more clearly reflected than in its major televised Championships: The Winmau World Masters, the oldest major tournament in World Darts having been played since 1974, and the World Professional Darts Championship, created by the BDO in 1978, played annually ever since, and screened for thirty-one years on BBC TV.

These two Championships embody the true history of the sport of darts, and both titles are the most coveted and sought after in World Darts. Nothing means more to a darts player than being crowned Winmau World Master or Lakeside World Professional Darts Champion.

And fittingly, the 35^th year of the BDO heralds yet another new era for BDO darts with the emergence of two new young and exciting World Champions – 24 year old Mark Webster of Wales and 23 year old Russian sensation Anastasia Dobromyslova.

In January 2008, Mark became the third Welshman to be crowned World Professional Darts Champion and the first from North Wales. The late, great Leighton Rees won the inaugural World Pro in 1978, and then Richie Burnett returned it to the Welsh Valleys seventeen years later in 1995.

The modest left-hander from Denbigh is the new ‘Prince of Welsh Darts’ and not only represents the sport today, but also the future of darts. At such a young age he is already World No.1, and as well as his Lakeside title and many more besides, he’s also reigning World Darts Federation (WDF) Europe Cup and World Cup Singles Champion

Anastasia is the first-ever Russian to be crowned Women’s World Professional Darts Champion after ending the incredible seven-year unbeaten reign of England’s Trina Gulliver. As such, she is the new and exciting face of women’s darts and will undoubtedly enhance the BDO initiative to attract even more women into the sport of darts.

The BDO has always been supportive of Women’s Darts, and this has single-handedly succeeded in producing the high playing standards and prize money enjoyed by women darts players today. Only the BDO and WDF provide opportunities and a true stand-alone World Championship for women and that is a proud achievement with which to celebrate this 35^th Anniversary year.

The World Professional Darts Championship was established as the first-ever World Darts Championship in 1978 and, together with the World Masters, has been the catalyst for the worldwide popularity and growth of darts. Without doubt, it enjoys all the history and kudos of the premier Championship in World Darts, and as such has been an important part of BBC TV’s calendar of major world sporting events for over thirty years.

Its spiritual home has been Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green from 1986 right up to the present day. Just as Wimbledon is the home of tennis and The Crucible, Sheffield is the home of World Snooker, so Lakeside is now revered worldwide as the true Home of World Darts.

Indeed, the World Championships from Lakeside every January are recognised as the ‘shop window’ for the sport of darts worldwide. BBC TV Sport beams it to millions across the UK, and BBC Worldwide and Eurosport take it to a potential global audience of one hundred million. In addition, since 1998, Dutch TV station SBS-6 have shown live and recorded coverage throughout The Netherlands, and its success is the major reason for the growth of darts in Holland and Europe.

The BDO has always prided itself on innovation, and following its initiative of inviting women into the World Professional International Play-Offs in 1996, the first ever stand-alone Women’s World Professional Championship was introduced in 2001 and has been played as an integral part of the World Championships at Lakeside ever since.

A total of sixteen British World Professional Champions have been produced since 1978 and the BDO has reinforced the global kudos of the World Championship with overseas World Champions from Canada (John Part), Holland (Raymond Barneveld and Jelle Klaasen), Australia (Tony David) and most recently from Russia (Anastasia Dobromyslova).

Just as the BDO consistently provides opportunities for women players, so its youth policies ensure that the future of the sport is well looked after for the benefit of all. The BDO looks after both women and youth and places a great deal of importance on the introduction and nurturing of youngsters in the sport of darts. Every BDO county has a youth section for boys and girls and major tournaments like the Winmau World Masters are proud to annually produce Boys and Girls Masters Champions.

There has been a Boys Masters Champion every year since 1986 – the latest being Shaun Griffiths of England - and a Girls Masters Champion every year since 1999 – with the outstanding Welsh youngster Kimberley Lewis becoming the first ever player to hold the Girls Masters title for two consecutive years: 2006 and 2007. The BDO’s annual Young Player of the Year award also throws a valuable spotlight on the talented players who represent the future of darts. The 2006/2007 winners are Ross Smith and Kate Dando.

Then there is the annual British Teenage Open, the BDO British Youth Knockout Cup and, of course, the WDF Europe Cup Youth and the WDF World Cup. All are a major source of providing opportunities for young talent to progress at the highest competitive levels. As a prime example of this, in 2007, thirteen girl Champions and twenty-one boy Champions qualified from the BDO for the Winmau World Masters.

The 2007 BDO British Teenage Champion is Matthew Hannaford, the latest Welsh prodigy from Glamorgan, and the youngsters from Warwickshire won the 2007 BDO Inter-County Youth KO Cup.

Thirteen year-old Keegan Brown became the youngest England player to represent his county when he played for the Isle of Wight. Jamie Lewis was only twelve when he became the youngest Welsh player to represent his county and then went on to represent Wales in the WDF World Cup in Australia! Double Girls World Master Kimberley Lewis has also represented Wales at International level.

Such talent cannot be manufactured. It’s based on natural ability, but that ability has to be given opportunities, and that is what the BDO system is all about - recognising talent and ability from an early age and then encouraging and developing it. The proof was contained in the 2007 BDO England Open, in which seventeen year-old Andrew Foster of Cumbria won a cracking Youth final against another promising youngster, Simon Hartley. Most encouragingly, the number of entries for the England Open Youth event produced a very healthy fifty per cent increase on the previous year.

Initiatives like the BDO’s 18-25 Young Player Challenge, launched in 2006, have also been very successful in opening the door to another important age group. The take has been remarkable, with over 500 entries through the counties. The ultimate reward is entry to the International Play-Offs for the World Professional in Bridlington and with it the chance to get to Lakeside. It is another prime example of the BDO providing real opportunities for its players.

Creating and maintaining history for the sport of darts has become the role of the BDO on behalf of its players and officials, and one of its greatest achievements came on June 3^rd, 2005 when it achieved recognition for darts as a bona-fide sport with a unanimous agreement from the sports councils of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Because of this, the BDO is recognised as Britain’s leading darts organisation with over one thousand officials and a calendar that produces in excess of eight hundred darts events annually for all players, regardless of gender, age or ability.

Another major step forward for worldwide darts came In April 2007, when the World Darts Federation was accepted as a full member of GAISF (the General Association of International Sports Federations). The application by the WDF to this prestigious body was strongly supported by the BDO. Chairman Dave Alderman presented a powerful and professional application in Beijing, together with Roy Price, now President of the WDF.

The comprehensive application received an incredible 79% of the votes in favour, and the WDF is now recognised as the overall governing body for darts throughout the entire world.

The global membership of the WDF - now with more than sixty national darts bodies covering every Continent - and constant lobbying by the BDO now puts darts on the leading edge of Olympic eligibility status. Who could have predicted such an achievement thirty-five years ago? The growth of world darts continues with the addition of further countries to the WDF membership – the latest including Iran, Brunei, Korea, India, Pakistan and Turkey.

The WDF is now the world governing body for darts, and the BDO is firmly established as governing body for the sport of darts in Britain. As such it is fully committed to regulating, organising, promoting, staging, administrating and fostering darts nationally, internationally and worldwide for men, women, boys and girls to ensure the on-going growth of the sport for all participants.

The BDO represents darts from grass roots right through to national, international, world and professional levels. As such it is all-inclusive and totally representative of the whole sport of darts.

Over the years, the BDO has formulated the rules by which the sport is now governed, together with guidelines and policies on disciplinary procedures, doping, smoking, drinking and dress codes. Dave Alderman, now Chairman of the BDO, has played an important role in looking after and implementing BDO legislation, ensuring that rules and guidelines are not only kept up-to-date, but also adhered to for the good of the BDO, its players and the sport as a whole. Indeed, BDO rules and guidelines have been adopted on a global basis for the benefit of everyone who plays and enjoys competitive darts.

But most important of all, the BDO created the County system and with it thousands of organised darts events – including the majors - that have combined to create a world stage for darts and its players from national, international, world and professional levels.

And with the formation of International Teams for England, Scotland and Wales, the BDO has always been at the very forefront of International and World Darts.

British National Men’s teams have now won the WDF World Cup fourteen times since it was first played in 1977 and the WDF Europe Cup has been won thirteen times since 1978. British National Women’s teams have won the WDF World Cup eight times since 1983 and the WDF Europe Cup eleven times since 1982.

As well as a variety of tournaments involving the national sides, the famous BDO British International Darts Championships for Men and Women have been played annually since 1979.

The ongoing programme of open, competitive darts for Men, Women and Youth, remains at the very heart of the BDO’s heritage, and in this its 35^th Anniversary Year as the premier darts organisation in the world, the BDO is proud that its success continues to go from strength to strength.

As founder member of the World Darts Federation in 1976, the BDO moved seamlessly onto the world stage for the benefit of its players, who have now enjoyed the challenge of the WDF World Cup bi-annually since 1977 and the WDF Europe Cup bi-annually since 1978. This means that BDO and WDF players are now enjoying their fourth decade of national, international, world and professional darts competition – which is a wonderful note on which to celebrate this anniversary year. It also means that the regulatory powers of the BDO, together with its rules, policies and procedures, have been adopted by the WDF and its membership.

So what is the secret of such a wonderful all-encompassing success story for the sport of darts?

“There is no secret, other than hard work and dedication”, says Olly Croft, managing director of BDO Enterprises and Secretary General of the WDF. “Way back in 1973 there was just a handful of people with an idea and an objective to bring organised darts to as many people as possible. Today, I am proud to say that we have achieved this, but we don’t sit back on our laurels as we continue to move forward in order to protect and promote our sport for all.

“This is the very ethos of the BDO. We are a darts ‘family’ which has subsequently become part of an even bigger world darts family through the WDF. That is our strength, and I feel proud when I look back to see how we’ve grown from a few individuals into a national and world organisation with thousands of members enjoying darts right around the world.

“Our aims and ambitions have not changed. We still promote darts for all players, regardless of gender, age or ability. As such, the BDO is run as a real sport for the people within it – be they players, officials, supporters or their families.

“BDO and WDF darts is fully inclusive of the ‘family’ ethic. It was founded on that principal, and I am delighted to say that it remains that way today”.

But away from the major events, and complementing them perfectly, is the British Inter-Counties system for Men, Women and Youth which is the envy of the darts playing world. And of course the BDO has its own London headquarters from where the administration of the sport takes place on a daily basis.

Thirty five years after being founded, the BDO is now proudly recognised and respected across the globe and deals with all darts matters, be they local, national or worldwide.

The BDO website is professionally administered and so comprehensive in content that it received hundreds of thousands of hits every day of the week. During the 2008 Lakeside World Professional the daily hits reached almost one-million!

From a front room in Muswell Hill to sports recognition and the possibility of Olympic status for darts in the not too distant future, are wonderful achievements for the BDO to celebrate in its 35^th anniversary year!

Then there are the honours: An MBE for Eric Bristow in 1986 and more recently, the richly earned OBE for BDO founder Olly Croft in 2004. Both reflect the esteem in which the BDO and its players are held in an official capacity. Indeed, after 35 years of transforming darts from a largely pub/club based activity into a professionally run and administered world sport, the BDO has been - and still is - at the very forefront of maintaining its mission statement of providing darts for all.

“Incredibly, despite the many changes in social values, I am delighted to say that the very loyalties and family values on which the BDO was founded in 1973, are still as strong today as they were then”, adds Olly Croft. “These family values permeate the BDO Counties and WDF Countries, and then carry on right through to our major events nationally, internationally and worldwide.

“We are rightly proud of our long association with BBC Television, but it was the BDO who had the vision to promote darts as an exciting and extremely popular televised sport on terrestrial TV, and later satellite and cable TV. We were the front-runners for televised darts on a mass scale, and the TV companies quickly recognised that the excitement and skill of our sport and its players was a huge ratings winner.

“The late 70s and 80s produced wall-to-wall televised darts from the BDO. Darts was on practically every channel every week. In fact, we enjoyed such massive coverage on both BBC and ITV that I can remember having to literally fight off the TV companies! They simply couldn’t get enough of our product or our players, and BDO darts became hugely popular.

“Over the years, BDO darts have been seen on BBC, ITV, Sky, Eurosport, BBC Choice, and cable/satellite providers. Not forgetting, of course, SBS-6 in The Netherlands and BBC Worldwide, who sell the World Championship and the World Masters to a potential global TV audience of one hundred million!

“My love for darts knows no boundaries and I have devoted my entire life and that of my family, to this wonderful sport and the people within it – players, officials, supporters and broadcasters alike - my ongoing wish is that we all continue to work together to ensure that our positive policies continue to benefit everyone within the BDO.

“What more can I add, other than offering sincere best wishes to all of the players – Men, Women and Youth - our dedicated officials, administrators, sponsors, broadcasters and supporters for making it all possible.”

Finally, Darts World magazine was founded shortly after the BDO came into existence and it is no surprise that both Darts World and the BDO have continued to grow and flourish together over the last thirty-five years. The very fact that they continue to play vitally important roles in promoting the great sport of darts is the perfect way in which to say ‘Happy 35^th Anniversary British Darts Organisation’.

Press release issued by Robert Holmes in early 2008.

Historian’s Note:

Congratulations are indeed due to the BDO on its 35^th anniversary.

Without the BDO there would have been no darts ‘boom’ in the 1970s and without someone like Olly Croft at the helm, ably assisted by the likes of Sam Hawkins and many others, darts would not have been dragged kicking and screaming into the twentieth century. The sport of darts owes the BDO a great deal.

As a historian I wish that Olly Croft would sit down and write the complete history of the BDO from his perspective. Olly told me at Bridlington last year that he was a ‘doer not a writer’ - and I know that - but I honestly think the work needs to be done, and sooner rather than later, otherwise others (possibly outside of the BDO) will write the history without him and upon his retirement or demise, his version will be gone forever. Perhaps he could start the work now and publish the Complete History of the British Darts Organisation in celebration of the organisation’s 50^th Anniversary.

However, one important issue, relating to the above celebratory press release needs to be addressed. Contrary to what is stated above, Darts World magazine was not founded ‘shortly after the BDO came into existence’ in 1973. The first issue of Darts World appeared in newsagents a good few months earlier and was dated November/December 1972. (This was in fact corrected by Tony Wood, editor of the magazine, in the March issue of Darts World, page 48.)

Interestingly enough, the lead article of Issue 1 was by John Ross, darts player and organiser for more than forty years and then Chairman of the National Darts Association of Great Britain (NDAGB) and was entitled ‘My ambitions for the future.’ In the article John outlined his hopes for the future; that darts would be ‘recognised by the public, by the Press and by television as the major sport that it is’. He stated that the NDAGB would ‘play its full part in the hopeful future ahead’ and urged counties who were not affiliated to the NDAGB to forget past differences’ and help ‘strengthen the organisation’ which in turn would allow them to ‘achieve all our ambitions’.

All that John had hoped for – and much, much more – was achieved but not by the NDAGB. Why this was the case is unclear from Darts World. This is only one matter of historical importance that could be clarified in an early chapter of Olly’s Complete History of the British Darts Organisation.