Was reading a tweet from Aidy Lewis's manager and it basically said they spent 32 hours driving for a 10 min play LOL!

I wonder, if I had the skill to be a top player, whether I could actually cope with all the other demands, I don't think I could to be honest.

I am not a great traveller and prefer to be more settled, all that constant travelling and upheaval of living in various hotels throughout the country or abroad would do my head in.

I might be able to handle it for a short while but not for year after year like the top players do, I would quickly get depressed with it.

If they are not playing in a comp, then no doubt they are travelling somewhere for a promotional event or an exhibition, but it must be very dis-heartening to travel a long way and lose early in a comp.

I dont think most fans realise just how hard it is, and I feel for the ones in the lower ranks who may be struggling financially to be able to afford to travel and compete on the circuit, especially the ones who are trying to break through and may still be working at a full time job. Managers and Sponsorship are vital for the top players but a lot in the lower ranks may not have either, they have my respect for that reason.

Do you think you could cope with the demands of being a modern player?

I wouldn't mind the traveling and staying in hotels etc as I did a lot of that when I worked on the railway. I once spent 28 days on the trot traveling from Penzance to Edinburgh and back again. As we got to Plymouth on the way down my Mum would meet the train at the station with my change of clothes for the next 2 days work.

When Tony O'Shea was doing our exhibition (bearing in mind he's from the Manchester area and we're in Devon) he said that he doesn't mind the traveling as long as it's a good night. He said he did one exhibition once and there was hardly anybody there and there was no crowd interaction at all.

For the lower ranked it must be hard as you said it's not cheap to do the events, I believe someone once said it cost between £10,000 and £15,000 to do the tour depending on how many Tourneys you entered.

With the BDO, it's even worse because the prize money is a lot less than what's available in the PDC.

£10,000 to do the tour is a lot of money, would definitely need a sponsor for that amount, not sure many would be able to do it from there own finances when starting out!.

For me personally it its the constant moving about that would irk me, I would just get fed up with it.

It must be mentally draining to the players having to do it week in week out, but I guess thats what makes some better than others, they can cope with it.

I reckon i could deal with the travelling myself but whether the mrs and kids would let me is another story...

Short answer for me is "no", too many responsibilities and I love where I stay. The travel around the place would be too much after a time. I don't have the game to do it....mind you I reckon I could qualify for BDO but to make a proper living at it....I ain't top 50 in the world, and it would take a heck of practice to get that good. I do love playing down the local pub though.

i've always been a rolling stone by heart so definitely. i get antsy if i'm anywhere for more than 3 months. currently thinking about applying to teach english in korea or japan, so i best get me a set of soft tips haha.

CanadianBacon wrote:

i've always been a rolling stone by heart so definitely. i get antsy if i'm anywhere for more than 3 months. currently thinking about applying to teach english in korea or japan, so i best get me a set of soft tips haha.

Wow, sounds like that could be interesting! You'll have to keep up posted CB!

If I was the level I was at 30 years ago, and if I was a bit younger then yes I'd give the circuit a go.

Thefox180 wrote:

Wow, sounds like that could be interesting! You'll have to keep up posted CB!

i think so too. in fact the plan was for me to be in korea right now. i was waiting on a couple things for my application in the spring of 2011 (a second reference letter from a professor and my criminal record check) but they took way too long to get me and i missed the deadline for the government sponsored teaching program. forgot to apply this spring too haha. but i can always apply to a private institute.

Not sure if i told ya already but Korea is freaking awesome! If i had to be anywhere outside of the US it would be Korea hands down.

CanadianBacon wrote:

i've always been a rolling stone by heart so definitely. i get antsy if i'm anywhere for more than 3 months. currently thinking about applying to teach english in korea or japan, so i best get me a set of soft tips haha.

Go to Korea mate you'll love it.

Nope too old now.

If I could rise my game a bit more and find a sponsor, so are the answer yes. I already travel a lot, and thats something I like to do.

And I love playing darts, but at the moment there isn't any economy to do it


Cheerio!

nah, couldn't do it-that lifestyle is not for me. i cant stand being away from home longer than a night or two. simple man,simple life, simple pleasures. plus i couldn't deal with smartphoned manger telling me where i need to be all the time, and i love MY toilet. sepration anxiety would be terrible.

If I was good enough I would do it in a heartbeat. Not many people get to do something they love for a living

I totally get you rum and cork....hamo I agree if you can do something you love it is great.

32 hours!?!?!? Where can you drive for 32 hours in England and not be 6000 feet under water?? He just needs a better GPS.

He was in Germany - not the UK lol

Must admit I'm surprised he didn't fly over to Berlin for the tournament - still wasn't all a waste as he got to meet the Ambassador while he was there lol

I wish I had the talent to play in a provincial shoot let alone turn pro!! I think that if you have the talent, obviously you have to take it as far as you can go. As far as travel goes, it must be similar to pro golfers with most tournaments starting on Thursday so you might get a couple of days in between where you can go home for a break. I wonder what it is like for someone like John Part who has to travel 7 or 8 hours to get to the UK before going to the venue? That alone and adjusting to the time change must be difficult. It would be interesting to hear his thoughts on this.

I've spent large chunks of my life over the years traveling regularly with various bands and in a drum corps, so I can surely deal with life on the road. If I had the necessary skill, I would probably give it a shot. When I was younger, I was almost at that level with bowling, and was seriously considering it. I'm just shy of 40, so this is about as late in my life that I think I would want to try something like that.

props on the drum corp red. fan of DCI for years.

rumandcork wrote:

props on the drum corp red. fan of DCI for years.

Thanks! I was a tenor drummer for The Troopers in '94. Not top 12 at the time, but a ton of fun nonetheless.