TheOche.com

Way too often, we as members of the online society that is the internet, are faced with websites, companies, and people trying to separate us from our hard earned money. Every time you turn around there is someone begging for a donation or financial support to keep whatever mediocre cause they are supporting afloat (usually their own pocketbooks!)

This cause is different. This is a cause that we should all rally behind. We at Theoche.com, along with other supporters from Xanadarts/PurePowerHost and TheDartboard.co.uk are putting our money, time, and efforts where our mouths are!

There have been quite a number of news reports lately saying that the sport of darts is dying. Youth of today aren?t picking up the sport as their fathers and grandfathers did. Pubs and taverns are removing the dartboards and oches that once graced their facilities. There is also a front page story right here at TheOche.com quoting facts and figures supporting the opinion that the sport of darts in the UK, the sport’s country of origin, is rapidly on the decline!

I, like most of you, read the story, shook my head in sympathy and then did nothing. But a few days ago, I received an email from a lady named Jackie Apps from Ashford in Kent. Jackie along with her husband Mick, are involved with a youth darts academy in Ashford.

Jackie says ?we run the Academy every Saturday at a local public house called The Locomotive; we start at 11.00am and are supposed to finish at 1.00pm but most Saturdays we go on until 2.30/3.00pm. At this present time we have 15 members. We are a voluntary club so we do not charge any fee but we do have a donation box which we leave on the bar for anyone to put in. Once we have enough money donated we are hoping to be able to buy some trophies to present to the young players, for the highest finish, highest score and player/players of the month, we hope this will help with their teaching and practicing encouragement.

Jackie’s email went on to say that she was trying to gather some support for the darts academy, but was running into stumbling blocks at every turn. She had emailed some popular names in darts, asking for some kind of advice and assistance, including both the PDC and the BDO. Both organizations suggested that she send letters with the requests rather than telephoning them, which she did, but sadly neither organization has put forth the effort of a reply. I personally find this deplorable. Youth are the future of the sport, and without their involvement the sport will surely fade away over the next few generations.

The couple also sent an email to Mr. Glitter himself, Bobby George, and he very kindly emailed them back. They also received a reply from the personal secretary of Prince Charles about the academy as well, and needless to say these replies brought some excitement to the group of youth in the academy!

While this is somewhat encouraging news for their academy, we here at TheOche did not feel that it was enough. I contacted Mike Danford, one of the two team members of Xanadartz and PurePowerHost, and Nick Williams, webmaster of TheDartboard.co.uk, and together we?ve hashed out a plan. We immediately pooled our resources and currently have a gift package on the way to these young darters, and are also working on some more sponsorship deals and opportunities to involve others in the sport and not only assist Jackie and Mick?s academy but also others around the globe as well!

In the near future, both dart academies and potential sponsors and donors will be able to go to DartAcademy.com and register. This website will be an online portal to put needy academies in touch with people that are willing and able to assist them. Together this partnership will help achieve the ultimate goal of everyone: getting the youth of today involved with the sport of darts in order to help preserve the sports future!

We?re excited about this project and will bring you more details of it in the near future, so stay tuned to this website for more information. In the meantime, if you are a darts academy in need of assistance, or a potential donor of time, money, supplies or equipment, please email us at webmaster@dartacademy.com and we?ll keep your information on file until the project is ready to officially begin!