Should Darts be Introduced into the Classroom?

Darts is a game of skill, concentration, practice, rhythm and mathematics. Some say it is the easiest game in the world to play, but the hardest to play well. When people begin to play this magnificent sport, the majority will just aim for the bullseye to to earn the bragging right of "I told you I could hit it" to their mates, but the more they play, the more they will understand how it works and after a year and many lost matches, the newcomer will have the foundations of what it takes to be a good player, including maths skills.

Darts players, even the ones in the pub, will say that throwing arrows has improved their counting, myself included. If you had asked me 2 years ago what 17 multiplied by 6 was, it would have taken pen and paper to provide you with an answer, but after a lot of games in the pub I know that treble 17=51 and double that is 102. A lot easier than any other method, so why not introduce this method to kids in schools? 

Having worked in schools for a number of years, I know that Mathematics needs to be more than just sitting at a desk learning 'Times Tables' and completing question after question, it might work to get kids results, but I also know that 75% of the students HATE it. Darts could enable teachers to bring fun and competitiveness into the classroom in short activities which will motivate the students to learn. The option to open a Darts Club within the school could benefit students social skills, it brings them all together in a game where you can't hide in the corner. 

To the general public however, there is still a stereotype against darts. It is seen as a 'pub game' and people would argue that it still encourages alcohol consumption. Competitive darts is mostly only available in a pub situation, so in order for a player who throws only in their house to take their game to the next level they would most likely have to attend a pub on a weekly basis to play for their team, this doesn't help the image of darts but it's not as damaging as what people see on television. If a child watches darts on TV these days  they are sure to see alcohol abuse in the crowd and their parents will not like this. But not all darts fans are anti-social; in fact its sad that the public perception of darts is rowdy, drunk men when this is the minority. Most fans love the sport and want to enjoy the spectacle without any mishaps. 

Women's darts is on the rise with players such as Fallon Sherrock, Lisa Ashton and Anastasia Dobromyslova showing that they are capable of giving the men a run for their money in a match. Ladies darts has a bright future and introducing the game to girls at a young age will only up the standard, attract more commercial attention and bring through more young talent which would secure it's future. The more exposure the women get, the more the prejudice of darts being a man's sport will disintegrate.

Myself, along with Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow and Bobby George feel very strongly about bringing the game of darts into the classroom, it's low cost, fun and will improve children's maths by a considerable amount. There are still some issues with darts that may hinder its progress into schools, but it is definitely a possibility in the future and who's to say it won't produce some future World Champions in the process.