Rugeley Is Still in The Dark Ages

Rugeley Is Still in The Dark Ages.

When I first started playing darts some men’s darts leagues used an 8 foot Oche and others used a 7 foot 6 inch Oche, while the ladies would have the odd league that used a 7 foot Oche. Because of these different distances every pub used to have a rubber mat on the tiled floor to mark out the throwing distances. The mat also protected the floor from the points of the darts and protected the points of the darts from burring up when they hit the floor, which they often did, producing a good fish hook and sometimes spectacular spark. Some old fashioned pubs still have the old rubber mats, but most have moved on with the times.

As pubs became more plush with fitted carpets instead of tiled floors many fixed a single raised Oche to mark the throwing line, so leagues started to standardise the throwing distance with one measure being used for all. A “NEW METRIC” distance of 7 foot 9 ¼ inches came into being which was a compromise between the 7 foot 6 and the 8 foot. The Professionals, Superleagues and Counties were the first to adopt the new distance and now very few Leagues throw at any distance other than this, but Rugeley still hangs on to it’s old traditions with a 7 foot 6 inch Oche.

Some members of the League feel that perhaps it is time that the Rugeley teams started to play from the “New” distance and fit in with every other league around. Many players in our league go to play in different local leagues and then have to adjust to the different distance. The change may not come easily though for Rugeley because of other problems that will surface if ALL the Rugeley leagues don’t conform at the same time, not least of which being, that where raised Oches are used, two Oches will have to be installed in such a way that they don’t interfere with each other. Even metal strips that are quite commonly used to mark the line interfere with the players stance if one strip is 3 inches behind the other. With the old rubber mats there wouldn’t be a problem, but few pubs use them now.

Some of you may be aware that a new Rugeley Sunday League will, hopefully be starting soon and I am confident that it will adopt the new Metric 7 foot 9 ¼ inch distance to fit in with other leagues round about. The Sunday League will not start until the Spring when most of the Monday Night League matches are nearly over for the season, but perhaps we should start next Monday’s season at the end of the Summer, with the new standard distance if not implementing it before.

I believe that the Ladies leagues in Rugeley also play from the old distance of 7 foot 6 inches, so it might be a good idea for them to consider a change of distance as well to conform with the rest of the World. This would then mean that all pubs in the area would only need one throwing distance marked on the floor in whatever manner the Landlords see fit. There is NO intention to try and tell other Rugeley Leagues what distance they should be throwing from, with this article, but Graham and the Committee would welcome any comments or points that anybody would like to inform them of, in person, by letter or by E-mail, as it does affect us all. Please discuss this amongst yourselves and feel free to say what you really think about the subject and eventually the matter will be discussed at a Monday Night League meeting.