Darts is easy to start. Becoming genuinely good at it is another matter entirely.
The Pro Sports Guidebook to Darts is a comprehensive guide to the sport, the careers built around it and the business that supports the modern professional game. Written for newcomers, developing players, serious competitors and anyone interested in working within darts, it takes the reader from the first throw at a regulation board through to tournaments, professional qualification, sponsorship, broadcasting and international competition.
The book explains the practical skills behind competitive darts without pretending that buying expensive equipment or memorising a few checkout routes will turn somebody professional. It covers throwing technique, stance and grip, scoring, 501, doubles, checkout strategy, deliberate practice, tournament progression, pressure, crowds and dartitis, alongside the different opportunities available to women, young players and adaptive competitors.
It also goes far beyond playing. Readers can explore careers as a professional player, coach, official or caller, event organiser, and darts media or content professional, before examining the commercial machinery behind the sport: rankings and governing bodies, prize money, sponsorship, equipment manufacturers, venues, tournaments, broadcasting, fans, betting, integrity, data and the practical realities of building a darts business.
An extensive international section examines how darts differs across Britain and Ireland, continental Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia, including the relationship between steel-tip and electronic soft-tip darts and the very different routes players may take towards elite competition.
Inside you will find practical guidance on:
- Choosing and setting up darts, boards, lighting and the oche
- Developing a repeatable throwing action
- Learning scoring, counting and checkout strategy
- Building structured practice plans
- Entering leagues, opens and higher-level tournaments
- Understanding professional qualification and career progression
- Managing pressure, crowds and competitive performance
- Women's, youth and adaptive darts
- Coaching, officiating, event organisation and media careers
- Rankings, tours, prize money and sponsorship
- Darts venues, equipment businesses and tournament economics
- Data, betting regulation and sporting integrity
- The international game and the future of darts
- Checkout tables, equipment lists, tournament checklists, practice plans, terminology and career routes
Whether you want to play better, compete more seriously, understand the professional game or find a way to work and earn within the sport, this book provides the structure behind what can otherwise appear to be a confusing collection of leagues, tournaments and organisations.
One board. Three darts. Far more ways into the sport than most people realise.
The Pro Sports Guidebook to Darts: How to Play, Compete, Build a Career and Earn from the Sport.
