Darts matches put us back on target

24 February 2000
Darts matches put us back on target

Life is extremely pleasant in Hunton at the moment. There are abundant signs that spring, and the associated tourist season, are just around the corner.

Touch wood, there's been no particularly stormy weather, so no loss of electrical power to the property. And trade is encouragingly buoyant for the season. We also have a good number of group bookings for the next few weeks, and the response to a couple of themed evenings - a gourmet menu of six courses, and curry with a difference - has been very positive.

However, at this time of year it is good to know that your darts teams are around to bolster trade. I have to confess that when we arrived in Hunton we had no desire to encourage pub sports, mainly for fear of the impact it might have on the ambience in a pub that was to concentrate on food. Propelling a miniscule spear towards an equally small target seemed a tedious and uninspiring prospect.

Needless to say, our first winter convinced us otherwise. When we were approached about re-housing a couple of teams, we leapt at the chance and heartily embraced the sport. We now have teams in two different leagues playing on Sundays and Tuesdays, both quiet nights, so there is no displacement of alternative business.

Initially, it was difficult to raise a team - both of us had to play to keep the numbers up. But some success in the first year, as well as the provision of a good supper, led to increases in numbers. Now, we no longer feel we need to give up our night off together in order to make up a full team.

The number of pub dartboards in the area is declining rapidly, which we find hard to understand. Darts is played at off-peak times, with league games on quiet nights, and any practice occurs after the diners have finished eating in an evening; a dartboard occupies very little space and the associated income is considerable.

Besides the extra wet sales on match night, there are dinners, Christmas parties, presentation nights, extra cup competitions and a Christmas knock-out. More importantly, we get free advertising every time eight or nine people come into the pub for the first time. All this makes darts not only a business boost on a winter's night but also a valuable free marketing tool of inestimable value to the business.

IAN VIPOND is chef-patron of the New Inn, a free house pub in Hunton on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales

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