Sunday 30th July 2006

BRITISH CLASSIC 2006: ANOTHER WIN FOR GARY ANDERSON. DEE BATEMAN TAKES WOMEN'S TITLE

Results from the British Classic, which was played today in Kettering, can be seen below.

MEN:  LAST 32

WOMEN:  LAST 16

Friday 28th July 2006

NEW ZEALAND DARTS COUNCIL: JULY NEWSLETTER

The New Zealand Darts Council has sent us their latest newsletter. The newsletter is published monthly  throughout the year, and in future we shall be publishing them just as soon as they arrive. You can read or download the July newsletter.....here.

We are also expecting to publish daily info updates from the New Zealand Senior Championships which start on 6th August, and will include the WDF / BDO ranked New Zealand Open

Wednesday 26th July 2006

WDF AMERICAS CUP 2006

Results from the 2006 Americas Cup have now arrived. The event was played in Barbados, with the USA winning the overall cup, followed by Barbados and Canada. The USA completed a clean sweep,  they won the Team event beating Barbados in the final, while Stacey Bromberg and Scott Wollaston captured the individual titles.

The complete results, in Microsoft Excel format, can be read or downloaded.....here.

KLONDIKE OPEN 2006

The 2006 Klondike Open will be held in Edmonton, Alberta on 6 - October. The information poster is now available in the WDF Tournament Calendar.

Sunday 23rd July 2006

BELGIUM OPEN SINGLES 2006: DARRYL FITTON AND IRINA ARMSTRONG TAKE THE SINGLES TITLES

The Belgium Open Singles events were played yesterday. England's Darryl Fitton won the men's event beating fellow countryman Ted Hankey in the Final. The women's event produced an all Russian final with Irina Armstrong beating Anastasia Dobromyslova. The youth events emphasized the current strength of the Dutch youth players, who supplied all the finalists. In the Boy's event Pape Maarten took the title beating Daniel van Mourik. The Girl's event was won by Talisa Zwart who defeated Nienke de Lange.

The brackets from the closing stages of all the Singles events can be seen below.

Friday 21st July 2006

BAVARIA WORLD DARTS TROPHY DRAW ANNOUNCED

The draw for the 2006 Bavaria World Darts Trophy was announced today, it is as follows:

The draw for the Junior event was as follows:

MORE EUROPE CUP TEAMS ANNOUNCED TODAY

Thursday 20th July 2006

EUROPE CUP 2006: NETHERLANDS ANNOUNCE THEIR TEAMS

The Netherlands have announced the following teams for the 2006 Europe Cup:

Women:   Francisca Hoenselaar  and  Karin Krappen

Men:    Jelle Klaasen,  Vincent van der Voort,  Co Stompe,  and  Niels de Ruiter.

Wednesday 19th July 2006

KLONDIKE OPEN 2006

Details of the 2006 Klondike Open are now available. The flyer for this event can be read and downloaded from the WDF Tournament Calendar.

Monday 17th July 2006

WOLFIE AND THE CUBS

Two down one to go! Martin Adams learns that a ‘treble’ of wolves can be a handful at feeding time!!

England Captain MARTIN ADAMS is enjoying living up to his ‘Wolfie’ nickname and love of wolves by helping to welcome three new cubs to the UK Wolf Conservation Trust (UKWCT).    The cute threesome are being cared for around the clock by volunteers from the Trust, who hand-feed them every four hours, and Martin was only too pleased to help out on a recent visit  to the Berkshire based Conservation Trust at Butlers Farm, Beenham, Reading.   Not surprisingly, the latest arrivals at the UK Wolf Conservation Trust (UKWCT) are attracting a lot of attention, and Martin was only too pleased to assist with the feeding while once again continuing his close relationship with ‘Duma’, a mature wolf who he adopted some four years ago when he first visited the Trust Centre.   “During the 2002 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships I was invited to the UKWCT for the first time and actually filmed with the wolves for television”, says Martin..”Not only was it an exciting experience, but I found I had an affinity

with the wolves – especially Duma, who I have since had the privilege of ‘bonding’ with as we  walk together at the centre.   “The UKWCT is doing a wonderful job in dispelling the myths and misconceptions surrounding wolves through visits to schools and country shows, and I am delighted to welcome these new cubs into the Trust ‘family’.”   Tsa Palmer, director, said, “Martin has become a good supporter and ambassador for the Trust through his numerous visits. There is a mutual recognition between him and Duma and no doubt he will watch the cubs grow with interest. Already they are maturing fast and each one has its own personality. It’s lovely to see them playing and trying to establish their place in the pack.”   The UKWCT was the brainchild of the late Roger Palmer whose passion for wildlife led to him keeping a private collection of wolves before establishing a small team of volunteers to help realise his vision for wolf conservation. The UKWCT was born and eleven years later is well established as an Education Centre which is very popular with school and community groups (as well as visiting celebrities).   The UKWCT was formed in 1995, and is currently home to nine wolves who are ambassadors for their species.  Currently there are three small packs at the Centre, and the new cubs will join one of the packs as soon as they are mature enough.   Most of the UKWCT’s work is educational and focused on dispelling the myths and misconceptions about wolves throughout the world.  The UKWCT raises funding to support the work undertaken in the UK, and to financially support wild wolf projects especially in Europe.    The UKWCT publishes an international magazine called Wolf Print which is supported by the world’s leading wolf biologists, many of whom have given presentations at the twice-yearly seminars.    The wolves at the UKWCT attract a lot of attention wherever they go, and have gained their own notoriety through television work, having been filmed for the BBC drama series ‘Monarch of the Glen’ and most recently appearing on the ITV’s ‘Paul O’Grady Show’.    To find out more about the UKWCT  telephone 01189 713330 or visit the website: www.ukwolf.org.

Sunday 16th July 2006

BDO GOLD CUP 2006

The 2006 BDO Gold Cup Championships were held at the Lakeside on Saturday. Scotland's Gary Anderson added yet another high profile title to his collection after beating Welshman Robert Hughes in the Final. Yorkshire's Karen Lawman overcame World Nr.1 Trina Gulliver in the Semi-Final and went on to win the women's event beating Apylee Jones in the Final.

The brackets for Men's and Women's Singles and Pairs can be seen below. The WDF thank IDPA Webmaster John Walton for the information.

Saturday 15th July 2006

EUROPE CUP YOUTH 2006: FINALS DAY

The Netherlands boys team of Michael van Gerwen, Sven van Dun, Jan Dekker, and Pieter Collijn crused to a 9 - 1 win over England in the final event of the 2006 championships. The boys from the Netherlands won the overall Boys Championship in supreme style with Michael van Gerwen winning all three titles.

Kerstin Lederbogen and Benita Göbel won the Girls Pairs title with a 4 - 2 victory over Kimberley Lewis and Kylie Murphy of Wales.  The win secured Germany's Girls the overall silver medal at the expense of the Netherlands.

Michael van Gerwen secured his second European title of the day when he and partner Sven van Dun defeated Kevin Münch and Michaey Fey by 4 legs to 2 in the final of the Boys Pairs. This means that Germany must settle for 3rd place in the Boys overall event.

Kimberley Lewis of Wales won the Girls Singles title beating Thea Kaaijk from the Nethertlands in the final. Kimberley's win ensured that Wales win the  overall Girls Europe Cup Trophy. In the fight for second place Germany must beat Wales in the Girls Pairs.

Michael van Gerwen from the Netherlands became the first Europe Cup Youth Champion to be crowned in 2006 when he beat team-mate Pieter Collijn by 3 sets to one in today's final. Netherlands have already secured the overall winners trophy.

EUROPE CUP YOUTH 2006: FINALS DAY

The Europe Cup Youth reaches its climax today with the stage finals of all events. In the Girls event the Netherlands lead the points table, with Wales and Germany close behind. All three countries have players left in both the Singles and Pairs events so the final positions may not be decided until the last dart is thrown.

In the Boys event  the Netherlands are strong favourites, they have a 17 point lead over England with Scotland a further 2 points behind in third place. It will be a big surprise if the Netherlands do not win this event but the battle for the silver and bronze medals will be intense with host nation Germany still in with a good chance.

Here is today's schedule:

We shall be updating frequently during the course of the day. There are links to the tournament results and points tables on the left and right sides of this page.

Friday 14th July 2006

EUROPE CUP YOUTH 2006

Day one, and play has now finished. You can get all the results from today's matches, and an up to date points table by clicking on one of the links on the left or right side of this page. All events play down to the Semi-Finals today. Finals Start at 09.30CET (10.30BST) tomorrow.

Thursday 13 July 2006

EUROPE CUP YOUTH 2006

The 2006 Europe Cup Youth starts tomorrow morning at 09.00 CET with the Boys Singles which is a knockout event, and will be played down to the Semi-Finals. The Girls start a 09.30 CET with the Pairs Event. This starts as a "Round Robin" with the 2 best in each group advancing to the knockout  Semi-Finals. The Boys Pairs are scheduled to start at 11.30 CET. This event is also a knockout event  and will also be played down to the Semi-Finals.

The afternoon session starts at 14.30 CET and comprises the Boys Team Event and the Girls Singles Event. Both events start as "Round Robins" with the with the best teams advancing to the knockout stages.

We shall be updating frequently with results from the matches.

MALTA OPEN 2006

The 2006 Malta Open will be held at the Dolmen Hotel, Bugibba on 21 - 23 November.  The event carries WDF ranking points. You can get all the details from the link in the WDF Tornament Calendar.

SCANDINAVIAN OPENS WILL NOT BE BROADCAST ON EUROSPORT

The extremely strict laws on TV advertising practised in Norway and Sweden prohibit the advertising of any form of betting or gaming, unless the advertising company is owned by the state. This means that "UNIBET", who are the main sponsor for the current series, cannot display their advertising, and will therefore not fund these events. As a result of this, the other event in the package, the Belgian Open will not be broadcast.

Details concerning the Europe Cup and British Open will be announced later.

Wednesday 12th July 2006

CENTRAL COAST CLASSIC 2006

TONY DAVID RETURNS TO WINNING WAYS, CAROL FORWOOD IS THE WOMENS CHAMPION

Tony David made a welcome return to winning ways when he defeated Current Australian Nr.1 Simon Whitlock by 7 - 1 in the Final of the Central Coast Australian Classic which was played at the Weekend. In the Women's event current Australian Nr. 1 Carol Forwood consolidated her position in the Australian rankings when beating nearest rival Dot Mcleod by 6 - 3. She now holds 9th place in the current WDF World Rankings.

Tuesday 11th July 2006

2007 LAKESIDE WORLD PRO IS RICHEST EVER AS BDO DARTS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS ON BBC TV

The 2007 LAKESIDE WORLD PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS will celebrate the 30^th Anniversary of exclusive coverage of the BDO’s World Professional Darts Championships on BBC Television with the richest prize fund of all time.

There is an available prize fund of £290,000, with the 2007 Men’s World Champion picking up a cheque for £70,000.

The full prize fund is as follows:

To be played at Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey -‘the home of World Darts’ – from Saturday, January 6^th to Sunday, January 14^th, 2007, the World Professional Darts Championships have all the history and kudos as the No.1 tournament in World Darts.  The Men’s World Professional Championship will celebrate 30 years continuous coverage on BBC (1978 to 2007), while the only stand-alone Women’s World Professional Championship will be staged for the seventh consecutive year (2001 to 2007).

“Lakeside is delighted to be continuing as the main title sponsor”, says Bob Potter, OBE, proprietor of the Lakeside Complex. “The atmosphere is unique, and we have once again increased the prize money to reflect the ever-increasing standards that we are privileged to see year in year out.”

In addition to BBC TV, Dutch broadcasting company SBS-6 will be back for their 10th consecutive year to transmit live darts to The Netherlands and Greater Europe, Eurosport will be adding to the global TV mix, and digital viewers will be able to watch every dart thrown live on BBCi. In addition, BBC Worldwide will offer coverage to countries around the globe.

BBC viewing figures in 2006 were a healthy 14% up on 2005 to a 1.2million average audience (10.2% share). Excluding the late night Darts Extra, the average audience throughout the week was 1.3 million (10.5% share)

The peak quarter hour was up to over 4 million, with an overall peak audience for the final of 4.2 million – a massive increase on the 3 million peak audience for the 2005 final).

The World Pro enjoyed the best ever ratings in the history of SBS-6, with an average of 3.9 million throughout the week and 5.03million for the final – a broadcasting record for SBS-6.

“I am proud to say that the World Professional Darts Championships not only boasts the true history of darts at the highest possible level, but also has the largest TV audiences for darts in the world – all enjoying the best players, finest officials, and the No.1 one venue in World Darts” adds Olly Croft.

2006 Men’s World Pro Champion JELLE KLAASEN and six times Women’s World Pro Champion TRINA GULLIVER will return to defend their titles from January 6^th to 14^th, 2007.

Defending Champions Trina Gulliver and Jelle Klaasen

For further information and to download ticket order forms visit: www.lakesideworlddarts.co.uk

Sunday 9th July 2006

WELSH CLASSIC 2006: JULIE GORE AND DARRYL FITTON WIN THE SINGLES TITLES

The 2006 Wesh Classic was played today in Rhyl, North Wales. The men's event carries points for the BDO, WDT, IDL, and Leendesk Masters invitation Tables, while the women's event is included in the BDO Invitation table. The brackets for the last 8  for both men's and women's events are shown below. You can view all the results from all the Singles and Pairs events.....here   On the left you can see Elaine Larkin, representative of Lyons Robin Hood, who sponsored the event, flanked by the Singles Winners Julie Gore and Darryl Fitton.

MEN