When you think of darts, you also think of cozy beer drinkers in a bar or pub. But throwing at the target has long since become a modern and much celebrated high-performance sport, which still stands out from many other sports – for example when it comes to dealing with alcohol.
The topic is actually discussed again and again. And currently a debate has broken out about a possible blood alcohol limit. However, sipping from the bottle is not yet forbidden. Karsten Kuckhoff from the German Dart Association (DDV) also sees the consumption of alcoholic beverages as having benefits for sporting performance. “On the one hand, alcohol has an indirect performance-enhancing effect to a certain extent. It does not make players better darters through consumption, but it can help to get the pressure situation and completely normal nervousness under control. The trembling of the hand, which can occur when the adrenaline level is high , is of course particularly detrimental in a precision sport like dart,” said the Secretary General of the Association of the German Press Agency.
The DDV wants to introduce alcohol limits in the Bundesliga in the future and gradually reduce them. The long-term goal is a value of 0.0 per mille. “As a member of the DOSB, the DDV is committed to clean sport, so that alcohol-free sport is the long-term goal, especially in the performance area,” said Kuckhoff.
In the sport of darts, an international debate has broken out about the role alcohol plays among those involved. Managing director Matthew Porter of the PDC assumes that alcohol has no sporting benefit. “The players have to play up there on the stage, with high pressure and for long periods of time. They have to show an extremely high level of concentration. Now everyone can ask themselves how they would do that under the influence of alcohol,” said Porter the dpa in London. “You wouldn’t be able to play at your best level.”
You can see in the photo series: With five participants, Germany is more strongly represented than ever before at the Darts World Cup in London’s Alexandra Palace. It’s not just the “German Giant” who’s making big calculations. We introduce the German throwers.
