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Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver
GOLDEN GIRL
The Autobiography of
The Greatest Ever Ladies' Dart Player
 This week
is an exciting time for darts publishing. For the first time ever a female darts
champion publishes her life story. Yes, the eagerly awaited autobiography by
multi-world champion Trina Gulliver titled Golden Girl – The Autobiography of
the Greatest Ever Ladies Darts Player is published on 7th
January by John Blake Publishing of London. As I have helped Trina to write her
unique book, it would be unfair for me to say any more. Therefore, here are some
reviews from other darts aficionados that I am sure will be of interest.
Patrick Chaplin
GOLDEN GIRL
Review by Sid Waddell
 One
thing stands out in ‘Golden Girl’, Trina Gulliver’s pacy and at times racy life
story; the lass hurled herself at a career in darts with a total Olympian
ideal. Trina craved the pure glory and the self fulfilment that becoming a
champion darter would bring. This attitude is admirable; in my experience the
male greats, from Alan Evans down to Phil Taylor, were always carefully watching
the cash flow as well as the gong collection. They were as proud as anyone in
their achievements, but were helped as television and sponsorship cash came
flowing in to bulk up the rewards of the early exhibition circuit and money
races.
Trina makes
plangent pleas for more money in the ladies’ game but in her heart I reckon she
knows the brutal truth; the men are at each other’s throats on the oche day in
day out and the standard and entertainment value have gone through the roof. The
furnace of ladies’ darts is not hot enough to provide great entertainment. Now
if there were 23 more Trinas on the go….
I particularly
enjoyed the vivid details of our heroine’s early steps in darts and woodwork.
At age two somebody stood her on a stool in her parents’ pub and she let fly at
a board. By the age of six she was fascinated by real hammers and nails when
other girls were preening Barbies. In her early teens she was making greenhouses
and chairs from gash bits of plywood. And what did this practical hand-arm
dexterity do? Same as it did for toilet chain handle maker Phil Taylor and
master joiner John Lowe – spawned a rare talent for controlling tungsten. Trina
did football and sprinting, and netball and javelin to county level, at school,
but admits openly that she had little time for books.
Now it was time for
another Trina talent – dogged determination. She got onto a work experience
course with a building firm and spent hours tea-making and doing ‘miles of
priming’. At woodwork classes at college she got ribbed by some lads and clocked
one bloke quite severely. After three years she qualified as a carpenter/joiner
with flying colours. All this is told in jaunty style and with humour. It is
very reminiscent of Bobby George’s colourful account of his time as a
tunnel-digger, builder and bouncer in his book. For instance, Trina is allergic
to certain kinds of wood and comes out in rashes when handling it. Nice career
choice, love!
The fortitude is
highlighted by her account of playing darts, working 12-hour shifts humping and
working wood and caring for her partner Gully when he got Guillain-Barre
syndrome and had to be lifted about the house. The disease struck when Trina
was only 19 and Gully was still in a wheelchair on her 21st birthday.
From 1988 Trina was
a top darter. She played county darts for Warwickshire and was capped by England
in 1994. But that was not enough. She played Super League darts against men and
won her first four matches. Then it was off on the road with Kevin Painter and
Martin Fitzmaurice on the ‘Beauties and the Beast Tour’ (Answers on a postcard…)
with Trina knocking up the stage setting in her shed!
And did she have
fun while conquering the world of women’s darts. At her wedding to Gully in
1994, her dad took his false teeth out before making his speech ‘in case they
fall out when I get emotional’. And accounts of boozy nights with other top
lady players make lively reading. One mammoth session on ‘Orgasms’ (Cointreau,
Baileys and Tia Maria – even Jocky would have poured that down the netty)
matches any of the great beerfest stories of the men’s game in the 1980s.
Trina’s account of
her seven Ladies World Championship wins is fascinating as is her pride in
coming 12th out of 20 male players in the 2001 Pentathlon. And even her beef
against all the money and publicity the blokes get is leavened with humour. At
the 2001 Lakeside world championship a female streaker got more publicity than
she did as the champ and she took it on the chin.
That’s darts/show
biz.
Overall, Golden
Girl is a funny, inspiring look at a classy sassy lassie in a bloke’s world. We
all appreciate her talent, and after this read, I for one, really dig her style.
Sid Waddell - January 2008
The “Golden Girl” - Dartoid's
Review
I don’t know
Trina Gulliver but if we ever meet she’ll probably punch me in the head and
knock me out (something she once did in school to a lad who slagged her off)
after she reads the first few paragraphs of this!
I’ve just
flipped the final page of Gulliver’s 309-page manuscript, co-authored by Doctor
of Darts Patrick Chaplin. Scheduled to be released by John Blake Publishing of
London in
just days to coincide with Gulliver’s quest for an unprecedented eighth world
championship at Lakeside, “The Golden Girl – The Autobiography of the World’s
Greatest Ever Ladies’ Darts Player” offers something for all darts enthusiasts,
particularly any female who aspires to darts greatness, and randy males.
For members
of the male persuasion, of which I include myself (even though my wife painted
one of my toenails red over the holiday), the book is full of distractions. But
this is a good thing. Managing distractions is just as important when reading
about darts as it is while trying to keep ‘em straight.
In the
“Golden Girl” the distractions begin early and just keep coming. There’s the
part about the “Orgasm” Gulliver had at the World Cup in Perth. There’s the
part about when she dropped her pants in front of Kevin Painter and Martin
Fitzmaurice. There are her intimations that she longs to snog rugby star Jonny
Wilkinson. And most distracting of all, there’s the part where she exclaims “My
God. Yes! Yes! Yes!” after a particularly significant occasion.
So to all
you male darts people out there who may think that plunking down cash for a book
about our sport written by a woman is beneath you I encourage you to go out and
buy it now. I guarantee you’ll have no problem “keepin’ it straight” while
turning the pages.
Seriously,
this book is a must-read for anyone of any gender and any darts skill level.
Moreover, the trials and tribulations and the determination and perseverance
that led, and sometimes haunted, Gulliver’s journey to the apex of her
profession hold a lesson for all of us, inside and outside the sport of darts.
Success did
not come easily for the Golden Girl. Her womanizing father left home early in
her life and married her mother’s best friend, leaving her mother alone to raise
her and her four siblings. Always a tomboy, she struggled at school, excelling
only in sport. As a young girl she was most proficient at rounders ball and
netball which, being an American, I had never heard of before. A friend has
explained that both are highly skilled activities that basically involve a
“bunch of young girls running around in short skirts.” Judging from the photos
in the book I can fully appreciate why Gulliver’s skills were so appreciated.
She met the
love of her life, Paul “Gully” Gulliver, as a teenager. He was a physical
specimen (a rugby player) who turned on more than the tomboy in her. But at the
age of nineteen, after they had moved in together, Gully mysteriously contracted
Gillian Barre Syndrome (a form of Multiple Sclerosis) and was bedridden for two
years. It was during this period that Gulliver began to focus on darts, largely
as a mental respite. This was also when she first began to imagine what it
might be like to make darts her full time occupation.
By trade
Gulliver was a carpenter and joiner. In keeping with her tomboy grounding and
because she liked handling wood (no pun intended) she earned her degree in this
male dominated profession. For a while she worked for others, then for herself
– and for a year or so she even lectured at a college to women’s carpentry and
joinery classes (which she credits as helping to build the self-confidence that
would become so important to her darts career).
It was in
1986 that Gulliver became convinced she really could make it with her darts and
someday become world champion. From a very young age she always strived to be
the best at whatever she took on – and not just among the ranks of her own
gender. Not once did she doubt she could compete on an equal level with the
men, not in the workplace and certainly not in the male-dominated world of
darts. This later confidence was reinforced during the 1986-1987 darts season
when she was accepted for membership on a men’s Superleague team in the
Warwickshire Men’s League, and won her first four matches.
Like
virtually all darts players, male and female, who aspire to make a go of it
among the professional ranks, Gulliver struggled financially. As she began to
hit the tournament circuit, without a sponsor, she quickly depleted most of her
and Gully’s savings – and the savings of her supportive mother. Yet she plodded
on – recognizing that even though the payouts were ridiculously small for the
ladies compared to the men – she had no alternative. If she were to achieve her
goal of being the world’s best she had no option but to attend as many
tournaments as possible to earn precious ranking points.
Gulliver
sent hundreds of letters to prospective sponsors but received the courtesy of
only the rare reply and those were negative. Investing in ladies’ darts was
simply a non-starter for anyone in the business sector. Were it not for the
intervention of fate it is likely that Gulliver’s career would have ended before
it hit its amazing stride.
Fate came in
the name of Graham Reeves of Reeves Boatbuilders. A casual conversation at a
darts-related function led to an unexpected offer by Reeves to cover Gulliver’s
expenses for the Swiss Open in 1997 and this quickly evolved into a twelve month
deal. “It was a life-changing moment,” recalls Gulliver, and indeed it was.
Within a year of the financial pressure being lifted she was firmly installed as
the number one lady darts player in the world. Reeves Boatbuilders is still one
of Gulliver’s key sponsors.
Success, I
suppose, breeds support – and other sponsors began to fall into line. Car
Consultants of Ufton gave her a BMW 318 Tourer (and then a Mitsubishi Carisma
and a Nissan Primera). Then came McCourt Meats in Cambridgeshire and others.
It was in
1998 that the WINMAU Dartboard Company came calling and this partnership
continues as strong as ever. And so does Gulliver… now with seven world titles
and countless other victories to her name.
Of course
“Golden Girl” recounts much of the darts action along the road Gulliver has
traveled – the wins, the losses, the battles and disappointments. But the book
is much more than a blow-by-blow remembrance of matches played. “Golden Girl”
is a story about overcoming adversity in a world and sport stacked against women
and about one woman who has managed to beat the odds.
Throughout
Gulliver’s success at the line her husband Gully seldom, if ever, watched her
play. Although he attended tournaments, oddly he was unable to watch her
compete – he would always remain in the car park until play was complete and
someone brought word to him of the result. It’s not surprising that in 2005
Gulliver was divorced and in 2006, during the low point of her life, she made
the even more difficult decision to seek counseling.
Yes,
counseling. That’s just the kind of book this is – completely open and honest.
Gulliver bares all (including, after a jump into a swimming pool at Peter
Manley’s and Crissy Howat’s engagement party, the usually well hidden red rose
tattoo she treated herself to after being named captain of the England Ladies
Team in 2007). She holds nothing back.
Except once…
at least a little bit.
In perhaps
the only understated comment in the book Gulliver recalls her feelings after the
British Darts Organization (BDO) announced in September 2000 that for the first
time ever they would include a Woman’s World Darts Championship as an integral
part of the 2001 Embassy World Darts Championship at Lakeside. “I couldn’t help,” she writes, “but feel that the world
championship might not have happened for us – well, not as soon anyway – unless
the PDC had made their announcement and forced the BDO’s hand.”
Really?
This
statement walks a fine line between careful diplomacy and just plain nutty
prognosticating and I sense the Doctor of Darts’ steady influence. But
respectfully I submit that “would not have happened” would have been the
more accurate declaration.
As many
people are aware (and which Gulliver also relates), sometime after the 2000
Embassy finals she and other top lady darts players were approached by the
Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) Tournament Director Tommy Cox with a
board approved proposal that one of them, to be determined by a knockout
competition, be given a guaranteed place at the Skol World Darts Championship.
The concept
was that the eight top ranked women at the time would battle it out for the 32nd
place in the Skol lineup. Gulliver provisionally accepted the offer to
participate but due to BDO loyalties, asked to first run it by the powers that
be (and still are).
Suffice it
to say the “BDO were not happy.” Rumors swirled that participating players
would be harshly dealt with, something BDO head honcho Olly Croft later
confirmed, saying that any player who participated would be stripped of their
BDO/WDF ranking points.
Then, as has
since become predictable, in September 2000 the BDO reacted to the PDC’s
move by announcing plans for the 2001 Woman’s World Darts Championship at
Lakeside.
Would the
BDO have done so had the PDC not acted first?
Of course
not!
The BDO has
done little in years that wasn’t in response and spiteful of the PDC. The
organization is today a classic example of Founder’s Syndrome and the time has
long past for the leadership to step down. They are an albatross around the
neck of progress.
Not
surprisingly, as Skol approached most of the top ranked ladies who concluded the
risk wasn’t worth the glory. Only two remained: America’s Stacy Bromberg (who
eventually saw the light) and Gayl King from
Canada. The rest is history…
King
competed and in doing so became the first woman ever to play in the finals of a
world championship tournament previously open to men only. She took the first
set before falling 3-1 to Graeme Stoddart (ranked 29th in the world at the
time).
When I came
upon this section of “Golden Girl” I admit it – I briefly scratched my head.
Why, I wondered, is Gulliver, who is so forthcoming in sharing details of her
private life and her deepest feelings in every other respect, so meticulously
careful when referring to the BDO – particularly in light of her confirmation
that for years top women darts players appealed to the BDO elite to stage a
world championship for the ladies, without result?
Ah ha!
Silly me…
I needn’t
have pondered – for just pages later my question was answered, and the answer
was obvious: However it came to pass, the ladies got what they wanted and
deserved and to poke the BDO in the eye, then or now, for Gulliver is to risk
all that she’s struggled to achieve.
Moreover
they knew what they were getting. The BDO offered a carrot with the stick.
Almost incongruously Gulliver adds that only now can she “reveal” that when she
discussed with the BDO their threat to sanction ladies who participated in the
knockout for Skol she was asked how the ladies would react to the prospect of a
Woman’s World Darts Championship at Lakeside in conjunction with the men’s
tournament.
As clear as
it is that Gulliver believes with all her heart she can compete on the PDC’s
oche with the best male darts players in the world (and probably dreams about
doing so), to even approach publicly contemplating the prospect is to risk the
wrath of the BDO. Their wrath, if acted upon, could jeopardize all that
Gulliver has worked her life to earn – the prestigious captaincy of the England
Ladies Team and her world title.
So what’s
next for the Gulliver?
At the top
of the list of course, and imminent, is the defense of her world championship
title.
As there are
those who dismiss the value of the title because of the limited number of women
permitted to compete and the short format, she will continue to push for more
women to be included and a lengthening of the format – as well as for a fairer
share of the prize money. (For her 2007 victory she cashed a check for less
than one-tenth the £70,000 award Martin Adams took home as the men’s champion.)
As one of
the founder’s of the Ladies Darts Association (LDA) established to “promote,
stimulate and improve the sport of darts nationally, internationally and
worldwide for all women participating in darts,” she’ll continue her lifelong
pursuit of a world where in darts and in life women are given a fair chance.
But still
the question remains: will “Golden Girl” Trina Gulliver someday make the big
switch? Will she opt to prove she can do what she has for so long believed she
can do: compete with and regularly beat the best of the best in the world, the
men?
Time will
tell. If history is knowledge… if the road Gulliver has traveled thus far in
life is any indication, I think it is clear that she wants to. Whether
she does is another story and one which I and many others hope will be the
subject of her next book.
Finally a
personal note to Trina…
Trina, if
you read this and we ever do meet and you’re able to refrain from punching me
out – I have a proposition for you (and it’s far better than the one Tommy Cox
offered): If you show me your rose tattoo I’ll show you my red toenail. And,
I’ll arrange for you to snog Jonny Wilkinson.
Is it a
deal?
Best of luck
at Lakeside.
From the
Field,
Dartoid
Trina Gulliver ‘Golden
Girl’ The Autobiography of the Greatest Ever Ladies’ Dart Player
After two years in the making the first autobiography from a lady
dart player will be available on Monday 7th January 2008.
Trina Gulliver is, without doubt, the best female dart player the
World has ever seen and it is fitting that the first autobiography from a female
dart player is hers. Trina has won the Ladies World Darts Champions held
annually at the Lakeside, Frimley Green, since it first was conceived in 2001; a
total of seven consecutive wins. Trina begins her eighth defence of the title in
January 2008, a victory here will equal Phil Taylor’s greatest consecutive World
Championship wins of eight.
Trina Gulliver, born Catrina Elizabeth Jones, entered this world
on 30th November 1969. The daughter of Muriel and Geoff Jones and one
of five children. Her early school days seemed to be pure hate as she struggled
with academic work but excelled at sports. A self confessed tomboy sees Trina
eventually gaining a placement at Mid-Warwickshire College in Leamington Spa one
day a week to undertake a general building course. In her last year of school,
pupils had the option of going on work experience placements and with a little
help from her brother Trina gained a placement at ‘Silverstone’s Builders’.
After leaving school Trina continued working for Silverstone’s and went to
college to gain a qualification from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
(A truly hard pursuit as she was the only girl within the group). This was no
easy ride but as you will read in her book, she manages to overcome many
adversities.
At the early age of sixteen Trina first met her future husband
Paul known by friends as ‘Gully’. Although it would be over a year before she
asked him out! Paul and Trina eventually buy a house together but devastation
arises one day after Paul is taken seriously ill with Guillain-Barre Syndrome a
form of Multiple Sclerosis. Paul previously a fit athletic rugby player is
reduced to being nursed 24/7 for two years. By this time Trina had begun to play
some serious darts. She was playing for the Warwickshire Ladies B team and later
in 1988 the Ladies A team.
In 1994 Paul and Trina marry. Trina was working as a fully
qualified carpenter but her regular work begins to interfere with her pursuit to
gain world ranking points. With Paul’s blessing Trina gives up her regular
employment relying on contacts to provide her with carpentry work that she can
undertake around her darting commitments. After a year it seems despite
achieving a World Ranking of 10th Trina’s dream of becoming No1 will
not be fulfilled.
Trina at this point either had to again a sponsor or give up the
professional darts circuit as she had exhausted hers and Gully’s savings in her
pursuit. After mailing hundreds of requests to companies for sponsorship with
either little or no reply she manages to gain
full support from a friend Graham Reeves of Reeves Boatbuilders purely by
chance. Later she manages to gain a number of other sponsors including the World
renowned Winmau Dart Board Company.
Ladies darts is still
yet to see the rewards that are on offer to the men’s game. It still fails to
gain the TV and press coverage it surely deserves as the general standards can
be on a par with their male counterparts.
The costs to participate and travel are on a par with the men’s game but despite
this the financial awards are far from equal.
It wasn’t until 2001 that the
first Ladies own World Championship was conceived by the BDO. It seemed to take
an announcement by Tommy Cox the PDC Tournament Director to offer a place in the
PDC World Darts Championship to a lady dart player to prompt the BDO to take
action. The top eight ranked ladies players were invited to battle it out for a
place in the Championships. Although Trina initially agreed to take part she
wanted to consult the BDO first. As we have come to expect from this
organisation they were not happy and threatened any lady that took part would
lose their ranking points for the year! Trina could not afford to lose her the
points therefore didn’t accept Tommy Cox’s offer.
The route to success is far from easy for Trina and after the
third defence of her World Title she and Paul separate and eventually divorce.
The long time spent away from her husband had taken its toll and it was time to
move on.
The book is far from a blow by blow encounter of games and
matches but it does cover many of Trina’s wins as well as her losses. There are
many funny extracts including dares from darting exhibitions to the marriage of
Crissy Howart and Peter Manley. Above all this is not a book just aimed at the
ladies. It shows the true difficulties to overcome to pursue a dream. Trina
gives a very open account of her feelings of events that have taken place in her
life from the good the bad and the ugly.
‘Chuffin hell’ Trina it was a good read, you know what I mean….
David King
Darts501.com
Trina Gulliver ‘Golden
Girl’ The Autobiography of the Greatest Ever Ladies’ Dart Player
When I first read about the book, I immediately preordered it, even before I
stumbled over Dartoids book review.
I got it early this month, started to read it and can tell you now, I really can
only recommend it even though it’s in no way as funny as Dartoids review.
It’s a serious minded book by a probably not only serious minded dart player.
She tells from time to time, that she loves it to celebrate, to meet with
friends and to drink with them.
But it’s nevertheless serious minded and tells us a lot about all the problems
Trina had till now to overcome in her life. And there were enough! She didn’t
like school very much; it was a hard time for her. She did choose a male
dominated profession, she’s a joiner and carpenter, getting there was not easy
either. Her boyfriend and later husband was very ill for some time, that’s were
she started to play more darts.
She had to decide whether getting on with being a joiner and carpenter, earning
a good living, or risking to get a full time lady dart player. She decided for
the darts, as we all know, but that was a hard decision and she had to struggle
a lot to get where she now is. And by doing so in the long run she ruined her
marriage.
But she definitely does lead the life she wants to lead and she is enjoying it
in spite of all obstacles and problems and as there are still a lot of things
she has not yet achieve, we probably will see and hear much more of her.
I really can only recommend the book, the woman is definitely, following
Taechons definition, a dart addict and we all can learn from her. She never gave
in, she doesn’t waste her time and energy with whining, she just wants to play
darts and that’s what she does.
©2007 Charis Mutschler
www.darts1.de
GOLDEN GIRL
A short review
by Scott Harrison, President of Nuvolux and creator of The Circumluminator
dartboard illumination system
Hi Patrick,
I have read Trina's
autobiography. While giving the details of a great number of her tournament
engagements, its episodes included a great variety of stories, along with
interesting observations of her friends and opponents.
Her stories reminded me what a
pleasure it is to play with good friends who are also competitive. Her long
relationship with Francis both as teammate and opponent is a delightful tale.
I think you and Trina have a
winner in her autobiography, on both sides of the
Atlantic.
And that Ladies Darts will see a positive impact as well.
Best regards,
Scott
Austin, Texas
16th January 2008
[Patrick’s
comment: Thanks Scott. I’m glad you enjoyed the book. Both Trina and I have been
encouraged by the reviews and comments received so far.
If anyone else wishes to post a
review of ‘Golden Girl’ on my website, please forward the review direct to me.
PC]
The long awaited autobiography of Trina Gulliver ‘Golden Girl’
The Autobiography of the Greatest Ever Ladies’ Dart Player - Trina Gulliver
(with Patrick Chaplin) will be available from 7th January 2008.
John Blake Publishing - Website
Book is available from
Amazon.co.uk.
and other leading book sellers
The official website of
Trina Gulliver
Back to Reviews
© 2008 Patrick
Chaplin
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