SPORTY SUSSEX
GOES INDOORS
Before the advent of computer games, we British kept ourselves amused with more home-spun hobbies, sports and pastimes – many of which centred around the local pub. Peter d’Aguilar explores a few examples with traditional links to the Sussex area
DARTS Pop down the local, order a pint, whip out your arrows, and enjoy a very social hour or two, playing darts
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n times past, nearly every to twenty, with an inner and outer pub or club would have bullseye, worth scores of 50 and a dart board. Despite 25 respectively. Each numbered television coverage turning the segment contains smaller double likes of Eric Bristow, John Lowe and treble areas. The maximum and Michael van Gerwen into score with a single dart is 60, for a household names, darts remained treble 20. a sport of the people – inexpensive The classic darts format is and accessible to all. Each 501. Both players start with a player is generally score of 501 points and armed with three take alternating turns. darts and aims at The points scored a circular board, are removed from Darts remained 7 feet 9¼ inches the total and the a sport of distant from a first to reach zero throw, or toe, wins the game. the people – line called the Each player has inexpensive and oche. The board to finish with a accessible to all is numbered one double. In the not
too distant past, league matches played between local pubs were very popular and very social, but with fewer pubs there are fewer leagues. Locally, there are many other games involving darts and a dartboard that remain popular; including; round the clock, killer, halve it and golf. It is believed that darts originated in medieval times when bored soldiers would amuse themselves between battles by throwing the stubs of arrows or crossbow bolts at a target on a tree. The modern form of the game dates back to Lancashire in 1896. l
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