What makes darts a sport

Darts is a fun and competitive sport. There are even World Championships and competitions that where the top players will travel from all over the world to compete. There are competitions in the US, Canada, and in Europe, in addition to other individual countries. Each organization has its own rules; however, the basics remain the same. The official darts rules for the Professional Darts Corporation are issued by the darts regulation authority.

The Professional Darts Organization currently hosts world dart tournaments. Most of these competitions will take place somewhere in Europe, so many professional players all over the world will travel to compete.

You may just be curious, or perhaps you have begun to take up the game yourself. It can be easy to see this as a common bar and pub game as more of a hobby or board game than a real sport at first glance. But is darts a sport? Darts is a sport. Although it is possible to play as a hobby as with most sports , darts requires players to be well-aimed and to compete at a high level.

Regardless of your personal opinions of darts as a sport, this is a question that deserves some looking at. Below I will outline all about the considerations of darts as a sport and its official recognition. Understand we are talking mostly about steel tip darts here. While I do consider soft tip darts sport as well, it is still in its early stages without world organized play or televised games. I would like to point out that, although the exertion may be lesser than many sports, it does require a physical prowess to be able to hit the target.

To add to that, the skill and prowess that is needed are done in competition against another individual. I believe one of the main reasons people question the authenticity of darts as a sport is due to the simplicity. Any average human can pick up a dart and toss it at the dartboard. At this level, it requires minimal physical exertion and you may even hit the board fairly frequently. Standing just under 8 feet away from the dartboard, and tossing a dart, which to an untrained hand does not feel well balanced, it is quite an accomplishment to get the darts to stick to the board at first.

As time goes on you may have a better aim or even be able to get it to stick frequently. It plays a critical role regardless of how capable a team or individual may be. Think about how many were upset when the FA Cup in the English football division was won by a lowly rated team and not a premier league favorite.

Another debatable point is little equipment and the preparation required to play darts. To play, you only need to have a dart board , a couple of darts , and a scoreboard , and you are ready to go. It is inexpensive , but this does not make darts any less of a sport.

Cricket requires only a bat and a few chunks of wood to play. Yes, darts does not require a pitch nor any form of pitch lining, it can pretty much be played anywhere, and anytime. Look at it this way. A dartboard is the equivalent of the tennis court or football pitch. To win a match, a player needs to find his way around certain areas of the pitch.

For many years, darts was a pub game which gained popularity among working-class people and somehow worms its way into mainstream media. The game changed during the s, when promotion companies, players and fans began to take the game seriously as reforms were made to the game. Darts big matches played between star players became one of the most sought-after game shows in the United Kingdom.

Darts players may not be athletic, sinewy or the archetypal sport poster boys on goal — but they are skillful players who compete amongst themselves in a ranking system. There is no doubt darts involves physical exertion and it also requires plenty of skills. Throwing three darts into a very narrow target to score is not luck, it requires skill. Players need to know what numbers and doubles they must hit to finish the game and that also requires skill. Being able to count backwards and split the remaining total in order to finish the game on a double takes both practice and skill.

This is something many players struggle to master quickly and can take time. The final part of the sport definition above talks about individuals or teams competing against each other for entertainment. There can be no denying that darts falls seamlessly into this category. Darts is played with two individuals against each other or sometimes pairs playing against each other. In addition, you will find huge crowds at the Professional Darts Corporation events and are we are talking about thousands of people watching in large arenas.