Hi all,

I have a bit of a dilemma. I have recently moved from Auckland NZ (Major City) to the Far North (Middle of nowhere) and have shopped around for a darts team for the past 6 months or so. A week ago I was taken by a work mate to meet some friends of his who have decided to put a team into the local comp. I was very interested in joining until I heard all their conditions.

1. $60 p.a. to be paid to the club. This includes 2 x playing shirts, $25 player entry fee and $10 worth flights/stems.
2. All players must attend practice each Monday night to play off for their place in the 4 person line up on the Wednesday.
3. All players MUST be actively involved in fundraising.

There was a whole bunch of others that were also mumbled and not repeated when I asked what they were. I have no problem with #1 at all. It is what I would have paid in Auckland anyway. #2 is a pain. There are only 4 spots yet there are 7 players. I suggested a fairer solution of a rotation system, to which someone replied "If you ain't good enough to earn your spot, what good are you on the Wednesday?". To me that is the craziest thing I have heard. I am pretty sure none of them are Phil Taylor and I would hate to see what would happen if someone didn't play at all in a season. Besides I have a young family and the missus works on Monday nights so practice is not an option. I practice at home for 2-3 hours every night and feel I achieve more than just playing 501 against people.

The fundraising I also understand. But I am new here and they are the only perople I know. SO in a sense I'll be buying my own tickets I am ment to be selling.

So the question is how do I get my very own club off the ground? There is 3 weeks until the season opener. I have enough people from work for 2 sides plus a reserve for each side. They are all keen as I hung a board up at work and they were like seagulls to a chip. We have Friday arvo BBQ and drinks at work and this is where we have a throw and I was asked to start a club for us.

I just want to know what the basics are. What roles do what? How to try and involve a sponsor? And if there is anything underlying that I may not be aware of that could get us into any trouble (like selling beers without a license... I am aware of that one )

Cheers

Hi 100 N 80
Big steps, you have to be in for alot of work, time and frustration.Then less time for darts.
I have been planning for over a year, the best I could come up with is to just get a team together.
Then try to play a friendly,against an other group/club. . A good training, see if there is interest to move on.
It still is down to how much you want it.
Then you see how many turn up to trainings, its not easy. A club needs members (active)
Me I would just get involved in the exsisting club. Get to know the area and the players.
Mondays are tuff,
good luck,

You need a few people to be on a board with you to help with any major decisions etc. they could all have their own roles such as chairman (you i assume) secretary, treasurer, vice chair, team selectors, fundraiser etc.

We found that with a good team of people running it that are all willing to help and pull their weight it can be run quite easily. You run into problems when people start getting lazy and neglecting their own duties and leaving it up to others.

3 weeks might be a bit of a tight deadline but if you think the others have the same enthusiasm and will sustain it for a season then I would go for it. I would contact the league first though to make sure they will let you in at this stage. Sometimes they can be fussy about who they let in, especially at late notice

why not pick up one more player and have an "A" team and a "B" team...
the best four for that week play on the A team and the other play on the B team
it is fluid and change every week?
just throwing my 2 cents in
here in US we got to a bar/pub and ask if they want to sponsor us, they provide shirts and league fees...we pay weekly dues but in return we buy food and drink (along with the visiting team)
one week of bar tabs pay for the shirts and league fees, it is a win win

I would suggest the easiest way for you to go would be to ask the club you have been to, if you could put your own team into the league. All you do is pay your club fees, but you would manage your own team. Similar to what they are doing now, but you wont need to go to Monday night practises.

Sounds like they're asking for a lot there and most of it does seem to be centred around making money rather than playing darts!

I'd go with what others have said. If you have enough people that you can start your own team up, shop around local Bars etc and see if any would be willing to sponsor you for the Season to provide the money back behind the bar on game nights and practice nights.

Cheers for the replies...

Problem with NZ is that darts has not taken off yet

So getting people together has been hard enough. And a $60 join up fee when you are on minimum wage is a lot of $$$.

I am still awaiting a response from the local league. They haven't replied to calls and emails yet and if worst comes to worst I have semi organized to have games played out of the local hotel. That way more members can join and we can build for next season.

Good luck with it all mate.

If all else fails, come to Australia and we can get you in a team no drama at all. lol

Cheers Jimbo. My old man played in Sydney 20 odd years ago. If only he stuck with iit i'd have been playing years ago. I only took the game up in 2011 and seem to be a natural.

I thought darts was pretty big in NZ. They have some pretty good players over there.

Darts is growing here but it ain't big by any stretch. Where I am the 2 clubs in the local area had dart boards that have been unused for years. One still has the old staple and wire as opposed to the ones of today.

I have made it a goal to try and get both clubs active. Pubs don't even have dartboards here....That is how sad it is.

Wow. Have you visited this site yet?

www.nzdarts.com

Yeah I have seen the site. It isn't updated too often. Was my first port of call when I was looking for a club up here. NZ is a small place BUT there are long distances between towns and it is also 2 islands. Southland has some good dart comps. Northland does not.