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At this point we would like to take a look at the players next to the dartsboard . The PDC has fought its way to the top of darts with a well-thought-out concept and has long since left behind the competing BDO, and not just financially.
In order to achieve this, it was important that the “surroundings” – i.e. the overall package – fit into a darts event. The darts callers, writers and other positions on the PDC circuit also contribute a large part.
We give you an overview of the different positions and their functions.
The Tournament Director
The Tournament Director is responsible for a PDC event. “PDC Europe” organizes the tournaments at the German events. Werner von Moltke, who acts as managing director of PDC Europe, is the responsible tournament director. This year, Werner von Moltke commented on the Darts World Cup as an expert on Sport 1.
Werner von Moltke would even have the power to cancel a game on the European Tour . Although the Tournament Director also has his representative, the director himself bears the majority of responsibility for organizing a PDC event.
The Darts Caller
Some darts callers are now almost as famous as the players themselves. The first name that usually comes up in this context is Russ Bray . Bray is known for his grating voice and has been delighting spectators at dart events for decades.
In our opinion, no one screams the 180 into the microphone like Russ Bray. But there is much more to the tasks of the darts caller. The darts caller also acts as a referee on stage .
Conversely, this means that no matter what the caller says or shouts, counts. The darts caller has to add up all the throws , announce them and pay attention to the behavior of the players .
In an emergency, he has the opportunity to intervene and “warn” the audience or the players.
A little anecdote about this: A few years ago, the PDC player Ryan Searle threw an arrow very delicately past double 10 to win the leg. However, the darts caller saw the dart in the board and called the leg in favor of Searle.
Searle went to the board and, although he saw that it was not in the double square, pulled out the arrow and won the leg . Since the scene at the time was recorded on TV cameras, Searle had to struggle with this “fraud” in the years that followed.
At this point we just want to make it clear what weight the caller's word has. The salaries of the darts callers are correspondingly high, because they carry out this task as their main job and are permanently employed by the PDC .
The Master of Ceremonies in darts
John McDonald is the so-called Master of Ceremonies at the PDC. Before each game, McDonald brings the players onto the stage with an impressive announcement and welcomes the on-site spectators and TV sets before each game.
The Master of Ceremonies leads the audience through the entire dart session as a moderator . In Germany, cult commentator Elmar Paulke often takes on this part.
Short interviews immediately after the game are often conducted by the Master of Ceremonies.
The stage manager
The stage manager is responsible for ensuring that the schedule runs smoothly . He works closely with the Tournament Director and is in constant contact with him.
The stage manager also has to coordinate with the TV station that is conducting the broadcast. This happens, for example, to initiate advertising at the right moment and return to the game on time .
What you don't see on the television: The stage manager uses a hand signal to make it clear to the caller that a game can begin.
The spotter
The spotter is always used when a darts event is broadcast on television . He has one of the most important roles in guiding the TV viewer through a leg.
In a matter of seconds, the spotter has to give the director information about which field a player will target next . The role of the spotter becomes particularly relevant when the players advance into the finish area .
The camera then pans to the respective field at lightning speed. Since every player has different preferences in how they finish a leg or play in general, it is important for the spotter to know the players on stage perfectly.
Therefore , former darts professionals such as Keith Deller are often used as spotters. They collect all the necessary information about the players in advance in order to be able to pass on the most likely path to the TV direction.
The writers at darts
The scorers in darts write down the leg for the player according to a set rule. This way the player always sees how high his remaining points are. For this purpose, the officials use a writing board that looks the same at all dart events.
The spelling is also standardized at tournaments to avoid any misunderstandings. In English the writers are called “scoring officials” .
On the big stage, each player gets their “own” scorer , while in smaller tournaments only one scorer is used.
By the way: At amateur tournaments, the loser of a game often takes on the role of scorer in the following match.
The scorer must (!) write down the score that the darts caller calls out . So, even in case of doubt, he has no power to correct them.
Only if the player draws the caller's attention to an error can the writer correct it after consulting the darts caller.
The important role of all actors for a smooth darts event
We hope that at this point we have been able to adequately explain all the important positions that are important for a smooth process on stage. Without these people , a darts event as we know it today would not be possible .
Darts is currently still in constant development. For this reason, it is quite conceivable that further positions will be added in the future.
Suggestions for the future
For example, a separate referee next to the darts caller . After the final of the Grand Slam of Darts between Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price, in which the two players clashed several times, the PDC officials came up with a new idea.
They started thinking about installing an “extra referee” on the stage to keep a better eye on the players’ behavior . Darts also wants to develop a better reputation in the long term.
For this reason, this step is not unthinkable. Because with some of the behavior of the individual actors, there is still a long way to go to present sport as acceptable throughout society.
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