Archive for the ‘Hobbies & Games’ Category

What is now an extremely popular, competitive game often played in pubs either for fun or tournament style, the game of darts has a rich history from its beginning. Though many advances and changes, including standardized rules, have taken place over the centuries, the overall strategy of the game is virtually the same.

Historians believe that a version of the game of darts can be traced back to Medieval England, where it began as a lesson in archery. Students were instructed to throw shortened arrows at the bottom of wine barrels, sharpening and honing their accuracy. What began as a lesson soon turned to a past time for the soldiers. They began to take their shortened arrows into drinking establishments, not only to show off their talent to others, but also as something to do for fun.

Wine barrels soon became in short supply and therefore dart throwers had to find another target. Using their imagination, a man brought a cross section of a tree. Conveniently, trees are adorned with their own natural “rings,” making it the perfect target because of the segmentation. Now dart throwers had more areas or segments to aim for. This cross section of a tree is closely similar to the dartboard that is still used today.

It is reputed that the root of darts can be traced to the Pilgrims, who enjoyed the game of darts while the Mayflower made its voyage across the ocean.

It wasn’t spread throughout the world until the expansion of the great British Empire. British soldiers would take the game with them, which in turn exposed American’s to the game. The American’s would take what they remembered back to the United States with them, which quickly also grew in popularity. The game was enjoyed by many, but still associated with fun and beer, as opposed to a competition. Prior to that darts were mostly enjoyed by Anglo Americans. Soon many native populations were exposed to the game and its popularity grew so much that seldom was there not a dart in the air somewhere.

Around 1900 the game began being played according to the rules we know today, but it wasn’t until shortly after WWII that the game became standardized, allowing it to be played on equal footing around the world. Also during the early 20th century, brewery companies began to take advantage of the popularity of this sport and began dart leagues and competitions for prize money. Darts took a big leap forward with the creation of the British Darts Organization, which standardized rules and thus, the larger competitions began. In the 1980’s, darts became a televised sport with a lot of money for players to win, also increasing its popularity. Some of the most known dart tournaments are the Budweiser Open, the Holsten Premier League, Las Vegas Desert Classic and the Ladbrokes World Championship.

The equipment for playing darts has changed quite a bit too. The board, starting as the bottom of a wine barrel, and then a cross section of a tree, is now commonly found as an electronic board that keeps score for the players. Some still use and prefer the bristle dartboard. The darts are now made from Tungsten rather than brass and are less bulky than in the past. Tungsten gives the darts weight without the bulkiness, an important aspect to serious dart throwers because it allows achieving a 180 score more likely due to a better fit in the trebles.

Finally, in 2005, Darts were finally recognized as an official sport. No longer is the game of darts solely associated with bars, beer glasses, and cigarettes, but with clean, honest competition, and the recognition it deserves.