THE HISTORY OF DARTS

Darts is one of the most popular sports games in the world. Few people have never thrown a dart in their lives and large number of them play the game in the pubs and clubs. Not a long time ago it was just a club game and national competitions were hardly ever held. Suddenly the game turned into an international passion.

Although darts is a part of the heritage of British culture, its history seems to be extremely vague. Probably British archers had been spending their free time playing the game which resembled darts before they defeated the French in the battle of Agincourt in 1415. As the game popularity was increasing, the game was winning the hearts of the nobles; in 1530 Anne Boleyn gave King Henry VIII a set of "Biscay elaborated darts". One thing is sure - darts is undoubtedly the sport of the 20th and 21st century. What's more, its lovers claim that it is actually a sport, not a common game (like e.g. cards), as it involves both human physical and mental skills.

For over a century darts has been gaining popularity as a club game. Regular league championships have been organized. In 1954 the British National Darts Association was established, which has been organizing annual national competitions for years. Nevertheless, darts became highly popular in 1960s and in the early 1970s, mainly due to the use of a new kind of darts, which were made of wolfram. It resulted in traders and sponsors becoming more and more interested in the game. In 1973 the British Darts Organization was set up, which popularized the game on television, somehow releasing it from the gloomy rooms of pubs and clubs. In 1970s darts became an international sport. For example, in 1985 The Fifth Darts World Cup was held in Brisbane. Eighteen countries were competing in the category of men and another eighteen in the category of women. Contestants arrived from Canada, England, Finland, France, Japan, Filipinos, Singapore, Thailand, the USA and Western Germany.

Nowadays we have a wide range of games and ways of playing them. Hundreds of various types of darts - from x01 to cricket - tempt the players with their unique features. You are guaranteed to find something for yourself. Just choose a game and play it!