Six Nations Darts

ENGLAND WIN THE SIX NATIONS CUP –
AT DARTS NOT RUGBY!

The England darts team, captained by MARTIN ADAMS, the reigning Lakeside World Professional Darts Champion, did what their rugby counterparts failed to do by winning the Six Nations Cup with a clean-sweep of victories.

Having beaten Wales 15-10 and The Netherlands 14-11 in the Group stages, they were victorious 13-10 conquers of Scotland in the Semi-Final, and then comprehensively beat The Netherlands 13-7 in the Final to become 2007 Six Nations Cup Champions.

The Six Nations Cup was played in Veldhoven, The Netherlands over the weekend of February 24th and 25th.

Full results:

GROUP A:

ENGLAND 15-10 WALES
WALES 11-14 NETHERLANDS
NETHERLANDS 11-14 ENGLAND

GROUP B:

N.IRELAND 11-14 SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND 12-13 REP OF IRELAND
REP.IRE 14-11 N.IRELAND

SEMI-FINALS:

REP.IRE 5-13 NETHERLANDS
ENGLAND 13-10 SCOTLAND

5TH PLACE PLAY-OFF:

WALES 13-8 N.IRELAND


FINAL:

ENGLAND 13-7 NETHERLANDS

Andy Fordham Update

Andy Fordham is recovering at home with the support of his wife Jenny and children Raymond and Emily, following a mild stroke.

Andy was taken ill during the 2007 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships in January and following hospitalisation had been making a steady recovery.

“Andy is one of the most popular players and personalities in darts”, says Olly Croft of the BDO, “and we all want to see him back where he belongs – on the oche playing the type of darts that earned him the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship title in 2004”.

“He is such a huge and well-loved character that he and the family not only have the support of the BDO, but also the worldwide support of everyone in darts.”

“Needless to say, we all wish him a speedy return to good health”.

English Darts Organisation Takes Flight

The England Darts Organisation (EDO) has formed in conjunction with the BDO as a restructuring of Darts in the UK from 2006.
The EDO has replaced the direct control of “BDO England” over English Darts and the International Teams and they have entered into a 5 year Agreement with Winmau as the exclusive dartboard supplier to the EDO.

The EDO was first originated to more clearly distinguish English Darts and the players and to standardise the Organisation to bring them in line with Wales, Scotland & Ireland – whose independence is similar to the original idea of the Home Nations. The EDO was created from several leading BDO officials who understand exactly what it takes to run a darts organisation in the best interests of its members. The EDO will represent England in all areas of the International Darts scene, signifying the EDO’s expansive view and freedom of thought to develop darts events further in England.

The agreement with the EDO and Winmau shows that the company has entrusted the EDO to simplify English Darts and the International Teams global identity. The EDO will be positioned to communicate Winmau®’s reputation for technically advanced equipment across darts events World Wide.

Ian Flack, Sales & Marketing Director, explained the changes, “From a darts business viewpoint the organisational change is very exciting – Winmau®’s global icons like Andy Fordham & Trina Gulliver, will now be able to represent the EDO and its values as a whole and we can further highlight our commitment to the sport of darts and the EDO.”

“We’ve also been surprised how quickly Dart players have adapted to the EDO as the governing body and their affection for Winmau equipment is as strong as ever”

REVIEW OF BETTING RULES

BRITISH DARTS ORGANISATION
ANNOUNCES REVIEW OF BETTING RULES

Following on from its signature last year of the DCMS sponsored Code of Practice on Integrity in Sports Betting, and in preparation for the coming into force later this year of the Gambling Act, which will liberalise the UK gambling market and so further encourage the upward trend in betting on sports such as darts, the BDO has today announced that it has instituted a root-and-branch review of its rules and regulations.

This has been done to ensure that the BDO follows best practice in relation to activities such as betting and the use of inside information by darts players.

It is a decision that reflects the commitment of the BDO, as the sport’s governing body, to do everything in its power to protect the integrity of the sport in the face of this increasing betting activity.

BDO Chairman, Dave Alderman, said: “The DCMS recognised last year that the liberalising effect of the Gambling Act would increase the risk of corrupt betting practices in relation to sports events, where gambling activity is already significant.

“The DCMS also recognised that sports bodies would have a key role in keeping sport fair and crime-free in the face of those risks.

“The BDO is committed to playing its part in full, by ensuring that darts players participating in its events avoid any form of conduct that could undermine public confidence in the integrity of those events.

“The root-and-branch review announced today will ensure that our rules and regulations reflect best practice in this area.

“We look forward to engaging with the Gambling Commission on this and related topics when they publish their forthcoming Issues Paper relating to gambling and the sports sector.”

He also called upon the government to play its part in preserving the integrity of sport against corrupt betting practices, in two principal ways: (1) by requiring licensed gambling operators to share information about betting activity around sports events with the relevant sports bodies, such as the BDO; and (2) more fundamentally, by assisting in the creation of a mechanism to secure fair payment for betting companies’ use of the sporting product, to assist in financing both integrity efforts and the development of the sport more generally.

Alderman added: “The betting industry makes huge profits from sports betting, and it is only fair that it should pay something in return, particularly when sports bodies have to commit substantial resources to ensure that betting activity does not threaten the integrity of the sport.
“At several meetings with representatives of the Gambling Commission, we have stood with our counterparts at other sports bodies such as the FA, the LTA and the RFU in asking the Gambling Commission to ensure that these important issues are addressed within the new regulatory framework, and we are hopeful that that message has been heard and understood.”