Everyone in Redditch is familiar with the Astwood Bank Darts League. Created to pit the best of the community against each other, the league is a great way for members of the town to show off their skills and indulge in a sport that has long been a British favourite.
Across the country, there are 66 county members of the British Darts Organisation, overseeing everything from professional, to semi-professional, to amateur darts matches around the UK. Its popularity has grown exponentially throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, but the reason for why isn’t exactly clear.
Britain as a Darts Hotspot
Darts is not a British game, for one thing. Although the origins are not exactly clarified, the first references to darts come from France, where the game known as ‘flechettes’ was invented in the late 19th century. This involved small arrows made of wood that were thrown toward wooden barrels with a painted target. It was soon reimagined with the famous darts board – far closer to what we recognise today – and since then, it’s fair to say that we’ve adopted the sport as our own.
In 2024, there will be several world-class darts tournaments taking place across the country, and while the figures for the last championship were high, it is the stats over the last two decades that really take the breath away. According to recent research, there’s been an almost 900% increase in viewing figures from 1999 to 2023. Considering that darts was already a big part of the British psyche, this is a massive increase that doesn’t look set to slow any time soon.
The Arrival of Darts
This can perhaps be attributed to two things. Firstly, Britain is a hotspot for darts because soldiers of the 19th and early 20th centuries made it so. According to numerous sources, British soldiers overseas found the game of darts – potentially shown to them by the French – and played it to pass the time between combat. When they came home and socialised in the popular public houses, the game was shown to others and quickly became a regular occurrence.
There was just one problem. ‘Games of chance’ were prohibited in public houses, and in 1908, a pub owner in Yorkshire was taken to court for allowing the game to be played. In the eyes of the law, he had the opportunity to prove that darts was a game of skill and not chance. With a board being set up in the courtroom, the pub owner threw 3 darts in the 20 and then challenged magistrates to duplicate it. After failing to do so, the court recognised darts as a game of skill, and the laws were changed. From that point on, darts grew in notoriety.
Britain’s Immense Sporting Infrastructure
The second reason Britain has become a hotspot in Britain is due to the sporting infrastructure. It’s not just Redditch sport that benefits from this, but the whole country and it has done for years. As mentioned before, the British Darts Organisation has played a big role in nurturing the sport and the talent that has been involved with it. With dedicated coaches, regular competitions, scientific training methods, and various programs, budding UK players have the means to excel in a way that other countries don’t. Media and sponsorship have also grown, with English players being given the resources to focus entirely on elevating their skills and playing professionally, creating a cycle of success.
Darts in Britain has changed from a small, fun game brought home by soldiers to a full-blown major sport, due to the time and finances that have been put into it. That’s why it has become such a hotspot. And that’s why we will continue to enjoy darts long into the future!
