The WDF – World Darts Federation – was founded in 1976 under the auspices of the BDO . Today, the WDF represents a total of 500,000 darts players .
These figures alone make it clear that the world association is more interested in promoting darts as a popular sport than in establishing professional structures within an association.
For all players organized within the WDF, there are many tournaments throughout the calendar year to prove themselves and possibly test whether they are capable of pursuing a career as a professional.
But WDF Darts is much more than that. The importance of this organization is often undervalued. In this blog post, you'll learn what the World Dart Federation actually is , what exactly it does, and what its goal is.
What is the WDF?
In 1976, the World Darts Federation (WDF for short) was founded as the new global governing body for the sport of darts. The idea of founding such an association likely originated through the collaboration of Olly Croft, Stanley Lowy, Barry Twomlow, and Tom Fleetwood .
Lowy was Unicon CEO at the time, and Twomlow was Unicorn's ambassador at the time. In addition to Croft, Fleetwood was also one of the founders. He was also one of the founders of the American Darts Association (ADO) and organized the most important darts tournaments in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Even back then, many players were wondering how to become a professional dart player and what options they had.
How was the WDF founded?
Fifteen countries joined at its founding. Today, more than 80 national associations are members of the world association. Incidentally, WDF Germany is the DDV – the German Darts Association.
Numerous teams and players are organized within these 80 national associations within the official structures of their respective national associations. The World Darts Federation now boasts a whopping 500,000 members .
However, a major problem with WDF Germany is that there are no comprehensive structures in place to plan a league system from the bottom up.
If this were the case, the number of players from Germany would be many times higher than it is currently.
The 10 most important rules of the WDF
As you probably know, the WDF has countless rules. For example, at least for tournaments , players must be of legal age . Furthermore, every player must be at the board within 10 minutes of the end of the last game .
Failure to do so could result in disqualification , and with unlucky luck, the player could slip down the WDF rankings. However, there are other interesting rules of the World Dart Federation, some of which we have listed here. You can find all of the WDF rules here .
- At the beginning of a game, each player is allowed to throw 9 darts at the board they are playing on. This allows them to familiarize themselves with the game.
- The first throw decides who goes first . Before the game begins, both players throw at the bull to decide who goes first.
- If a player does not complete all of his Round Robin games, they will be removed from the group results table .
- The WDF World Open and the WDF World Championship Qualifiers are played in a knockout format , with markers used for the first match.
- The loser must also stay to mark the next game on the same board. However, even if you lose on stage, you must return to that board and mark the board you want to play on.
- The World Dart Federation's dress code must be observed. This includes trousers ( no jeans) , a collared shirt , and dark shoes . Women must wear a skirt, blouse, and dark shoes.
- It is forbidden to show that you belong to a club (motorcycle, football or similar).
- Players performing on stage must also visibly wear a sticker of the main sponsor , if provided.
- For security reasons, prize money will only be paid out via bank transfer .
- Anyone who does not participate in the award ceremony loses the right to receive the prize money and the trophy.
WDF Darts – What is the association’s goal?
The main aim of the association is to make darts more popular worldwide in order to establish it as a popular sport in the long term.
Admittedly, this is a big challenge, considering the subtle clichés that sport already has to contend with in Germany.
Nevertheless, the range of regional associations organized within the WDF is constantly growing . This is also evident in WDF Germany, as this organization continues to grow.
Which countries do the WDF members come from?
Members now come from every continent . Here are a few examples you might not have immediately noticed:
- Ethiopia (Africa)
- Brunei (Asia)
- Australia (Australia)
- Cyprus (Europe)
- Brazil (South America)
- Trinidad & Tobago (North America)
Today, the WDF has a total of 500,000 darts players.
This diversity in the composition of the world governing body demonstrates that the goal of making darts a big sport is gradually paying off. This is also reflected in the numerous WDF tournaments and the WDF rankings.
What are the WDF Regional Tables?
The WDF Regional Tables are essentially WDF rankings alongside the official rankings. These are used, among other things, to qualify for tournaments. However , Australia, Canada, New Zealand , and the United States have their own regional tables. The five remaining tables are divided as follows:
- Regional Table of UK and Ireland
- Regional Table of Northern Europe
- Regional Table of Eastern Europe
- Regional Table of Western Europe
- Regional Table of Asia
Is there a connection between WDF and BDO?
The connection between the world governing body and the BDO cannot be denied. This is partly due to the fact that one of the founding members of the WDF was president of the BDO at the time—Olly Croft.
At the same time, Croft also served as Secretary General of the World Dart Federation. And even today, a former BDO official holds the position of WDF Secretary General.
Nick Rolls, formerly a caller for the BDO, has taken over the position. Despite the clear ties between the WDF and the BDO, the WDF is increasingly splitting off and operating as an independent association.
This is partly due to the decline of the BDO in Great Britain. Nevertheless, the BDO remains one of the more than 80 national associations in the WDF today – albeit with a significantly lower status than it did back then.
Rankings & tournaments at the WDF
The WDF now also hosts several tournaments with a global flair . These include the WDF World Cup and the WDF Europe Cup .
The WDF World Cup is the largest team competition in the world . The World Darts Federation's second-largest tournament is the WDF Europe Cup, where competitors compete against other compatriots in team and individual competitions.
Starting in 2020, the World Darts Federation also launched two new major tournaments and redesigned the WDF World Rankings. The results of more than 100 tournaments held in nearly 50 countries will ultimately be included in the WDF Rankings.
The relationship between the World Darts Federation and the DDV
The relationship between the German Darts Association and the WDF is good and cooperative. After all, the DDV is a member of the WDF. This means that every player who is registered with the DDV and plays successfully has the opportunity to participate in the WDF's major tournaments .
What is interesting in this context, however, is that German players who try to become professional players in the PDC cannot take part in any WDF tournament .
In return, they can participate in tournaments organized by the regional association, the DDV. Unfortunately, this means that all the really good players in Germany can no longer participate in the major WDF tournaments because they naturally want to try their hand at the financially strong PDC to earn a living from darts.
At this point, the world governing body is, so to speak, shooting itself in the foot, as it is denying strong national players the opportunity to present themselves at WDF tournaments in addition to the PDC.
The World Darts Federation and the dream of the Olympics
The WDF continues to pursue ambitious goals. Due to the large number of national associations, the World Darts Federation repeatedly attempts to make darts suitable for the Olympics .
As the official world governing body for darts, the World Federation is constantly striving to become an IOC member. If successful, darts could conceivably be included as an Olympic sport.
The IOC , by the way, is the International Olympic Committee . This would be fantastic news for the sport, as IOC acceptance would greatly boost darts' status as a professional sport.
However, the quality of the players who would subsequently compete at the Olympic Games would still remain a problem.
The following still applies: PDC players are not allowed to participate in tournaments directly associated with the World Darts Federation. This means that any WDF player who plays in the PDC Order of Merit no longer has a chance to play for their organization . However, they are allowed to participate in PDC Premier League Darts tournaments.
Conclusion
The World Dart Federation is immensely important, especially since over 80 countries now belong to this organization . This opportunity is making darts increasingly well-known and popular all over the world .
But mainly because darts on TV is no longer a rarity and is becoming more and more popular .
There is not only a WDF world ranking, but also numerous important WDF tournaments that are of great importance to the players.
Olly Croft, one of the founders, is still involved, although many see this as a disadvantage because he prefers to use what already exists rather than introducing new things.
FAQ
What is the difference between WDF and PDC?
The WDC has changed its name to PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) and claims that PDC should be the only world governing body.
However, WDF was recognized as a global umbrella organization , just as BDO was recognized as the British umbrella organization . Essentially, the two associations are no different and pursue the same goal .
However, they are still competitors , since German professional players who play PDC tournaments are no longer allowed to play WDF tournaments.
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