While most people see darts simply as a sport played in bars on a Friday night, it is actually a challenging and competitive activity that requires skills, concentration, and accuracy. Known to help enhance your focus, increase your hand-eye coordination, or promote your balance and self-control, it is no doubt a gem of a sport to participate in.
However, darts are more than just fun and games. From the standard height and throwing distance to the approved wheelchair competition set-up, here are the basic dartboard measurements that you need to know before you start aiming for that target.
Dartboard measurements
Whether you are setting your sights on a beginner or professional dartboard, its dimensions and size are typically similar. Although a handful of dartboards may be a few centimeters bigger than their peers, the regulation dartboard size measures 45.1 cm, or 17inches in diameter.
As the dartboard measures about 453.0 mm, the diameter of the outside edge of the double ring extends to about 340.0 mm, with the outside edge of the treble ring measuring 214.0 mm. While the bullseye typically measures 12.7 mm in diameter, the 25-point ring around it is scaled at 31.8 mm.
In terms of girth and thickness, dartboards should be sticking out at about 3.81 centimeters or 1.5 inches from the wall where it is mounted. Bear in mind that it is best to properly level your board against the wall. Allowing it to even slightly lean forward would make the measurements inaccurate and cause the dartboard to wobble when the darts are thrown.
Dartboard height
Since you may find yourself playing at varying events and venues, it is best to understand that the height must be consistent with the other boards that you play on. Although there are different position options available for the dartboard, the recommended height should be 5 ft 8 in, or more or less 173 cm from the floor to the bullseye. At this height, it conveniently places the bullseye at the eye level of most players.
Much like in most pubs and gaming spots, the most preferable arrangement is the more permanent wall-mounted set-up. However, you can still easily achieve the standard dartboard height by using a handy dartboard stand. These easy-to-use structures are ideal if you plan to take your board down and store it away when not in use.
Dartboard distance from wall
One of the perks of playing darts is its ease of play. Unlike more physically demanding sports, all you really need is an extremely sharp set of eyes, tremendous focus, and knowledge of the correct distance of how far back from the board you need to stand before you start throwing darts.
For steel-tipped matches, the “oche distance” to stand from the board is approximately 237 cm or about 7 ft 9¼ in. These figures should be measured from the ground below the board to the throw line.
Playing on an uneven surface requires different measurements as the dart-throwing distance should be measured diagonally from the throw line to the bullseye. Such adjustments moved our figures to 9 ft 7� in or 293 centimeters.
Ladies and junior players throwing distance
While both men and women darts players throw from the same distance, a handful of tournaments present a slight variation on how far ladies and junior players should stand from the board. The other possible options measure 7ft 6 inches or 232 centimeters, as well as 7ft 0 inches or about 213 centimeters from the target.
Wheelchair dartboard throwing distance
There is no denying the talent of wheelchair-bound players in this game. As each of the numbers reflected above is based on a standing adult, those figures needed to be tweaked to accommodate wheelchair-restricted darts players.
Although the distance of the players from the wall remains the same, the board is lowered to 4 ft 6 in, or 137.16 cm, which is approximately at the eye level of most wheelchair-darts players. Also, it is critical to understand that the oche should be placed between the chair’s front and back wheels.
Conclusion
As there are a handful of things to keep in mind when setting up a regulation dartboard, the safety of the players and the people around the boards is of the utmost importance. Although it is pretty common to see people playing darts in pubs and bars, knowing the proper way to play and the right dartboard measurements can help us get incredibly good at this game.