IT’S A BULLSEYE!
Boost bar takings mid-week with regular darts evenings
An excellent way of getting people off their sofas, out of their houses and into your club is darts. It is the second most watched sport on Sky after Premier League football and it’s a game that anybody can play.
The first thing to remember is this: it’s not rocket science! No, it’s darts, and the logic behind a darts night is equally simple: more people in the club means increased drinks sales and higher revenue.
Club life is all about a sense of belonging and getting people together to socialise over a drink, and darts is a good opportunity to put your club on the local community’s social radar - and liven up an otherwise quiet mid-week evening.
The most successful clubs profiled in Club Mirror are busy mid-week with a variety of activities, but most of them have more than one darts team and they often compete in a number of different darts competitions. Clubs can develop their own tournaments in-house or challenge other clubs and pubs and there are many local darts leagues worth joining. Key the phrase ‘local darts leagues’ into Google and you’ll find plenty of opportunities to turn darts into a nice little earner.
People’s Darts
The John Smith’s People’s Darts Championships is one of the biggest - and most accessible - national darts tournaments. Open to all comers, it culminates at the famous Lakeside in Frimley, Surrey, where those fortunate enough to get through to the competition’s latter stages, will find themselves on darts’ most famous stage alongside some of the sport’s big names and in front of millions of TV viewers and a live audience.
The clue is in the title: People’s Darts. Anyone over 18 can enter, but they must take part in a 501 knock-out tournament at a registered club or pub. The winner of the knock-out then goes forward to one of eight regional finals held around the UK in nominated venues - this year there are four clubs hosting regional events.
The competition’s eight regional champions - each winners of a knock-out 501 tournament - then go on to Lakeside to play in the Quarter and Semi-Finals and then, of course, the final.
Gareth Turner, senior brand manager, John Smith’s, at Heineken UK, told Club Mirror that demand for People’s Darts kits had doubled and urged clubs to request kits from their Heineken reps or direct from the John Smith’s website.
“The event is going to be bigger and better than last year and is generally going from strength to strength and becoming a regular fixture on the pub and club calendar,” said Turner.
There will be eight regional finals and each winner will get their own professional darts player mentor.
For more details and regular news updates on the competition, visit www.johnsmiths.co.uk/peoplesdarts/ and read all about the £26,000 charity prize fund and the £1,000 sports package for your club, not forgetting the chance to visit three BDO Open Tournaments including the Winmau World Masters and the Dutch Open.
Don’t forget food!
A darts night enables clubs to exploit other revenuegenerating ideas, like offering food. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown three-course meal with wine - snack items will suffice - and they will improve incremental income, increase drinks sales and keep your customers in the club.
Successful darts clubs
Darts has already proved a big success for many clubs, including the Briton Ferry Working Men’s Club near Neath in South Wales.
Steward Luke Thomas told Club Mirror that darts had picked up considerably of late. The club produced a 2009/2010 John Smith’s People’s Darts regional finalist winner, John Quinn.
Darts has a high profile at the Briton Ferry club, according to Thomas. There are four teams, three of which play in a mixed sex league on a Thursday night. Wednesday evenings are reserved for women-only darts teams.
Darts brings more people into the club and creates interest in the venue, according to Thomas. “It puts us on the map,” he said, adding that darts always attracts big crowds.
Briton Ferry Working Men’s Club has been involved with John Smith’s People’s Darts for the past two to three years. The tournament has boosted the club’s profile considerably, according to Thomas.
Whenever the club runs a darts night, the bar take goes up by between 30 and 40 per cent. “Especially when we run competitions,” Thomas said, explaining how Thursdays have become the busiest night in the club. On a normal week, the club takes around £9,500 over the bar.
The Grampian Club in Corby, Northants is one of eight venues chosen to host the 2010/2011 John Smith’s People’s Darts regional finals this year. The club hosted a regional final last year and has also been involved in running local qualifying events.
“We’re hosting a local competition to find our regional representative and we’re lucky enough to get the regional final for Central England,” said club steward and darts fanatic Kevin Palmer.
The Grampian has eight darts teams as well as a Super League team and hosts 90 per cent of all local competitions. The bar take at the Grampian doubles on a darts evening, according to Palmer. Without darts, the club attracts around 60 or 70 people, but on a darts event night between 450 to 500 people can pass through the doors.
The Grampian boasts 5,000 members and has two function rooms, one holding up to 480 people and the other, 220 people. In addition, the club has a county grade A bowling green, its own pipe band and Scottish dancers. Corby was once known as ‘little Scotland’ because many Scots left their homeland to work for British Steel in Corby.
