All About Darts

Most people nowadays are familiar with the game of darts.  You probably even have a friend or colleague who loves to play darts and you may have even played darts once or twice yourself.  Well, darts is a fun social game that has been around for centuries.  It is popular in almost every corner of the world and many people play it in tournaments and leagues.  The continuing popularity of darts indicates that is is a sport that holds talent, skill, and even a bit of luck.  

The Early Days
The game of darts began as training in the martial arts, particularly in the martial art of archery.  It was born in the Medieval England where archery teachers shortened some arrows and had their students throw these shortened arrows at the bottom of an empty wine barrel.  It is thought that the soldiers at that time took their shortened arrows with them to the local drinking establishment to exhibit their skill in shooting the arrows, as well as to have fun at the same time.  And, when the base of wine barrels proved to be inconvenient or in short supply, many of the imaginative darters brought in a cross-section of a moderate sized tree to serve as a “board”.

The early darts board was noted to have featured some rings on it, and when it dried out the cracks gave further segmentation.  It is actually this cracked and dried board that started to evolve into what is known today as the current darts board. 

The sport of darts was not only enjoyed by the lower classes in the Medieval England.  In fact, the oft married Henry VIII was reputed to greatly enjoy darts.  In fact due to his great passion for darts Henry VIII, Anne Boylen gave him a beautiful ornate darts set. 

Dart Enters America
The root of darts in America can be traced back to the pilgrims where the hardy colonizers were reputed to have played the game on the Mayflower as it made its ocean crossing.  Since that time, dart was played and very much enjoyed in America whenever spare time was available.  However, the coming of darts in the American continent remained largely as an Anglo-American sport until the beginning of the Victorian Age when darts was introduced worldwide by the great expansion of the British Empire.  Since the expansion, the game of darts was exposed to the people and the native population began to find great enjoyment in it.

The Game of Darts Today
Around 1900, the rules of darts were revised into what they still are today.  Certain standards of the game were set.  In fact, the size of the dart board, the throwing distance, and even the size of the darts were all standardized.  As more and more people came to enjoy the sport of darts, a number of teams were then organized.  From this professional darts leagues emerged and now are all over the world, with teams playing for trophies and prestige.   Most local pubs in lots of countries proudly boast a darts team.