World Darts Federation
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The World Darts Federation (WDF) was formed in 1976, by representatives of fifteen (15) nations. Membership is open to the official National organizing body for Darts in all nations. The WDF encourages the promotion of the Sport of Darts among and between those bodies, in an effort to gain international recognition for Darts as a major Sport.
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[edit] Members
One of the member organisations is the British Darts Organisation (BDO), which is the official darts body for Britain. It is one of two British darts organisations (the PDC being the other one).
[edit] WDF World No. 1s
| Year | Men | Women | Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Eric Bristow | Sandy Reitan | 1996 | Martin Adams | Deta Hedman |
| 1985 | Eric Bristow | Lilian Barnett | 1997 | Martin Adams | Deta Hedman |
| 1986 | John Lowe | Linda Batten | 1998 | Ronnie Baxter | Francis Heonselaar |
| 1987 | Bob Anderson | Maaritt Fagerholm | 1999 | Raymond van Barneveld | Trina Gulliver |
| 1988 | John Lowe | Jayne Kempster | 2000 | Raymond van Barneveld | Trina Gulliver |
| 1989 | Bob Anderson | Sharon Colclough | 2001 | Mervyn King | Trina Gulliver |
| 1990 | Eric Bristow | Sharon Colclough | 2002 | John Walton | Trina Gulliver |
| 1991 | Phil Taylor | Sharon Colclough | 2003 | Martin Adams | Trina Gulliver |
| 1992 | Rod Harrington | Mandy Solomons | 2004 | Raymond van Barneveld | Trina Gulliver |
| 1993 | Leo Laurens | Mandy Solomons | 2005 | Raymond van Barneveld | Trina Gulliver |
| 1994 | Steve Beaton | Deta Hedman | 2006 | Martin Adams | Trina Gulliver |
| 1995 | Richie Burnett | Deta Hedman | 2007 |
While it is clear that the best female darts player is Trina Gulliver, having been No. 1 on eight consecutive occasions, it is more difficult to determine the best male player. No man has been No. 1 that many times in a row, although both Martin Adams and Raymond van Barneveld had held the position four times. The rankings for the men has become even more complex since the inception of the Profession Darts Corporation (PDC). The players from the PDC are not included in the rankings because the BDO, which is the British governing body, is the one that is registered with the WDF.
The reason for the PDC existing is that the top 16 BDO players in 1993 disagreed with some aspects of the organisations running - so they split to form the PDC. At the time was called the World Darts Council, but it was forced to change it's name as it wasn't considered the world governing body - that was the WDF.
[edit] WDF Competitions
Although domestic organisations run their own competitions, there are a selection run by the WDF. These are:
- World Cup
- Asia/Pacific Cup
- Americas Cup
- Europe Cup
These are all singles events , but there are also pairs competitions.
