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NEW
SEASON VIEWPOINT
2008-2009 by OLLY CROFT, OBE
In
this, the 35th Anniversary Year (1973 to 2008) of the British Darts
Organisation, I am proud to say that the BDO has never lost sight of its
original mission statement to provide darts for all those competing or involved
in this great sport of ours - irrespective of age, gender, colour, creed or
ability.
When you think of it,
that is an amazing responsibility involving as it does thousands of players –
men, women and youth – in over sixty counties the length and breadth of Britain.
But as governing body for
the sport of darts, the BDO has never been less than committed to those
responsibilities, or its ongoing promotion of open and competitive darts for
all. We provide the opportunity for
everyone to compete in properly organised darts at every possible level –
nationally, internationally, globally and professionally.
That is why the BDO
achieved unanimous recognition from the sports councils of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland for darts to be
named as a bona-fide sport in 2005, and why we continue to seek Olympic
recognition for our sport.
The last twelve months
have once again been extremely positive for BDO darts, with entry levels
increasing in every BDO event staged, but I think I can be forgiven for
highlighting the arrival of our latest TV ‘partnership’ with
Setanta Sports as being a very important
and significant step forward for BDO televised darts now and in the future.
The first ever BDO
International Grand Prix was launched in May with the hugely successful WDO
Welsh Open, and will conclude this month (September 20) at the BDO British Open
in the newly redeveloped Spa in Bridlington.
The
BDO International Grand Prix series has uniquely featured the last eight players
in the Men’s Singles in each of five established tournaments: The WDO Welsh
Open, BDO International Open, BDO Gold Cup, Winmau BDO British Classic and the
BDO British Open – all shown live and exclusively on Setanta Sports to amazing
effect.
Once again the BDO has
opened up a new and diverse TV audience for darts (each tournament has been
repeated several times) and because of the way in which these tournaments are
constructed, we have also ensured that the same players have not been seen time
after time – adding not only to the opportunities for all competing players, but
also to the enjoyment, unpredictability and excitement for Setanta viewers.
In the four tournaments
already shown by Setanta, we have not only produced four different Champions:
GARY ANDERSON, Welsh Open, DAVY RICHARDSON, BDO International Open, SCOTT
WAITES, BDO Gold Cup and ROSS MONTGOMERY, Winmau BDO British Classic, but also
introduced a number of players new to major televised darts.
And to top it all off, we
are all set for what could be a truly exciting climax in Bridlington on
September 20th, when the BDO British Open could see a real battle to
see who will win the first ever BDO International Grand Prix title.
The initial rationale which inspired this series was to
showcase the competitive BDO system and provide viewers with a refreshing
mixture of well known players and fresh faces in every single tournament – and
we have succeeded in doing just that!
The
BDO International Grand Prix on Setanta Sports will have provided over fifty
hours of live and recorded BDO televised darts, plus an additional prize fund of
£32,000 for our players. To put it into perspective, the five one-day
tournaments have also provided a total of £50,000 in prize money, which means
that the BDO International Grand Prix Series has generated over £80,000 of
available prize money (for a total of no more than £50 in entry fees) in just
five separate televised days of BDO darts.
Add to this the
fifty-seven hours of live and recorded BBC televised coverage of the BDO Winmau
World Masters and BDO Lakeside World Professional and we will have enjoyed over
one-hundred hours of televised darts in the last 12 months.
The BDO International
Grand Prix has produced increased entries in each of the tournaments – notably
some 1,000 players in the Men’s Singles of the Welsh Open and record breaking
entries in the Men’s Singles of the BDO International Open and Wimau BDO British
Classic.
In fact, the five
tournaments will have attracted almost 13,000 entries and featured the world’s
top-ranked players. Needless to say, this new and valuable liaison augers well
for the future, and we welcome Setanta to the BDO family and look forward to
progressing BDO darts with them in the future, including the strong possibility
of introducing more new and exciting initiatives.
It is also important to
mention our sponsorship from the Government ‘Fire Kills’ campaign, which has
included players wearing distinctive ‘Fire Kills’shirt patches, signage in
venues and direct involvement with Fire & Rescue Services all over the country.
The campaign is raising
awareness of fire safety in the home environment, and the FRS teams attending
the BDO International Grand Prix tournaments offer free home safety checks to
everyone. Needless to say, the BDO
is once again proud to be working so closely with government led initiatives
through our sport and its players and officials.
Surely there has never
been a better liaison between darts and the community?
But then the BDO has
always sought to include the general public within the sport of darts, as
evidenced by the previous success of the Government ‘Get On’ campaign to improve
numeracy among children and young adults by introducing them to the mathematical
qualities of our sport.
I am delighted to say
that we have once again been approached by Government to give the BDO’s backing
to the recently re-launched ‘Get On’ campaign.
We will be starting our involvement with the ‘Get On’ campaign at the
2009 BDO Lakeside World Professional.
Alongside this, the BDO
continues to encourage taking darts into schools as a valuable asset to teaching
mental arithmetic.
From our successful involvement with satellite television,
we can look forward to BBC TV terrestrial coverage of the two greatest majors in
World Darts: the 35th BDO Winmau World Masters (December 6th
and 7th) and the 32nd BDO Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships
(January 3rdh to 11th, 2009).
Both
will be screened by BBC TV Sport and collectively with BBC-1, BBC-2, BBCi, BBC
Worldwide and SBS-6 in The Netherlands, the Lakeside World Professional can once
again boast the biggest TV audiences for darts anywhere in the world.
The 2007 World Masters
became the richest two-day tournament on terrestrial TV with a prize fund of
£60,000, and this was followed by a record-breaking prize fund of £310,000 for
the 2008 Lakeside World Professional!
This is fantastic when
you realise that players do not have to pay high entry fees to compete in the
two most famous majors in World Darts, and they offer a combined prize fund of
£370,000, and two Champions cheques totalling £110,000.
The BDO can also proudly
boast an unbroken thirty-two year run on BBC television, and it is worth
pointing out that despite coverage on other channels over the years, the BBC
remains the only terrestrial TV broadcaster to have shown BDO darts continually
for over three decades.
No wonder that our two
BBC majors offer the most sought after titles in world darts, and form the very
backbone of the history of the BDO and world darts.
Think about it: The BDO
has staged the World Professional on BBC terrestrial TV from 1978 to the present
day. Not only has that been great
for darts, its players, officials and fans, but also a tribute to the
relationship we enjoy with the most respected broadcaster of sport in the world.
As a clear illustration
of the BDO’s ability to continually produce fresh faces to televised world
darts, MARK WEBSTER was crowned 2008 Lakeside World Champion – having made his
debut just a year earlier! In the
Women’s World Professional, ANASTASIA DOBROMYSLOVA not only became the first
ever Russian to win a BDO major, but she also ended the magnificent seven-year
unbeaten reign of TRINA GULLIVER.
Each and every year the
World Pro showcases many players who are making their debuts at
Lakeside
– proof positive that BDO darts continues to produce fresh faces to complement
our established players.
Away from television, the
2007-2008 British Inter-County Championships provided an exciting climax
to another highly competitive season. After the previous season’s dramatic
conclusion in the Premier Division between old rivals
Lancashire
and Yorkshire, who could have predicted that
the drama would happen all over again?
The final weekend of the
season went right down to the wire!
Last year,
Yorkshire
were agonisingly pipped at the final hurdle by a joyous
Lancashire
– who did so with just two points to spare!
This year, Lancashire
retained the title – but once again, only just!
The
famous ‘Battle
of the Roses’ on the oche was concluded when Lancashire
travelled to Yorkshire with an impressive 15
point lead in the title race. But a
wonderful 23-13 victory by Yorkshire brought
them to within 2 points of the reigning champions for the second successive
year!
Lancashire’s overall total
was 201 points, with Yorkshire on 199 points!
Surely there can be nothing better than this level of competitiveness to
illustrate the strength of our county
system? No wonder the BDO continues
to produce so many ‘new’ names each and every year.
There was some
consolation for Yorkshire, because the Men’s A team finished joint Premier
Division Champions with Cheshire, and the Men’s B team were joint champions with
Glamorgan and Kent.
Lancashire’s women also
had plenty to celebrate with the A team finishing the season joint Premier
Division Champions with Cambridgeshire and Cornwall, and the B team taking the
title on their own.
Well done to both
counties and all the players for proving that the BDO not only has the great
playing systems in the world, but also the greatest players.
Men’s A Champions for
2007-2008 were:
Premier –
Yorkshire
Div One – Co.Durham
Div Two –
West Midlands
Div Three – Bedfordshire
Div Four – Clwyd
Scotland
North – Fife
Scotland
South – East Renfrewshire
Women’s A Champions:
Premier –
Lancashire
Div One – Oxfordshire
Div Two – Somerset
Div Three – Cumbria
Div Four – Gwynedd
Scotland
North – Tay
Valley
Scotland
South - Renfrewshire
Congratulations also to
all those counties who gained promotion for the start of the new 2008-2009
season:
Surrey and Oxfordshire will
be competing in the Premier Division.
Derbyshire and
West Midlands
move up to Division One.
Bedfordshire and Cumbria move up to Division Two.
And
the two Welsh counties of Gwynedd and Clwyd start the new season in Division
Three.
Special mention must be
made of Oxfordshire who set a new BICC record by achieving promotion from the
bottom of the Championship to the very top in successive years!
This remarkable
achievement has seen them progress from Division Four four years ago to the
Premier Division for this new season.
That is very special and I send my sincere congratulations to everyone at
Oxfordshire – players and officials - on behalf of the BDO.
Another county which had
a special season was Clwyd in North Wales – the
first ever county to boast the two current World Professional Champions: Mark
Webster and Anastasia Dobromyslova.
I know they wouldn’t want
to claim full credit, but undoubtedly their performances and very presence, was
instrumental in Clwyd gaining promotion from Division Four to Division Three for
the new season.
Well done to them,
because once again the enthusiastic involvement of the 2008 Men’s and Women’s
World Professional Champions in our Inter-County system illustrates the
commitment of BDO players.
Mark Webster, who has
only recently celebrated his 25th birthday, topped the overall BICC
averages playing for Clwyd in the Fourth Division.
Well done to him and all the other winners of the top county averages
awards: Paul Hogan for Hampshire in the Premier Division; Phill Nixon for
Co.Durham in Division One; Steve Farmer, West Midlands in Division Two; Wayne Morgan for
Bedfordshire in Division Three, and John Henderson for topping the Scottish
averages playing for Grampian.
Trina
Gulliver might have been disappointed to lose her World Pro crown in January,
but once again she has reigned supreme for Warwickshire in the First Division of
the BICC – where she was once again at the very top of the women’s overall
averages (for the fourth successive year).
The other divisional
winners for 2007-2008 were: Premier – Viv Dundon, Essex; Division Two - Lorraine
Farlam, Derbyshire; Division Three - Julie Gore, Pembrokeshire; Division Four –
Gaynor Williams, Gwynedd; Scotland – Sharon McKinnin, Renfrewshire.
The BDO Men’s British
Grand Prix was won by Gary Anderson (East Stirlingshire)
with 42 points, and he collected a cheque for £400.
Mark Webster (Clwyd) was close behind on 37 points and collected £200,
and Ross Montgomery (East Renfrewshire) was third on 34 points and collected
£100.
The Women’s British Grand
Prix was topped by Dawn Standley (Norfolk) on 51 points, and she received a
cheque for £400. Louise Carroll (Oxfordshire) and Trina Gulliver (Warwickshire)
were joint second on 42 points and each received £150.
Well done
to them all.
Now,
it is always a pleasure to throw a spotlight on the youngsters so I am delighted
to congratulate the Best Young BICC Players of 2007-2008: David Pallett of
Shropshire and Zoe Jones of Worcestershire.
The BICC Young Players of The Year were Cameron Menzies of Ayrshire and
Lorraine Hyde of Grampian. Real
talents and characters for the future.
There is no doubt that
the county and Super-League system is at the very backbone of the BDO. Those who
play in it – men, women and youth of all abilities - as well as those who
officiate and give up so much of their time for the sheer love and passion for
this great game, epitomise the true sport of darts.
I have been delighted
with the success of the BDO’s 18-25 Young Player Challenge, which we launched in
2006. The take up has been
excellent and the ultimate reward is entry to the International Play-Offs for
the 2008 World Pro in Bridlington and with it the chance to get to
Lakeside
in 2009. Another prime example of the BDO providing real opportunities to its
young players.
There are so many young
players I could mention, but I would like to single out
England’s Shaun Griffiths and
Wales’ Kimberley Lewis as shining examples of
the talent within the BDO.
Shaun is reigning Winmau
World Masters Boys Champion and
Kimberley
has won the Winmau World Masters Girls title for two years in succession,
and both are still only 15 years of age!
Both represent their
respective counties and countries, and both have won countless titles:
Kimberley
recently won the 2008 Welsh Open Girls title and Shaun has been Isle-of-Man
Youth Champion in both 2007 and 2008.
In this year’s UK Youth
Challenge, Shaun won the under-18 title for Lancashire
with Emily Tye taking the under-18 girls title for Derbyshire.
The under-21 titles went to Rusell Mason (Derbyshire) and Rebecca Rose
(Cambridgeshire).
The BDO British Teenage
Champion of 2008 is Leon Bailey of Humberside and winners of the BDO
Inter-County Youth KO Cup are the youngsters of Essex.
I wish I could mention
everyone by name, but there is so much young talent out there that I could fill
this entire issue! Suffice it to
send my best wishes to all our young players for another successful season.
Continuing its forward
planning on behalf of these youngsters and the sport as a whole, the BDO
continues to pursue the real possibility of darts becoming a future Olympic
sport. We have had members of the International Olympic Committee at
Lakeside, and BDO Chairman Dave Alderman and WDF President Roy Price
have been to major meetings in Beijing,
Athens and Lausanne.
Among the decision makers present were those who decide
which sports deserve Olympic recognition, but more importantly, the WDF (of
which the BDO is a founder member) is now a fully-fledged member of the highly
respected General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and
recognised as the world governing body for darts.
One
of the initial requirements as a member of GAISF was to commit to and comply
with the WADA Code on anti-doping.
I am delighted to say that the setting up and approval by WADA of the WDF Code
of Practice on anti-doping was achieved in May of this year.
The BDO is one of over
one-hundred world governing bodes that have now undertaken this commitment, and
further meetings will take place between now and the end of the year
on this and several other important world issues relating to our sport.
Our grateful thanks to
Dave Alderman and Roy Price for all the hard work they do behind the scenes on
behalf of our sport. Like so many
others within the BDO and WDF systems, they are unsung heroes.
I am pleased that GAISF
has recognised the important role played by the World Darts Federation in
sixty-six darts playing nations covering all six continents of the globe.
Collectively, the WDF has over 250,000 playing members and over 10,000
darts events worldwide. Nothing better illustrates the massive worldwide reach
of our sport.
On the International
front, congratulations to a resurgent
Wales
team for their outstanding successes in the WDF World Cup and the Six Nations
Cup.
Jan Robbins and Julie
Gore took all the honours for the Welsh ladies in the WDF World Cup, with Julie
winning the Women’s Singles title for good measure. Mark Webster rubber-stamped
his class by adding the World Cup Men’s Singles title to his WDF Europe Cup
Men’s Singles title.
And to put the icing on
the International cake, a rampant Mark was pivotal to the success of Wales in winning the Six Nations Cup
on home soil. Not only did Wales
take the honours, but Mark had the highest single dart average of 42.27!
Absolutely brilliant!
It was not such a good
International season for England, but
congratulations must go to Martin Adams and Trina Gulliver on becoming England’s most
capped players of all time.
Martin collected his 70th
cap in his match v Wales
in the 2008 BDO British Internationals.
In doing so he overtook the proud 69 cap total held for 15 years by John
Lowe.
To mark the occasion, England’s longest serving captain
received a framed England
shirt. Unfortunately, it didn’t go
alongside an England
win, because after a break of eight years, Scotland Men claimed the title back.
My congratulations go to them on a famous and well-deserved victory.
As well as the start of
the 2007/2008 Inter-County season, September gets under way with the BDO British
Open at the newly re-developed Spa Bridlington (19th to 21st).
As mentioned earlier, this is the final tournament in the 2008 BDO
International Grand Prix Series, and the last 8 in the Men’s Singles will be
seen live on Setanta Sports on September 20th.
As
well as the kudos of finishing in the final eight of the BDO International Grand
Prix table, the players will share a new prize fund of £32,000 – with the
overall winner receiving a cheque for £12,000.
A pretty good way to
start the new season!
Looking a little further
ahead, we are delighted to be returning to The Spa, Bridlington for the 2008
Winmau World Masters. Some £20 million has been spent on making The Spa the
premier venue in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and we are delighted to be back
there.
It will be televised live
by BBC Sport over the weekend on December 6th and 7th.
The Zuiderduin Dutch
Masters will be played in The Netherlands from December 12th to 14th,
and with a little break for Xmas and New Year we are back to the home of world
darts for the 32nd staging of the World Professional Darts Championships.
What better way to launch
yet another great year of BDO darts?
It will be played for the
24th consecutive year at Lakeside Country Club and televised by BBC TV Sport,
BBCi, BBC Worldwide and SBS-6.
The BDO have made great
strides forward in many aspects of the game – notably in the staging of our
major events.
Lakeside’s spectacular new stage has been complemented with new sets
for the Winmau World Masters and the whole of the BDO International Grand Prix
series for Setanta.
The modern sets are
enhanced further by the use of visual technology that leaves the stage as the
sole domain of the two players and referee. Once again the BDO pioneered this
on-stage technology a few years ago and have been rightly praised for its
innovative approach.
As always, I would like
to offer sincere thanks to Bob Potter and Barbara Leitch, and all at
Lakeside, and to Ian Flack and the hard working Winmau team for
their ongoing sponsorship and support of the two greatest Championships in World
Darts.
Needless to say, those
same thanks go to Graham Fry and his crew at TWI, and everyone at BBC Sport.
I must also mention the
BDO website, designed and launched just 12 months ago by webmaster Roy Price.
It has become hugely popular and highly acclaimed. Not surprisingly, it
has welcomed an average of some 60,000 visitors every month, with peaks of an
incredible 370,000 plus every day during this year’s World Pro and 124,000 hits
per day for the Winmau World Masters. Congratulations to
Roy
for doing a fantastic job.
It only remains for me to
wish all players – men, women and youth - competing at every level during the
2008/2009 season the very best of success in the months ahead.
And once again I applaud all the BDO Directors, the very
best officials in world darts, and the band of hard-working volunteers who
ensure that the BDO continues to stage the very best tournaments in the world.
Thanks also to Martin Fitzmaurice and the International Darts Players
Association (IDPA), whose ongoing comradeship and support is greatly appreciated
Before closing I would
like to send best wishes to Shaun Greatbatch and Andy Fordham on behalf of
everyone at the BDO. Both are not
only great players, but wonderful people and ambassadors for darts.
The message from us all
is: Get well soon.
Here’s to yet another
successful season of BDO darts
Yours in the Sport of Darts:
OLLY CROFT, OBE
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