Sherrock success papers over cracks in women’s game
Sparse crowds and scant prize money at worlds show other side of a struggling sport, writes Ben Bloom
What is a queen with no kingdom? That is the troubling thought confronting women’s darts little over a fortnight after Fallon Sherrock catapulted herself far beyond the small world female players usually inhabit.
In becoming the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Championship – she would then also win a second match – Sherrock made global headlines and earned plaudits from such unlikely figures as Stephen Fry, Billie Jean King and Sarah Jessica Parker. Female darts had its queen and a new era of equality was proclaimed, mainly by those outside the sport. The reality is rather different.
Less than 10 miles from the scene of Sherrock’s Alexandra Palace anointment, her disciples battled for the British Darts Organisation Women’s World Championships crown this week at the O2 in central London – not in the main O2 Arena, but the smaller Indigo venue adjacent – with Japan’s Mikuru Suzuki beating English top seed Lisa Ashton last night to retain the title.
Sherrock’s absence was confirmed a few days before the competition began, when she pulled out in light of “unexpected changes to the event” – namely an announcement that just 15 per cent of tickets had been sold and the proposed women’s £20,000 winner’s prize was likely to be slashed to £8,000.
Most of her fellow players understood Sherrock’s withdrawal, given the whirlwind of attention she had faced. But quarter-finalist Laura
Turner expressed the fears of many, telling The Sunday Telegraph: “What I don’t want to happen is for [Sherrock’s success] to leave the rest of the women’s game behind.” Where the Professional Darts Corporation event, the sport’s raucous showpiece, is capable of selling out a far larger venue than the 3,000-capacity Alexandra Palace, audiences for the lowerprofile BDO equivalent this week were calculated in dozens rather than thousands. So quiet was the playing arena that raised voices often prompted disgruntled shushing from other spectators.
But for the overwhelming majority of female players, the women-only BDO events are all they have. Although all PDC tournaments are open to women to qualify, none have managed to do so beyond taking up the two World Championship places recently ring-fenced for female players. And given the BDO’s financial troubles, there is genuine fear for what might remain of the women’s game.
“If anything happened to the BDO, I don’t know what we would do,” said Turner. “If the BDO carries on, then at least we know we’ve got something. But everything is so up in the air. If it goes, we’ve got nothing. It’s awful.”
The status quo is hardly ideal, according to semi-finalist Corinne Hammond. “I appreciate that we have our own women’s events within the BDO but I do think there could be more focus on what we do,” she said.
“There’s no difference in what we pay as women [compared with men] for accommodation and to travel to tournaments to qualify for this World Championship. We’ve all done the same things, yet we’re definitely considered second-class citizens.”
Rising star Beau Greaves, who reached the semi-finals on her 16th birthday, echoed Hammond, saying: “There has to be a difference in prize money because there are so many more men competing, but sometimes it’s a bit ridiculous. We should be able to make a living out of darts and, at the minute, we can’t.”
For Sherrock, who balances her darts career with caring for her autistic five-year-old son, money should be little problem in the immediate future.
In addition to the £25,000 earned from her Alexandra Palace run, she will compete around the globe after inclusion in the World Series and has also been handed a Premier League challenger spot. Last week she even shared a stage with Italian footballer Luca Toni, a World Cup winner, at a celebrity event in Germany.
Some players have urged the prosperous PDC to capitalise on Sherrock’s success by launching a stand-alone women’s tour to run alongside its headline events, but that seems unlikely. “There’s a long way to go until a fully-fledged women’s tour is a reality and there are so many issues to address,” PDC chief executive Matt Porter told The Sunday Telegraph.
“Fallon’s impact and legacy was beating a man – that’s what made front pages and got her on the news networks. Darts is relatively unusual as a sport in that men and women can compete alongside each other on a level playing field and that’s what we’re all about: making darts an open, inclusive sport for all.
“The aim of everyone in the sport has to be to get more women playing regularly and having the ambition to become professional. Grass-roots participation has to be the key as, until we have a larger level of women playing the sport, we won’t be able to produce more talent like Fallon.”
But with the BDO seemingly teetering on the brink and Porter insistent the PDC’s decision-making will not be impacted by any potential collapse of a rival organisation, the future for women’s darts remains increasingly uncertain. Queen Sherrock’s arrival belies far greater concerns.