NEW 2007/2008 SEASON VIEWPOINT by Olly Croft OBE

 It has been yet another successful year for BDO darts from grass roots right through to national, international, world and professional levels, and the new season promises to be even better!

Which is exactly what the BDO is all about – DARTS FOR ALL, irrespective of age, creed, sex or ability.

  The BDO is responsible for the WHOLE SPORT OF DARTS – men, women and youth - and I am delighted to report that we have two new counties – making sixty six in all – and 1,000 new member players for the 2007/2008 season of BDO darts. 

  The England Darts Organisation (EDO) has also been formed, not only to look after the interests of the England International teams, but also to increase the competitive opportunities for BDO players in various tournaments during the coming year and in the future.

  There will be a new official BDO website to herald the start of the new season and, the good news just gets better and better, because there are also increases in both television time and prize money in our two majors – the Winmau World Masters (November 17^th and 18^th)  now the richest two-days darts tournament in the world (see separate announcement in this issue) and the Lakeside World Professional (January 5^th to 13^th, 2008). 

  Both will be screened by BBC TV Sport and collectively with BBC-1, BBC-2, BBCi, BBC Worldwide, SBS-6 and Eurosport, the World Pro enjoys the biggest audiences for darts anywhere in the world. We can also proudly boast an unbroken thirty-year run on BBC television.

  And, just like the Inter-County system and the players it produces, these two majors – the best known and most sought after titles in world darts – just get better and better year on year.

  It’s a great start to the new season, but who could have scripted a more dramatic end to last season’s BICC than the final weekend clash between old rivals Lancashire and Yorkshire for the Premier Division title?  Going all out for their fifth overall win in as many seasons, Yorkshire were agonisingly pipped at the final hurdle by a joyous Lancashire – who did so with just two points to spare!  Their season overall total was 206 points, with Yorkshire on 204 points! Nothing can more perfectly illustrate the strength of competition within our county system.  No wonder the BDO continues to produce so many ‘new’ names each and every year.

  The county and Super-League system is – and always has been – 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, often (if not always) for their sheer love and passion for this great game, epitomise the true sport of darts.

  As we now look ahead to the 2007/2008 season, I would like to congratulate Lancashire on starting out as overall Premier Division Champions, and also Yorkshire on their incredible success in winning those four consecutive titles. I am absolutely certain that both counties will be going all out for the 2007/2008 title, and I wish them well.

  Similarly, my congratulations and best wishes go to Cheshire and Middlesex, both newly promoted to the Premier Division for the coming season.  Co Durham and Oxfordshire, who move up to Division One; Nottinghamshire and West Midlands, who will be playing in Division Two and Northamptonshire and Montgomery & Radnor, who are newcomers to Division Three. There are sixty-six counties competing in the new season, with the two Scotland counties of Angus and West Ayrshire helping to make the season more competitive than ever before.

  Returning to the top of the table clash in the Premier Division, Yorkshire did have some consolation in the fact that Scott Waites rubber-stamped a great year by topping the Inter-County Averages.  He won all 9 of his Men’s A matches for a dynamic average of 38.70 – just 0.57 ahead of Northumberland’s Davy Richardson – statistics that once again confirm the standards within the county system. Scott has now been called into the England International squad and his most recent titles include the Dutch Open and Welsh Masters. Not to be outdone, Lancashire’s David Chisnall won his first major – the BDO Gold Cup – just a few weeks ago when he was proudly crowned 2007 BDO Gold Cup Men’s Singles Champion.  What’s more, his Lancashire team-mate Lisa Ashton was runner-up in the Gold Cup Women’s Singles. Well done to them both.

  And well done also to the bubbly Barbara Lee, who was the happiest lady in the land when she was crowned 2007 BDO Gold Cup Women’s Singles Champion and then lifted the Women’s Pairs title with Sandra Greatbatch. A few weeks later Clare Bywaters won the BDO British Classic Women’s Singles.  Great results for three wonderful ladies.  Staying with the ladies, who else to top the Women’s County Averages for the 2006/2007 season than the irrepressible Trina Gulliver?  For the third year running she has topped the county averages with an outstanding dynamic average of 35.70.  The only downside for the Warwickshire player and England Captain is that her county will be playing in Division One this season, having been relegated from the Premier Division despite her unbeaten season for the ladies. Runner-up in the women’s average was Kent’s ever consistent Tricia Wright with a 32.16 dynamic average.

  Despite the usual negatives from some doom and gloom merchants, we must be doing something right, because as mentioned earlier, the BDO can boast an increase of 1,000 playing members and two more counties for the coming season.

  We are justifiably proud of our youth systems and the new talent they produce, but there is also a place for the more ‘mature’ player or, as the 2007 World Pro showed – plenty of room for two 50 year-olds by the names of Martin Adams and Phill Nixon. On his 14^th World Pro appearance, Martin was finally crowned World Professional Darts Champion, and no one could be more proud – but what a battle Durham’s Phill Nixon gave him!  It was a bit like the Lancashire v Yorkshire season, because both are county stalwarts and neither wanted to lose or give an inch. The sheer competitive edge of what has been described as one of the best World Finals of all time, had 4.2 million BBC viewers and a packed Lakeside audience on the very edge of their seats – myself included!

  From 6-0 down at the interval, Phill looked out of it,  and Martin, after being so close in the past, looked a certainty to lift the crown he had always wanted.  But, this was Lakeside and as I always say ‘darts is on the night’ and every player who gets to that famous stage is capable of winning. Suddenly, the tide began to turn and when Phill got the score to 6-6, no one would have dared to predict the outcome of yet another epic World Pro final.

  It was a magnificent finale to another great World Pro (I am proud to say that I have seen them all) and, as we all now know, Martin eventually lifted the famous trophy in front of a jubilant Lakeside crowd. Needless to say, he has proved to be a great Champion and ambassador for BDO darts. For Phill it was a life-changing experience, and he was pursued by the media for weeks after his great battle!  He was (and still is) a hero in his native Durham, where among many other things, they named a pizza in his honour and made him an Honorary Member of the famous Durham County Cricket Club. It still tickles me when I recall him saying to me weeks after that epic final: ‘Olly, what would have happened if I’d won it?’  Nothing better sums up the magic of getting to the final at Lakeside. Maybe he might find out what it’s like to be a World Champion when he returns to that famous Lakeside stage next January?  But, he will have Martin Adams and another thirty world-class players to contend with!  Everyone wants to be crowned World Pro Champion!!

  As for Trina Gulliver, what more is there to add?  She made it a ‘Magnificent Seven’ unbeaten Women’s World Pro titles in January and can now claim the freedom of Lakeside!  I know that like all great players, she sometimes has her doubts, but she is the undisputed No.1 women’s player of all time.  She’s won every available title and is a truly inspirational England Women’s Captain and the greatest ambassador women’s darts has ever had.

   I know that she and Martin Adams, the longest serving England Captain in darts history, are rightly proud of the fact that they have made even more history this year as the two reigning Lakeside World Pro Champions and England Captains.  It’s never been done before, and is never likely to happen again – unless, of course they return to Lakeside in 2008 and do it all over again! I wish them well, together with all the other players who play at the unrivalled ‘home of world darts’ next January.

  I am proud that the BDO has an ongoing commitment to the WHOLE sport of darts. This is particularly important when it comes to our youth policies.  All of our counties have youth sections, and major tournaments like the Winmau World Masters are proud to stage Boys and Girls Finals every year.  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 young talent. 

  My warmest congratulations go to 2007 BDO British Teenage Champion Matthew Hannaford, the latest Welsh prodigy from Glamorgan, and to the youngsters from Warwickshire who won the 2007 BDO Inter-County Youth KO Cup. As I reported last year, 13 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 12 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!  13 year-old Kimberley Lewis has also represented Wales at International level and last year was crowned Winmau World Masters Girls Champion. Such talent cannot be manufactured. It’s based on natural ability, but that ability has to be given opportunities, and that is what our county system if all about: Recognising talent and ability from an early age and then encouraging and developing it.

  The proof of the pudding was contained at this year’s BDO England Open, in which 17 year-old Andrew Foster of Cumbria won a cracking Youth final against another promising youngster, Simon Hartley. Most encouragingly, the number of entries for this year’s England Open Youth event produced a very healthy 50% increase on the previous year.  This was followed by a 25% increase in entries for the Men’s Singles at the 2007 BDO British Classic in Kettering.

  As I said earlier, we must be doing something right!

  In May, Richie George, the 17 year-old son of Bobby was runner-up in the Dutch IDL Youth Final and is showing the sort of natural talent which made his father such a great player and true character of our sport. Importantly, the BDO doesn’t concentrate on the top end of the game to the exclusion of everything else. Or vice-versa. Of course, it is important that we can boast so many world class players – men and women -  but our real remit as responsible darts bodies, is for the BDO and WDF to provide opportunities for ALL darts players, regardless of their sex, age or ability.

The BDO was formed in 1973 to meet the important criteria of DARTS FOR ALL, and I am proud to say that it continues to do just that to this very day.  Yes, we are proud of our top players and those who are in the public eye and earn a professional living from the sport, but we are equally proud of all those men, women and youth who play and enjoy this game at pub/club, national, international and world levels regardless of ability.

  I have been delighted with the success of the BDO’s 18-25 Young Player Challenge, which we launched last year.  The take up was remarkable, with over 500 entries through our counties, and it looks like continuing this year. 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 2008. Another prime example of the BDO providing real opportunities to its players.

  Continuing its forward planning, the BDO is pursuing the real possibility of darts becoming a future Olympic sport. We have had members of the International Olympic Committee at Lakeside, and earlier this year BDO Chairman Dave Alderman accompanied WDF Communications Officer Roy Price to Beijing, where they presented a comprehensive brochure and professionally produced power-point presentation to the members of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). This was done on behalf of the World Darts Federation, and proved so impressive that darts was immediately accepted as a full member of this influential body, with an overwhelming vote that was 79% in favour of WDF darts becoming a member of GAISF. To put this in perspective, it is exceptionally rare for any sport to be accepted on its first application, but that’s just what darts has achieved. The WDF is now a proud member of GAISF and officially recognised as the governing body for darts worldwide.

  Among the decision makers present were those who decide which sports deserve Olympic recognition, but more importantly, darts and the WDF and its member countries (of which the BDO is a founder member) are now integral to the highly respected General Association of International Sports Federations.

 Certainly our experience, our playing systems, our ability to provide darts for all, and the wonderful history of BDO/WDF darts, played a major role in making this happen. In November the Winmau World Masters will be played for the 34th consecutive year (1974 to 2007) and in January 2008, the World Professional Darts Championships will celebrate its 31st consecutive year (1978 to 2008) on BBC television. These are the oldest established tournaments in world darts, and as such they enjoy all the history and kudos that go with them. They are the two most important titles to darts players the world over and have proudly dominated the history of darts over the last four decades. In sporting history to be crowned World Professional Darts Champion or Winmau World Masters Champion represent the most important achievements in the career of any darts player.  They are recognised as the very pinnacles of success in our sport.

  As Secretary General of the WDF, I am proud that GAISF recognised the important role played by the Federation in 64 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. I have taken time to point this out, because it illustrates the massive worldwide reach of our sport, and achievements that need to be applauded.  Just as the BDO was proud to gain recognition for darts as a sport by all UK sports councils in 2005, the WDF have now secured official recognition within GAISF, as the worldwide governing body for darts. 

  The importance of such achievements by the BDO and WDF are vital to the worldwide status of darts as a globally recognised sport.

  Moving on to the subject of betting, in addition to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  which we already have in place with Betfair, the British Darts Organisation has now entered into a co-operation with the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) to promote and protect the integrity of the sport. Following my attendance at the high-profile Betting Integrity Conference earlier this year, we met with representatives of the ABB to agree the co-operation in regard to betting on darts. This is a continuing process in order to protect the integrity of our sport, and our legal advisers are currently in talks with the Gambling Commission re our future position in regard to all matters re betting on darts now and in the future. This follows the BDO’s signature last year to the Code of Practice on Integrity in Sport Betting with the Department of Culture Media & Sport (DCMS).

  It goes without saying that the quality of play produced within the BDO Inter-County system continues to create an exciting and highly competitive darts calendar.  In fact, we now enjoy BDO/WDF darts all the year round! The ‘season’ has become twelve months of continuous darts available to all BDO/WDF players.

  May saw BDO/WDF players producing great performances at the International Darts League in Holland. Despite having to go to court to protect the interests of our players once again, the end result was well worthwhile. Scotland’s Gary Anderson lifted the title after an amazing unbeaten run. And the latest ‘Prince of Wales’ Mark Webster suffered his only defeat in a fantastic final with Gary. The ever-smiling Scot has a whole string of major titles, the most recent being the Scottish Open and Portland Open. Mark Webster has enjoyed a truly fantastic year. He got to Lakeside by winning the 2006 WDF Europe Cup Singles, and has since won the Welsh Open, Welsh Classic, Welsh Individual and Canadian Open. 

It means that the WDF World Rankings have a Welsh, Scottish and English one, two, three!  

  23 year-old Mark Webster sits proudly at No.1,  Gary Anderson is No.2 and Martin Adams is No.3. Who would have predicted 12 months ago that Mark Webster would be at No.1 in the world rankings? It proves my point about the BDO/WDF systems and what they can produce year in, year out.  As I write this there will be many players out there aspiring to achieve similar success.

 After success in the Six Nations Cup, England Men won the British Internationals in a dramatic last leg drama against Scotland, with Steve Farmer securing victory. Steve was a finalist in the recent BDO Red Dragon British Classic, but had to be content with being runner-up to Dutchman Co Stompe, another of our great players and characters.  Co is enjoying a real purple patch of form, having won this year’s Swiss Open and British Pentathlon, in which he made history by becoming the first overseas player to have done so.  The ever-smiling Co is not only a huge Dutch favourite, but a wonderful ambassador for our sport. 

  There was a 25% increase in entries for the Men’s Singles at the Classic, and somewhere in the region of 1,000 games of darts were played over the weekend of the BDO British Teenage/Youth KO Cup and BDO Red Dragon British Classic……DARTS FOR ALL!

  As well as the start of the 2007/2008 Inter-County season, September gets under way with two of the biggest tournaments on our calendar - the sixth staging of the World Darts Trophy in Holland (1^st to 9^th), followed by the BDO British Open in Bridlington (22^nd and 23rd). Then in October the WDF World Cup is staged in The Netherlands (11^th to 14^th) and promises to be the best and most competitive ever, with a record breaking forty-seven countries taking part!  This clearly illustrates the incredible global reach of WDF darts, which now has sixty-four nationally constituted member darts bodies in all six continents of the world. The latest countries to join the World Darts Federation are Iran, Brunei, the Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan and Turkey.  The WDF is the true ‘family’ of world darts and the BDO is proud to be a founder member.

  Back to the calendar, November sees the Northern Ireland Open in County Down (10^th & 11^th), the Lakeside World Pro International Play-Offs at Leisure World, Bridlington on November 15, followed by the Winmau World Masters from November 16 to 18. The Swedish Open (24th & 25^th) followed in December by the Zuiderduin Masters (formerly the Leendesk) in The Netherlands from December 7^th to 9th. This leads to the 31^st staging of the World Professional Darts Championships, the BDO’s flagship event, which launches yet another great year of BDO/WDF darts.  It will be played for the 23^rd consecutive year at Lakeside Country Club ‘the home of World Darts’ and televised by BBC TV Sport, BBCi, BBC Worldwide, SBS-6 and Europsort.

  The BDO have made great strides forward in many aspects of the game – notably in the staging of our major events.  This year’s spectacular new stage set at Lakeside received tremendous praise, and rightly so. The innovative and colourful design was created with close co-operation between the BDO, BBC, Lakeside and a professional design team, and added considerably to the ‘wow’ factor of the world’s greatest darts Championships.  The players and packed Lakeside audiences also appreciated the plasma screens showing all the action on stage, plus the on-stage screens providing all the necessary information. Similar innovations are being used for the Winmau World Masters, and I would like to offer sincere thanks to Bob Potter and all at Lakeside, and Ian Flack and the Winmau team for their ongoing sponsorship and support.  Needless to say, those same thanks go to Graham Fry and his team at TWI, and everyone at BBC Sport.

Last year we signed a new five year agreement with the Winmau Dartboard Company for the World Masters, and the BBC have extended their contract for the World Pro until 2010.

  On that very happy and positive note, I would like to wish all players – men, women and youth - competing at every level during the 2007/2008 season every success.  And once again I applaud all the BDO Directors and the hard-working BDO executives and officials for ensuring that not only do we stage the very best tournaments in the world. Special mention must be made of Sam Hawkins, who after many years as BDO Chairman, has now been made our first ever Honorary President.  We welcome Dave Alderman as BDO Chairman and also new Directors Mike Stephenson and Len Mutch.  

  Thanks also to Martin Fitzmaurice and the International Darts Players Association (IDPA), whose comradeship and support is greatly appreciated, and sincere congratulations to BDO stalwarts Enid Vincent and Chris Wilcox on being voted BDO Personalities of the Year for 2007. They typify the very ethos of what I have mentioned previously – hard work and tireless dedication on behalf of our sport for so many years.  Well done to them both.  

  The only sad notes of this past year have been the passing of two great men who had a profound impact on our sport and were true friends of BDO darts. I refer to the wonderful Tom Pope of Retriever Sports, and the legendary Peter Dyke of World Promotions, with whom I launched the famous Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1978. They loved our darts and were pivotal in helping the BDO/WDF put the sport of darts on the world map through their supreme effort and support. With this in mind, it is appropriate to conclude by saying that they, and many other darts stalwarts who are no longer with us, will be sadly missed, bit always remembered.

 Here’s to yet another successful season of BDO/WDF darts in 2007/2008.

Yours in the Sport of Darts:

OLLY CROFT, OBE

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