All You Need To Know About Formula One (Part One)

Formula One  is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the premier form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950, although other Formula One races were regularly held until 1983. The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, to which all participants' cars must conform. The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held throughout the world on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads.

The results of each race are evaluated using a points system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the highest class of racing licence issued by the FIA. The races are required to be held on tracks graded 1, the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Grand Prix racing began in 1906 and became the most popular type internationally in the second half of the twentieth century. The Formula One Group is the legal holder of the commercial rights.

With the cost of designing and building mid-tier cars being of the order of $120 million, Formula One's economic effect and creation of jobs is significant, and its financial and political battles are widely reported. Its high profile and popularity have created a major merchandising environment, which has resulted in great investments from sponsors and budgets in the hundreds of millions for the constructors. Since 2000 the sport's spiraling expenditures and the distribution of prize money which favors established top teams have forced complaints from smaller teams and led several teams to bankruptcy.

History 

The Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing  of the 1920s and 1930s. The formula is a set of rules which all participants' cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed upon after World War II during 1946, with the first non-championship races being held that year. A number of Grand Prix racing organisations had laid out rules for a world championship before the war, but due to the suspension of racing during the conflict, the World Drivers' Championship was not formalised until 1947. The first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958. National championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for many years, but due to the increasing cost of competition, the last of these occurred in 1983.

Return of racing  

The first World Championship for Drivers was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo in 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. However Fangio won the title in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957, his streak interrupted  by two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Ferrari. Although the UK's Stirling Moss was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the world championship, and is now widely considered to be the greatest driver never to have won the title. Fangio, however, is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "Grand Master" of Formula One.

This period featured teams managed by road car manufacturers Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Maserati; all of whom had competed before the war. The first seasons were run using pre-war cars like Alfa's 158. They were front-engined, with narrow tyres and 1.5-litre supercharged or 4.5-litre normally aspirated engines. The 1952 and 1953 world championships were run to Formula Two regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over the paucity of Formula One cars available. When a new Formula One, for engines limited to 2.5 litres, was reinstated to the world championship for 1954, Mercedes-Benz introduced the advanced W196, which featured innovations such as desmodromic valves and fuel injection as well as enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes drivers won the championship for two years, before the team withdrew from all motorsport in the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

The Garagistes  

The first major technological development, Bugatti's re-introduction of mid-engined cars, occurred with the Type 251, which was unsuccessful. Australian Jack Brabham, world champion during 1959, 1960, and 1966, soon proved the mid-engined design's superiority. By 1961, all regular competitors had switched to mid-engined cars. The Ferguson P99, a four-wheel drive design, was the last front-engined F1 car to enter a world championship race. It was entered in the 1961 British Grand Prix, the only front-engined car to compete that year.

The first British World Champion was Mike Hawthorn, who drove a Ferrari to the title during the 1958 season. However, when Colin Chapman entered F1 as a chassis designer and later founder of Team Lotus, British racing green came to dominate the field for the next decade. Including Brabham, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British teams and Commonwealth drivers won twelve world championships between 1962 and 1973.

During 1962, Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium-sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space-frame design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. During 1968, Lotus painted Imperial Tobacco livery on their cars, thus introducing sponsorship to the sport.

Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design from the appearance of aerofoils during the late 1960s. During the late 1970s, Lotus introduced ground-effect aerodynamics  that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds. So great were the aerodynamic forces pressing the cars to the track, extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant ride height, leaving the suspension virtually solid, depending entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities of the road surface.

Part Two tomorrow...

Tipster Street.

PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH PREVIEWS SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29

Aston Villa v Watford – Saturday 1500

Positions: Aston Villa 20^th, Watford 13^th

Form: (League matches only – earliest matches first):

Aston Villa

LLLLDL (1pt)

Watford

DLWWLL (7pts)

• Any cheer Villa gained from their draw against Manchester City disappeared when they were thrashed by Everton. Five points adrift of safety, they may be hard pressed to get anything out of this match. The club have also suspended Jack Grealish for an unspecified period after his visit to a Manchester nightclub. Watford may have lost their last two, but these were both by a single goal against both of the top two.

Bournemouth v Everton – Saturday 1500

Positions: Bournemouth 19^th, Everton 7^th

Form:

Bournemouth

DLLLLD (2pts)

Everton

DLLWDW (8pts)

• Bournemouth’s poor form looks unlikely to improve here against an Everton side who have scored 11 times in their last three matches. Bournemouth now have the league’s worst defensive record.

Crystal Palace v Newcastle United – Saturday 1500

Positions: Crystal Palace 10^th, Newcastle 17^th

Form:

Crystal Palace

WLLDWL (7pts)

Newcastle

LWLDWL (7pts)

• Crystal Palace’s good start has faded, and with just one win in five they now sit in mid-table. However, with Newcastle’s form still inconsistent, they may have a good opportunity to climb a few places once again.

Manchester City v Southampton – Saturday 1500

Positions: Man City 3^rd, Southampton 8^th

Form:

Man City

WWDWDL (11pts)

Southampton

WDDWWL (11pts)

• Two sides here whose unbeaten runs ended last week. Liverpool’s 4-1 win stunned the Etihad Stadium, and City may be anxious. Man for man City’s full squad may be too strong for Southampton, but they may be without both Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart.

Sunderland v Stoke City – Saturday 1500

Positions: Sunderland 18^th, Stoke 11^th

Form:

Sunderland

DLWLLW (7pts)

Stoke

WWLDWW (13pts)

• Sunderland will have been cheered by their win and clean sheet against Crystal Palace, but here they face a Stoke side who continue to display the knack of winning by the odd goal.

Leicester City v Manchester United – Saturday 1730

Positions: Leicester 1^st, Man Utd 2^nd

Form:

Man Utd

LWDDWW (11pts)

Leicester

WDWWWW (16pts)

• A massively intriguing top of the table clash. United’s record of only conceding a penalty in their last five matches will perhaps present the biggest challenge yet to Jamie Vardy’s scoring run of 10 successive matches. 16 points from the last 18 is something to be proud of in any circumstances, but none of these matches were against a top seven side, and the 5-2 defeat by Arsenal seven matches ago might be a sign of what can happen when the Foxes face the very best. Leicester are the league’s top scorers, but have a defensive record similar to that of the bottom six teams.

Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea – Sunday 1200

Positions: Tottenham 5^th, Chelsea 15^th

Form:

Tottenham

DDWWDW (12pts)

Chelsea

LWLLLW (6pts)

• Tottenham are understandably buoyant after their comprehensive win over West Ham, which also took their unbeaten run to 12 matches. On league form, Spurs will start as favourites - Chelsea only triumphed by one goal at home to lowly Norwich last time out, after a dismal run prior to that. But the White Hart Lane team’s chances will not be helped by their Europa League trip to Azerbaijan on Thursday. 12 points adrift of fourth place, Chelsea must resign themselves to having no Champions League football in 2016/17.

West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion – Sunday 1405

Positions: West Ham 6^th, West Brom 12^th

Form:

West Ham

DWWLDL (8pts)

West Brom

LWWLLW (9pts)

• Two sides in less than spectacular form meet here. With no win in three and a heavy defeat last time out, West Ham’s good start may be fading. West Brom bounced back from two losses with a spirited win over Arsenal (albeit against the run of play) and the boost from this result many give them the edge.

Liverpool v Swansea City – Sunday 1615

Positions: Liverpool 9^th, Swansea 14^th

Form:

Liverpool

DDDWLW (9pts)

Swansea

DLWLLD (5pts)

• Two high scoring wins in the last three matches, accounting for 41% of their goals for the entire season, have changed the outlook at Liverpool. They still remain ninth however, some six points off the Champions League places. Swansea continue to struggle and they may find a rejuvenated Liverpool too hot to handle.

Norwich City v Arsenal – Sunday 1615

Positions: Norwich 16^th, Arsenal 4^th

Form:

Norwich

LLLLWL (3pts)

Arsenal

WWWWDL (13pts)

• Arsenal lost their last league game, but dominated nonetheless at West Brom, so remain strong favourites here against a Norwich side with five losses in the last six and no win in eight. Anyone who saw Arsenal’s Tuesday night Champions League performance will be in no doubt as to the quality of football they are playing. Francis Coquelin has joined their injury list, but Aaron Ramsey is fit again.

Davis Cup - Information File & Stats

Great Britain today start their Davis Cup Final verses Belgium on the first day of three. Andy Murray carries the expectations of tennis fans around Great Britain in the pursuit of the prestigious team trophy.

Not sure what the Davis Cup is about? Then please read our fact file and information below...

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation  and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2015, 125 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States  and Australia . The present champion is Switzerland, who beat France to win the title for the first time in 2014.

The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup. Australia, the Czech Republic, and the United States are the only countries to have held both Davis Cup and Fed Cup titles in the same year.

History 

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition. Once their respective lawn tennis associations agreed, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low, purchasing it from his own funds for about $1,000. They in turn commissioned a classically-styled design from William B. Durgin's of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes. Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925–29 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929–32.

The first match, between the United States and Britain, was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete, but the US won the match in 1902 and Britain won the next four matches after that. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1914.

The tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis' trophy. The Davis Cup competition was initially played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous year's champion in the final round, and the previous year's champion advanced directly to the current year's final round.

Beginning in 1923, the world's teams were split into two zones: the "America Zone" and the "Europe Zone". The winners of the two zones met in the Inter-Zonal Zone  to decide which national team would challenge the defending champion for the cup. In 1955, a third zone, the "Eastern Zone", was added. Because there were three zones, the winner of one of the three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ challenger rounds. In 1966, the "Europe Zone" was split into two zones, "Europe Zone A" and "Europe Zone B", so the winners of the four zones competed in the INZ challenger rounds.

From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years.

Beginning in 1972, the format was changed from a challenge cup, so that the defending champion was required to compete in all rounds, and the Davis Cup was awarded to the tournament champion.

Up until 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won by the United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was eventually broken in 1974, when South Africa and India qualified for the final; however, the final was scratched and South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government's apartheid policies.  The following year saw the first final between two "outsider" nations that was actually played; Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2, and since then several other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.

In 1981, the tiered system of competition was created, which remains in use today, and in which the 16 best national teams compete in the World Group and in which all other national teams compete in one of the four groups in one of the three regional zones. In 1989, the tiebreak was also introduced into Davis Cup competition. The tiebreak is now used in all sets except for fifth set, which remains an advantage set. However, in September 2015 it was announced that for the 2016 season, the Davis Cup would change to an all-tiebreak format.

On the 100th anniversary of the tournament's founding, 129 nations competed for the Davis Cup. The United States has won the event the most times, closely followed by Australia, Great Britain, France  and Sweden.

Davis Cup games in Sweden have been affected by political protests several times:

The match between Sweden and Rhodesia 1968 was supposed to be played in Båstad but was moved to Bandol, France, due to protests against the Rhodesian white minority government of Ian Smith.

The Swedish government tried to stop the match between Chile and Sweden in 1975 in Båstad, due to violations of human rights in Chile. The match was played, even as 7,000 people were outside protesting against it.

After the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, 6,000 people protested outside the Malmö city Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel in March 2009. The Malmö city politicians expected this protest storm, and were concerned about extremists, and decided due to security reasons to let a small audience in.

Format 

Tournament  

The 16 best national teams are assigned to the World Group and compete annually for the Davis Cup. Nations which are not in the World Group compete in one of three regional zones . The competition is spread over four weekends during the year. Each elimination round between competing nations is held in one of the countries, and is played as the best of five matches . The ITF determines the host countries for all possible matchups before each year's tournament.

The World Group is the top group and includes the world's best 16 national teams. Teams in the World Group play a four-round elimination tournament. Teams are seeded based on a ranking system released by the ITF, taking into account previous years' results. The defending champion and runner-up are always the top two seeds in the tournament. The losers of the first-round matches are sent to the World Group playoff round, where they play along with winners from Group I of the regional zones. The playoff round winners play in the World Group for the next year's tournament, while the losers play in Group I of their respective regional zone.

Each of the three regional zones is divided into four groups. Groups I and II play elimination rounds, with the losing teams facing relegation to the next-lower group. The teams in Groups III and those in Group IV play a round-robin tournament with promotion and relegation.

Structure

Ties and rubbers 

As in other cup competitions tie is used in the Davis Cup to mean an elimination round. In the Davis Cup, the word rubber means an individual match.

In the annual World Group competition, 16 nations compete in 8 first-round ties; the 8 winners compete in 4 quarter-final-round ties; the 4 winners compete in 2 semifinal-round ties; and the 2 winners compete in the final round tie.

Each tie consists of 5 rubbers, which are played in 3 days . The winner of the tie is the nation which wins 3 or more of the 5 rubbers in the tie. On the first day, the first 2 rubbers are singles, which are generally played by each nation's 2 best available singles players. On the second day, the doubles rubber is played. On the third day, the final 2 rubbers are typically reverse singles, in which the first-day contestants usually play again, but they swap opponents from the first day's singles rubbers. However, in certain circumstances, the team captain may replace one or two of the players who played the singles on Friday by other players who were nominated for the tie. For example, if the tie has already been decided in favour of one of the teams, it is common for younger or lower-ranked team members to play the remaining dead rubbers in order for them to gain Davis Cup experience.

Ties are played at a venue chosen by one of the competing countries. The right of choice is given on an alternating basis. Therefore, countries play in the country where the last tie between the teams was not held. In case the two countries haven't met since 1970, lots are drawn to determine the host country.

Venues in the World Group must comply with certain minimum standards, including a minimum seating capacity as follows:

World Group Play-offs: 4,000

World Group First round: 4,000

World Group Quarterfinals: 6,000

World Group Semifinals: 8,000

World Group Final: 12,000

Prior to each tie, the captain of each nation nominates a squad of four players and decides who will compete in the tie. On the day before play starts, the order of play for the first day is drawn at random. In the past, teams could substitute final day singles players only in case of injury or illness, verified by a doctor, but current rules permit the captain to designate any player to play the last two singles rubbers, provided that no first day matchup is repeated. There is no restriction on which of the playing team members may play the doubles rubber: the two singles players, two other players  or a combination.

Each rubber is normally played in a best-of-5 set. The first four sets use a tiebreak if necessary, but the fifth set usually has no tiebreaker, so play continues until one side wins by two games . However, if a team has clinched the tie before all 5 rubbers have been completed, the remaining rubbers may be shortened to the best-of-3-sets, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.

In Group III and Group IV competition, each tie consists only of 3 rubbers, which include 2 singles and one doubles rubber, which is played in a single day. The rubbers are in the best-of-3-set format, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.

Come on Great Britain!

Tipster Street.

Alex Higgins - A Snooker Legend

With the snooker UK Championships currently on going, we thought we would today take a look at one of the legend of the game...

Alex Higgins.


Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins  was a Northern Irish professional snooker player, who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed Hurricane Higgins because of his fast play, and is often credited with having brought the game of snooker to a wider audience, contributing to its peak in popularity in the 1980s. He had a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character. He was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, First diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, Higgins died of the illness in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010. 

Life and career 

Early life  

Alex Higgins was born in Belfast and had three sisters. often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. At age 14 and weighing seven and a half stone, he left for England and a career as a jockey. Higgins was then the youngest ever winner of the title, a record retained until Stephen Hendry's 1990 victory at the age of 21. In April 1976, Higgins reached the final again and faced Ray Reardon. Higgins led 11–9, but Reardon made four centuries and seven breaks over 60 to pull away and win the title for the fifth time with the score of 27–16. Higgins was also the runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, losing 18–16, after being 9–5 up. Higgins won the world title for a second time in 1982 after beating Reardon 18–15 ; it was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. Higgins would have been ranked No. 1 in the world rankings for the 1982/83 season had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action.

Other victories  

Throughout his career, Higgins won 20 other titles, one of the most notable being the 1983 UK Championship. In the final he trailed Steve Davis 0–7 before producing a famous comeback to win 16–15. He also won the Masters twice, in 1978 and in 1981, beating Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths in the finals respectively. Another notable victory was his final professional triumph in the 1989 Irish Masters at the age of 40 when he defeated a young Stephen Hendry.

Post-retirement.

After his retirement from the professional game, Higgins spent time playing for small sums of money in and around Northern Ireland. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championship, these comebacks ending in first-round defeats by Garry Hardiman and Joe Delaney respectively.

On 12 June 2007, it was reported that Higgins had assaulted a referee at a charity match in the north-east of England. Higgins returned to competitive action in September 2007 at the Irish Professional Championship in Dublin but was whitewashed 0–5 by former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien in the first round at the Spawell Club, Templelogue.

Higgins continued to play fairly regularly, and enjoyed "hustling" all comers for small-time stakes in clubs in Northern Ireland and beyond; in May 2009 he entered the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship, "to give it a crack", but failed to appear for his match.

On 8 April 2010, Higgins was part of the debut Snooker Legends Tour event in Sheffield, at the Crucible, checking himself out of hospital two days before the event, after having been admitted with pneumonia and breathing problems. He appeared alongside other retired or close-to-retiring professionals, including John Parrott, Jimmy White, John Virgo and Cliff Thorburn.

It is estimated that Higgins earned and spent £3–4 million in his career as a snooker player.

Higgins drank alcohol and smoked during tournaments, as did many of his contemporaries. A volatile personality got him into frequent fights and arguments, both on and off the snooker table. One of the most serious of these clashes was when he head-butted a referee at the UK championship in 1986. This led to his being fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments. He was convicted of assault and criminal damage, and fined £250 by a court.

Outside snooker 

At the time of his 1972 triumph at the World Championship, Higgins had no permanent home and by his own account had recently lived in a row of abandoned houses in Blackburn which were awaiting demolition. In one week he had moved into five different houses on the same street, moving down one every time his current dwelling was demolished.

In 1975, Higgins' son Chris Delahunty was born. Cara Hasler in April 1975 in Sydney. They had a daughter Christel and divorced. His second marriage was to Lynn Avison in 1980 at a United Reformed Church. They had a daughter Lauren  and son Jordan . They split in 1985 and divorced. In the same year, Higgins began a relationship with Siobhan Kidd, which ended in 1989 after he allegedly hit her with a hairdryer.

He had a long and enduring friendship with Oliver Reed and was a good friend of John Sykes, with whom he often played exhibition matches.

While not normally noted for his philanthropy, in 1983 Higgins helped a young boy from the Manchester area, a fan of his who had been in a coma for two months. His parents were growing desperate and wrote to Higgins. He recorded his voice on a tape and sent it to the boy with his best wishes. He later visited the boy in hospital, unannounced, and promised that if the boy recovered they would play snooker together. True to his word, once the boy was out, the match was held.

In 1996, Higgins was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old boy, while in 1997 then-girlfriend Holly Haise stabbed him three times during a domestic argument. Higgins appeared in the Sporting Stars edition of the British television quiz The Weakest Link on 25 July 2009.

Illness and death 

For many years, Higgins smoked 60 cigarettes a day.

By 2009, Higgins lived alone in a caravan. He was too ill to have the implants fitted. Despite his illness he continued to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily until the end of his life.

At the end of his life, Higgins' weight fell to. He was found dead in bed in his flat on 24 July 2010. The cause of death was a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, a bronchial condition and throat cancer. His children survive him.

Higgins' funeral service was held in Belfast on 2 August 2010. He was cremated, and his ashes were interred in Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey, County Antrim.

Legacy 

Alex Higgins was an inspiration to many subsequent professional snooker players, including Ken Doherty, Jimmy White and Ronnie O'Sullivan, who in an interview stated "Alex was an inspiration to players like Jimmy White and thousands of snooker players all over the country, including me. The way he played at his best is the way I believe the game should be played. It was on the edge, keeping the crowd entertained and glued to the action."

In Clive Everton's TV documentary The Story of Snooker, Steve Davis described Higgins as the "one true genius that snooker has produced", despite the autobiography of a contemporary leading professional Willie Thorne characterising Higgins as "not a great player". Higgins arguably fulfilled his potential only intermittently during his career peak in the 1970s and '80s; Everton puts this down to Davis and Ray Reardon generally being too consistent for him.

Regardless, Higgins' exciting style and explosive persona helped make snooker a growing television sport in the 1970s and 1980s. Higgins also made the first 16-red clearance ; it was a break of 146.  

Tournament wins 

Ranking wins:  

World Championship – 1982

Non-ranking wins:   

World Championship – 1972

Irish Professional Championship – 1972, 1978, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1989

Men of the Midlands – 1972, 1973

Watney Open – 1974

Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament – 1977

The Masters – 1978, 1981

Tolly Cobbold Classic – 1979, 1980

British Gold Cup – 1980

Padmore Super Crystalate International – 1980

UK Championship – 1983

Irish Masters – 1989

Pontins Camber Sands – 1980

Team wins  

World Doubles Championship – 1984

World Cup – 1985, 1986, 1987 with All Ireland team.

Pro-Am wins  

Pontin's Spring Open

Amateur wins  

All Ireland Amateur Championship – 1968

Northern Ireland Amateur Championship – 1968

Tipster Street.

All You Need To Know About Darts (Final Part)

Today we bring you the third & final part of our look at the sport of Darts.

World rankings  

Both the WDF, BDO and PDC each maintain their own rankings lists. These lists are commonly used to determine seedings for various tournaments. The WDF rankings are based on the preceding 12 months performances, the BDO resets all ranking points to zero after the seedings for their world championship have been determined, and the PDC Order of Merit is based on prize money earned over a two-year period.

Television 

Darts first appeared on British television in 1962 when Westward Television broadcast the Westward TV Invitational to the south-west of England. In 1970, ITV broadcast the News of the World Championship and from 1972 the Indoor League, which featured a darts tournament. Over the next decade darts coverage expanded with many major tournaments appearing on both ITV and BBC through the 1970s and early 1980s to such as extent about 14 tournaments were covered. In 1978 the World Championships started and were covered by the BBC, the BBC innovated with the split screen showing the throwing of the dart and where it hit the board. However the cancellation of ITV's World of Sport show in 1985 meant they had to cut back on darts coverage but despite this they still showed the World Masters until 1988. The BBC also cut back on their coverage to the extent that one major event was still broadcast on either channel by 1988—the World Championship and this contributed in the split in darts.

With the creation of the WDC/PDC in 1992/93, darts gradually returned to television with Sky Television covering the new organization's World Championship and World Matchplay events from 1994. Sky's coverage continued to increase throughout the 1990s, with more new events added. The PDC's World Championship, Premier League, UK Open, Grand Slam of Darts, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix are all televised live on Sky. The BDO held on to the contract with the BBC to continue with the BDO World Championship and this was the only tournament shown on free to air television in the UK between 1994-2001 apart from the showdown between PDC Champion Phil Taylor and BDO Champion Raymond van Barneveld in 1999 which was shown on ITV, BBC finally began to expand their darts coverage in 2001 when they added the World Masters to their portfolio. However, it wasn't until 2005 that viewers were able to see every dart thrown live at the World Championship. This was the year that BBC introduced interactive coverage on its BBCi service. BBC continued to cover the BDO tournament exclusively until 2012-2013 when ESPN UK started covering the evening sessions while BBC had afternoon session, after the acquisition of ESPN UK by BT Sport, BT dropped the Darts in 2014 but started covering the evening sessions again in 2015. Setanta Sports also televised some BDO events in 2008-2009 and the inaugural League of Legends. Eurosport covered the BDO Finland Open, the BDO British Internationals, the BDO England Open and the BDO British Open in 2006-2007 but dropped coverage of these tournaments however they then returned to Darts in 2013 covering the Winmau World Masters, they have since expanded their coverage to cover the new BDO major the World Trophy from Blackpool and existing tournaments in the BDO such as the 6 Nations, England Open, Scottish Open and Northern Ireland Open.

ITV returned to darts coverage in November 2007, showing the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts — its first major darts tournament coverage in almost twenty years. They continued covering this until 2010 when Sky Sports took over the rights, ITV also showed the European Championship in 2008 and Players Championship since its inception. ITV then increased its coverage in 2013 by signing a deal to cover 4 PDC tournaments per year, the Players Championship, European Championship, UK Open and new tournament the Masters and it was increased to 5 tournaments in 2015 to cover the World Series Finals.

Darts has continued to grow again on television and there now several major tournaments broadcast in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Dutch station, Sport One, DSF in Germany and several other TV stations across the globe also broadcast the PDC events. In Europe, Eurosport broadcast the Lakeside World Championships, having signed a three-year contract in 2006.

In the Netherlands, SBS6 has broadcast the Lakeside  and the Dutch Open. They also shown the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy, however they are now defunct. RTL 5 broadcast the Dutch Grand Masters in 2005. Some of these tournaments can also be watched on the internet for free using a live stream, depending on contractual restrictions.

The PDC has also tried to break into the television market in the United States by introducing the World Series of Darts in 2006. It had a $1 million prize to showcase professional darts in the United States. Unfortunately the programme was not a ratings success and was taken from its peak time broadcast slot on ESPN after just a few weeks. The tournament was replaced with a US Open event in 2007 which was screened in the UK on digital television channel Challenge TV, with Nuts TV showing the 2008 tournament.

Betting 

In places where alcoholic beverages are consumed, English law has long permitted betting only on games of skill, as opposed to games of chance, and then only for small stakes. An apocryphal tale relates that in 1908, Jim Garside, the landlord of the Adelphi Inn, Leeds, England was called before the local magistrates to answer the charge that he had allowed betting on a game of chance, darts, on his premises. Garside asked for the assistance of local champion William "Bigfoot" Annakin who attended as a witness and demonstrated that he could hit any number on the board nominated by the court. Garside was discharged as the magistrates found darts, indeed, to be a game of skill. More recently, in keeping with darts' strong association with pubs and drinking, matches between friends or pub teams are often played for pints of beer.

In the professional game, betting is prominent with many of the big bookmaking companies sponsoring events . Sky Bet, Bodog, Stan James, Blue Square   and Ladbrokes  are all title sponsors of major PDC events.

In the past when Fox Sports broadcast tournaments in the United States, the logos for betting houses such as Ladbrokes were pixelated out and digitally obscured, along with any audible references to them, because of American laws and policies against online gambling; however other US broadcasters usually carry overseas darts tournaments without any edits other than for timing and narrative purposes, and Americans usually cannot visit the sites for betting houses outside of redirection pages.

Tipster Street.

All You Need To Know About Darts (Part Two)

Today we continue with the history of darts.

Part Two..

Games 

There are many games that can be played on a dartboard, but darts generally refers to a game whereby the player throws three darts per visit to the board with the goal of reducing a fixed score, commonly 501 or 301, to zero, with the final dart landing in either the bullseye or a double segment. A game of darts is generally contested between two players, who take turns. Each turn consists of throwing three darts. When two teams play, the starting score is sometimes increased to '701' or even '1001'; the rules remain the same.

A throw that reduces a player's score below zero, to exactly one, or to zero but not ending with a double is known as "going bust", with the player's score being reset to the value prior to starting the turn, and the remainder of the turn being forfeited. A darts match is played over a fixed number of games, known as legs. A match may be divided into sets, with each set being contested as over a fixed number of legs.

Although playing straight down from 501 is standard in darts, sometimes a double must be hit to begin scoring, known as "doubling in", with all darts thrown before hitting a double not being counted. The PDC's World Grand Prix uses this format.

The minimum number of thrown darts required to complete a leg of 501 is nine. The most common nine dart finish consists of two 180 maximums followed by a 141 checkout, but there are many other possible ways of achieving the feat. Three 167s  is considered a pure or perfect nine dart finish by some players.

Other games and variants  

There are a number of regional variations on the standard rules and scoring systems. "Round the Clock" is a variation that involves hitting the numbers in sequence, known as "around the world" in New Zealand. "Jumpers" is a somewhat swifter and more exciting variation of Round the Clock believed to have originated amongst the British ex-pat community in Asia.

20 to 1   

20 to 1 is a Dutch variation of the around the world darts game that differs a lot because of all kinds of extra rules. This game uses the standard 20 number dartboard with the triple and double rings. In Dutch it's called "Van 20 naar 1". 20 to 1 is typically played between 2, 3, 4 or 5 players, or 2 teams of max 5 players. The goal of 20 to 1 is to be the first player or team to throw all numbers in consecutive order from 20 to 1 and win the game with outer or inner bullseye.

Around the world   

"Around the world" is a game whereby each player must hit consecutive numbers on the board in order to proceed to the next round. In a one on one battle the winner is the person to reach the last number or bullseye. In a team competition the winner is the first team to reach the last number or bullseye after the round is complete or each member of each team has thrown that specific round.

American darts   

American Darts is a regional USA variant of the game . This style of dart board is most often found in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and parts of New York state.

Archery darts   

This is played in exactly the same way as a regular game of darts, but using recurve or compound bows to shoot full length arrows from a distance to hit a 60 cm or 90 cm paper target face that looks like a dartboard. These are commercially produced, but usually only in black & white.

Audio darts   

A variant of traditional darts played using a blindfold. Often played by people with visual disabilities. Typically a talking electronic dartboard is used to speak the numbers hit, keep score and announce who is throwing next.

Cricket   

Cricket is a widely-played darts game involving a race to control and score on numbers between 20 and 15 and the bullseye, by hitting each of these targets for three marks to open or own it for scoring. A hit on the target counts as one mark, while hits in the doubles ring of the target count as two marks in one throw, and on the triples ring as three. Once opened in this manner, until the opponent closes that number with three marks on it of their own, each additional hit by the owner/opener scores points equal to the number of the target . The outer bullseye counts as 25 points, and the inner as 50.

Dartball  

 

Dartball is a darts game based on the sport of baseball. It is played on a diamond shaped board and has similar scoring to baseball.

Dart golf   

Dart golf is a darts game based on the sport of golf and is regulated by the World Dolf Federation . It is played on both special golf dartboards and traditional dartboards. Scoring is similar to golf.

Fives   

This is a regional variant still played in some parts of the East End of London. The board has fewer, larger segments, all numbered either 5, 10, 15 or 20. Players play down from 505 rather than 501, and stand the farthest  away from the board of any mainstream variation.

Halve it   

Halve it is a darts game popular in the United Kingdom and parts of North America where competitors try to hit previously agreed targets on a standard dart board.

Failure to do so within a single throw  results in the player losing half their accumulated score. Any number of players can take part and the game can vary in length depending on the number of targets selected.

The game can be tailored to the skill level of the players by selecting easy or difficult targets.

Killer   

"Killer" is a 'knock-out' game for two or more players . Initially each player throws a dart at the board with their non-dominant hand to obtain their 'number'. No two players can have the same number. Once everyone has a number, each player takes it in turn to get their number five times with their three darts . Once a person has reached 5, they become a 'killer'. This means they can aim for other peoples numbers, taking a point off for each time they hit. If a person gets to zero they are out. A killer can aim for anyone's numbers, even another killer's. You cannot get more than 5 points. The winner is 'the last man standing'.

Lawn darts  

Lawn darts  is a lawn game based on darts. The game play and objective are similar to both horseshoes and darts. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman plumbata.

Shanghai  

 

Shanghai is a darts game of accuracy. Hitting doubles and triples is paramount to victory. This game is played with at least two players. The standard version is played in 7 rounds.

Professional organizations  

Of the two professional organisations, the British Darts Organisation, founded 1973, is the older. Its tournaments are often shown on the BBC in the UK. The BDO is a member of the World Darts Federation, along with organizations in some 60 other countries worldwide. The BDO originally organised a number of the more prestigious British tournaments with a few notable exceptions such as the News of the World Championship and the national events run under the auspices of the National Darts Association of Great Britain. However, many sponsors were lost and British TV coverage became much reduced by the early nineties.

In 1992 a breakaway organisation was formed, initially known as the World Darts Council  but shortly after known as the Professional Darts Corporation. The PDC tournaments have a considerable following, although the PDC World Championship attracts lower TV viewing figures than that of the BDO due to the BDO World Championship being free to view on the BBC.

The PDC tournaments often have higher prize money and feature the leading player in the history of the game, 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor. The highly successful BDO player Raymond van Barneveld switched to the PDC and won the PDC World Championship at his first attempt in 2007.

Professional play 

The BDO and PDC both organise a World Professional Championship. They are held annually over the Christmas/New Year period, with the PDC championship finishing slightly earlier than the BDO tournament. The BDO World Championship has been running since 1978; the PDC World Championship started in 1994.

Both organisations hold other professional tournaments. The BDO organise the World Masters and many Open tournaments. They also organise county darts for their 66 county members in the UK including individual and team events.

The PDC's major tournaments are the World Championship, Premier League, UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam of Darts. All of these are broadcast live on Sky Sports television in the UK. They also hold PDC Pro Tour events and smaller category events around the UK.

Two Dutch independently organised major tournaments, the International Darts League and the World Darts Trophy introduced a mix of BDO and PDC players in 2006 and 2007. Both organisations allocated rankings to the tournaments, but these two events are now discontinued.

The WDF World Cup for national teams and a singles tournament has been played biennially since 1977. The WDF also organise the Europe Cup.The PDC has their own world cup competition, the PDC World Cup of Darts.

Part Three coming soon...

Tipster Street.