Having watched the recent World Darts Championship I am now in one of my periodic enthusiasms for the game. A shame really as I am absolutely rubbish at it so I have been pondering how I might improve my game.

One of the things that I thought about is the rule about standing with your feet behind the Ockey when you throw your darts. As long as your feet are correctly positioned you can lean forward as much as you like when you throw. This gives tall players a noticeable advantage over shorter ones as their lean can bring them significantly closer to the target. The trick is to lean in as far as possible without becoming unbalanced in your throwing action.

This is where the ‘Darts Boot ™’ comes in. As far as I am aware there are no rules in Darts that impose restrictions on the participants footwear so what I am proposing is, essentially, a pair of very heavy, thigh-length, platform boots with concrete or lead in the soles & heels (or some other heavy-duty ballast material). The uppers would be hinged at the ankle and heavily reinforced so that they could support the wearer’s bodyweight and a stabilising cable would be attached to the top of the heel and run up the back of the trouser legs to a heavy belt around the chest in order to support the maximum possible lean forward without disrupting balance. I feel that this could gain the thrower a good extra yard of distance, making the target appear larger and improving accuracy.
-- DrBob, Jan 22 2007

Darts http://www.amazon.c...Darts/dp/B000BYCAIA
Nothing whatsoever to do with this idea! [DrBob, Jan 22 2007]

Darts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darts#Rules
What this idea is about. [DrBob, Jan 22 2007]

Do they play Daddy Cool as well?
-- skinflaps, Jan 22 2007


I think they should.
-- DrBob, Jan 22 2007


It would make you look like Michael Jackson and his dancing hoodlums in "Smooth Criminal" when they do that Impossible Lean. [+]

If you're going to cheat, and that's basically what you're doing, why not go the whole blatant hog. Have the shoes 2 to 3 feet long, like stilts, with clamps on the bottom that secure themselves to the floor. Have the support structure still extend all the way up your back. Position yourself on the line, clamp, lean, and then in your own time you can leisurely push the darts into the board which is now directly by your face. A perfect score every time! (Unless your maths isn't very good.)
-- theleopard, Jan 22 2007


How about taking a pair of downhill skis (with boots) and cutting them off just in front of the toe. Have a mate stand on the back of the skis and you might be able to lean forward up to forty five degrees.(+)
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jan 22 2007


//If you're going to cheat//

Pish and Tish! Gamesmanship perhaps but cheat? Never! I think that the rule is that your feet have to be behind the Ockey so there is a limit to how far you can project yourself forward over the line.
-- DrBob, Jan 22 2007


//I think that the rule is that your feet have to be behind the Ockey //

Then we move the Ockey. Design a pair of boots with an attached flat platform underneath that both (a) covers the actual Ockey, and (2) replaces the original Ockey with your new Naughty Ockey a foot forward from the original. A little research beforehand to determine the material on the floor to be painted on to your platform and no-one would be the wiser.

Pish and tish, indeed! Do you want to win or not?
-- theleopard, Jan 22 2007


//Pish and Tish// Sounds like yet another task for the world's tallest man - also, adherance to the rules does open up otherwise difficult to find employment opportunities for failed basket-ball players.
-- zen_tom, Jan 22 2007


I didn't see anything in the rules prohibiting blow guns.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 22 2007


//Do you want to win or not?//

Well, if you put it that way...

How about some Thunderbirds-esque, hydraulic lifting equipment that slowly unfolds out of your boots?
-- DrBob, Jan 23 2007


Or you could use your own set of 4 foot long darts... that are retractable... and automatically shorten to normal dart length once their sensor nibs touch cork. And they emit a highly dense but harmless gas to fill the room so no-one can see your villainous cheating... and they've got clocks on them too.

And a compass.
-- theleopard, Jan 23 2007


Just a thought. If you're wearing //very heavy, thigh-length, platform boots with concrete or lead in the soles & heels //, how in the hell do you a) walk to the board to retrieve yer arrers or b) get out of the way for the next player's go?
-- squeak, Jan 23 2007


You'll invent the interior Darts boots Crane, Hoist thing [squeak]
-- skinflaps, Jan 23 2007


Every truely good sport comes with it's own footwear, so why not darts boots? I'm thinking you may need to pare down the original design somewhat so that the gamesmanship, rather than the cheating charge is thrown at you, as well as avoiding any unwanted trouble in getting to the board and such.

With professional dart boots on the market, the sport may finally gain wider acceptance, and perhaps us poor shmucks in the US will be able to get real dartboards instead of those crappy peg-based machines in our bars.
-- ye_river_xiv, Jan 23 2007


I really think the uncomfortable position you'd be in would offset any accuracy you'd gain by being a few inches closer to the board. Still like the principle of the idea though.
-- Pac-man, Jan 24 2007


I think you can get around the mobility problem by having retractable caterpillar tracks under the soles.
-- DrBob, Jan 24 2007



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