Game Born In Pubs Considers Going On Wagon
(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Paul Beckett
VELDHOVEN, Netherlands -- In the VIP room at the Dutch Open this month, some
of the world's greatest darts players prepared for their matches. For a few,
that meant an occasional walk through the smoky haze to a practice stage.
Mostly it involved sitting in comfy chairs with a stiff drink and a cigarette.
On the menu: breaded pork with fries.
Jelle Klaasen, 21 years old, was having none of it. The Dutch player doesn't
smoke, drinks nothing stronger than orange juice and weighs in at a slender
165 pounds. His vices include an occasional weekend pizza and a shortage of
fruits. The healthy approach, he says, "means I can stay more focused."
Some darts players joke that a balanced diet requires holding a pint of beer
in each hand. In their world, Mr. Klaasen is something of an oddity, and a
successful one. The unassuming Dutchman has become a symbol for those who have
lofty ambitions for a game that developed in the United Kingdom more than a
century ago as a boozy, working-class pastime. Dutch darts authorities, who
are pushing the clean-living concept, are even dreaming of a spot at the
Olympics.
As a virtual unknown, Mr. Klaasen stunned the darts world last month at the
BDO Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships in Britain, the most
prestigious event in darts. In the final, he beat Raymond van Barneveld, a
38-year-old fellow Dutchman. Mr. Barneveld weighs about 290 pounds. Before the
game, to calm his nerves, Mr. Barneveld, known as Barney, says he had his
usual tipples of Bacardi-and-orange and Jagermeister.
"Barney wasn't fit enough, he was sweating like a pig and the boy looked
like he was practicing with him," says Bobby George, a former world champion
from Britain and a commentator for the BBC, which aired the final live. Mr.
Barneveld says he lost because the crowd was firmly behind the youngster.
"Jelle lets people see you can play darts without drinking and smoking,"
said Michael van Gerwen, 16, a Dutch player who has won international
tournaments on youth and adult circuits. He is old enough to drink in the
Netherlands but says he chooses not to. "You can play better without drink,"
he says. "You know what you're doing."
The Nederlandse Darts Bond, the Dutch darts association that runs the Dutch
Open, banned alcohol and tobacco from the floor of official tournaments about
eight years ago, becoming the first national darts association to do so. Even
audience members can't drink or smoke as they watch matches, a sharp contrast
to the pub-like atmosphere that prevails at tournaments in Britain. Players in
Britain and the Netherlands have been barred from smoking or drinking in the
middle of games for about 20 years. Tournaments in both countries, however,
still provide lounges near the main hall for those in need of a drink either
before the games or during intervals.
Many of the world's greatest players say their ability to launch three darts
into a cork board with maximum accuracy will be curtailed if they can't steady
their hands and relax their minds.
"I drink `til I get myself settled," says Andy "The Viking" Fordham, a
jovial 44-year-old pub owner and world-ranked player. He says that often
involves downing 15 to 20 bottles of beer in advance, though for the Dutch
Open he switched to white wine. Mr. Fordham says darts doesn't require much
physical fitness. A couple of years ago, when he was at the peak of his
playing skills, he weighed about 420 pounds, though he has been trying to slim
down.
Having booze and cigarettes readily available helps attract darts' biggest
stars, typically middle-age Englishmen. "Our roots come from the pubs and
clubs of England. Having a drink is all part of it," said Martin "Wolfie"
Adams, 49, captain of the England darts team and one of the world's best
players. His usual pregame tipple is a few pints of "bitter" -- a dark,
English beer. "We all get in the practice room before a game and think `What
time is the bar open.' "
Mr. Adams says it will likely be the next generation of players who will
change darts' reputation. Between puffs on a cigarette, he says if tournaments
barred alcohol and smoking, he would have to think about whether to
participate.
At the Dutch Open, despite the ban, refreshments weren't hard to find for
the almost 5,000 players that showed up to compete. Down a tented walkway from
the conference hall where games are played stood a marquee tent blasting heavy
rock music and serving Heineken.
Helen Hofland, director of the Nederlandse Darts Bond, favors further
restrictions on alcohol and cigarettes, but realizes that eliminating them
entirely is unrealistic. "If there is no VIP room, I think the players will
just go to their hotel rooms and have a drink there," she says. "But they will
drink a little less than normal."
Ms. Hofland says her push eventually may help fulfill many players' dream of
one day being considered for the Olympics. "If you've got 10 players like
Jelle, it's correct to go for the Olympics. If you've got 10 like Fordham, you
have to question yourself, `Are these Olympic players?' " Ms. Hofland asks.
"Are you the same as the swimming guys, the skating guys: is it a sport?"
Mr. Klaasen throws his three darts quickly. It takes him a total of four to
six seconds to toss them toward the board, compared with the as much as 12
seconds for other players. Commentators think this has the effect of rushing
opponents, especially those a little heavy on their feet.
The outcome of the Dutch Open handed a victory to those who say health and
fitness don't much matter. Mr. Adams, who had an upset stomach, switched to
brandy and Coke from beer, and went on to win the men's doubles competition.
Mr. Klaasen didn't make it to the later stages of the men's singles, blaming
the demands of his new-found fame for cutting down on his practice time.
In the final, Mr. Barneveld defeated Scotland's Gary Anderson -- a player in
better shape than most because he also works in construction -- in a
best-of-five-set final by three sets to two.
Mr. Barneveld "doesn't look like the most accomplished sportsman," said Ben
Lee, a 26-year-old English darts enthusiast who works in the British prison
service and traveled here to watch the tournament. "But he's proven it doesn't
really matter."
Still, even Mr. Barneveld concedes that getting in better shape might be a
good idea. "I said to myself when I came back from the Lakeside, `I'm going to
lose 30 kilos [66 pounds] this year,' " Mr. Barneveld says. Since then, he has
bought a treadmill and has switched his pregame tipple to white wine.