Is There Any Chances We’ll See Darts in the Olympics In the Near Future?

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Although for many of us, darts are often synonymous with a good night out with friends at a bar, for others, they represent a real sport where competition is fierce.

The majority of people considers it as a mere hobby and sometimes don’t even know how to play darts.

But it is possible to find many competitions of darts around the world. At Alexandra Palace in London, for example, the world darts championship, named William Hill World Darts Championship, is currently being held until January 2.

Apart from that, there are other competitions happening in different months of the year, just as from other sports (see more Here).

And although it’s hard to believe, we could be seeing lawn darts as a sport at the Olympics within a few decades. In order to know more about this, we’ve talked with specialist Kate Richardson, who helped us with this subject. So, before you go and buy darts Let’s know more about darts.

Understanding the Basics of Darts

Before trying to explain this incredible phenomenon that is the growing success of darts, especially their broadcast on television, it is important to understand how to throw darts.

Here is a game, or rather a sport for some, designed with several standards:

The target, in the form of a circle, splits into marked segments. It should be placed at a height of 1.73 m from the ground. Darts consist of a metal body and a steel tip, both of which provide balance to the object.

Each dart should weigh approximately 50g.
The distance between the target and the player must be of 2.94 m.

Darts Categories

Darts are played according to a game category. There are several categories of which the 501 is the most popular. The goal here is to reach your point set starting from 501. The first player to reach zero wins the game. A variant exists with the 301.

Otherwise, the clock game is more of a training exercise. Here, we try to put a dart in each segment of the target in order, starting from 1.

There are other possible categories on how to play darts such as:

Bastard (10 ends of 3 darts)
Shanghai (training exercise)
Cricket (more user-friendly game)
Capital
Football (two-player game only)
Happy Mille

These are just some of the possibilities for playing darts.

It’s Becoming A Television Success

In countries like France, for example, it is the sports channel L’Équipe that broadcasts the darts championships, in particular the premier league darts which is proving very popular in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Rarely broadcast in France, this championship nevertheless gathered more than 200,000 viewers for its 1st broadcast. The images are neat and the close-ups, the slow-motion as well as the computer graphics system participate in this growing craze.

Note that the broadcast lasts about 4 hours during which we witness the screams and chants of more than 10,000 people in the audience, ready to encourage the darts players.

Darts at the next Olympics

If we take some things and put it in comparison, darts is very similar to archery or shooting, and yet, it hasn’t been included in the Olympics yet.

However, this is considered such a crucial moment for the respective federations to take some measures in this direction, as we’re in the age of inclusion, and the mere fact of not having this sport in the Olympics could be seen as a negative thing for the morale of the institution.

In this regard, the WDF (World Darts Federation) is working to ensure that darts are recognized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee). To have any hope of being at the Games one day, a sport must meet a whole series of criteria.

Some of these are that it should add value to the program, interest in it by young people, the media and the public, practice for men and women, minimal impact on costs, etc.

But there are two elements that play above all: the sport must be recognized on an international scale and it must be widely practiced in the world. Long the preserve of British pubs, darts are opening up internationally.

The International Federation, the WDF, has nearly 70 national committees, including Wales, Brazil, Egypt, Nepal and Uganda. And the world championships currently being held in London are the first to count players from all continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America and South America.

And the British are no longer the only players who matter in the discipline. Australians, Belgians, Austrians, a Brazilian or even a South African are currently participating in the Worlds. But there are no French players. And that could be a problem from an Olympic – at least for Paris 2024 – perspective.

Will We Watch Darts in Paris 2024?

That’s hard to believe. Mainly because there is not much time from now to the next Olympics. Apart from that, there is the fact that France doesn’t count with dart players taking part in the World Championships.

Under these conditions, it is difficult to imagine that the Paris 2024 organizing committee is pushing for the candidacy of darts as an Olympic sport. However, this interesting sport has chances of appearing in the 2028 Olympics.

Bet on Darts

Although many may not know, there are many options for darts betting sites, especially when talking about British bookmakers.

So, if you are interested in darts and sports betting, you can enjoy both of them and follow every championship around the world. That way, when the sport arrives at the Olympics, you already know how to place your wagers.