Murder on the Darts Board
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BIOGRAPHY: SPORT. Justin "The Bachelor of Darts" Irwin". Justin Irwin used to have another moniker - that of the Director of England at the children's charity, Childline. However, in December 2004, he suddenly resigned, giving up his well-paid job in order to... play darts. His aim was simple: to qualify for the World Darts Championship in one year's time in December 2005. As a child, Justin had wanted to become a sportsman. He remembered that in 1987 he once hit treble 20 - darts nirvana! So, why couldn't he do that again, just on a more regular basis? And so began his journey. From playing with friends, he graduated to pub teams, moving on to Open Tournaments in Essex and Hampshire. From backroom bars to the glamour of the Novotel in Southampton, he learnt the difference between a "Bull-up" and "Bullseye".
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The kind of sports reading (and music for that matter) that I love. The book about the “everyman” with, truth to be told, not much talent but just has to have a go.
Justin Irwin has written a marvellous story of a CEO giving it all away to play darts for a year with the goal to make the world champs. The book delves into lots of details of what sounded like a fun year, but nonetheless a year that had Justin learning a lot about himself. He gets misquoted by the press. He then has the professionals getting annoyed at what seems his dismissal of their ability.
But he practises hard, plays a lot and learns to drink. Darts, it is that type of sport. It is also competitive and humiliating at all its levels. But as Justin rightly explains, it is in the end a very egalitarian sport. What other sport can offer the duffer the opportunity to play in tournaments with the world-class?
Recommended to those who like to dream.
