Darts organisations lock horns over who should represent Laois

A MAJOR public bust-up has taken place between two darts organisations in Laois and the national body that oversees the sport.

Youth Darts School Ireland (YDS), which is based in Portlaoise and has been in operation for the past 12 years, issued a statement on Facebook saying it was ‘disappointed and disgusted with the way we have been treated by the Irish National Darts Organisation (INDO) and Laois County Darts (LCD)’.

The issue, according to YDS, centres around last April’s annual meeting of LCD, when the county body decided to set up its own Laois youth darts section.

Following this decision, the INDO was contacted by YDS, who felt what had been decided was ‘very unfair and underhanded’, and said it asked ‘on numerous occasions’ for a sit-down meeting with the other two bodies to try and resolve matters, which to date has not taken place.

While YDS had received emails from INDO stating they would run their rankings in a different way to YDS, this information was conveyed to its members and their parents. 

The YDS said this was ‘met with anger and disgust that they would expect them to play under new mentors when they had never as much as acknowledged any of their achievements down through the years’.

The INDO’s disputes resolution committee decided that both YDS and the newly-formed LCD youth team could participate in all-Ireland ranking competitions.

However, LCD disagreed with that decision.

In its statement on Facebook, YDS said it ‘seemed like the INDO over-ruled the disputes resolution committee decision and ‘decided we were no longer allowed to take part in the all-Irelands.

‘Needless to say, our youths are heartbroken and so upset over all of this. All they want is to continue to play under their own mentors, with their team mates and in the safe and secure environment that has been created for them within the Laois Youth System, who they have been playing with from the time they picked up a dart.’ 

In a statement on its Facebook page, the INDO replied: ‘We’ve recently been made aware of claims suggesting that our organisation is stopping children from playing darts. This is absolutely not true.

‘In previous years, the YDS participated in all-Ireland competitions under the banner of Co Laois, as there was no established youth system within the county at that time. However, a formal youth system has since been implemented through the registered county, ensuring proper representation and development within the local structure.

‘The INDO was informed that the Laois County Board made provisions for all YDS players to participate in trials, including adding additional trial dates to account for any lost time. With this information, it is evident that no youth players are being prevented from representing Laois at the all-Ireland competitions, as they have done in previous years.’ 

On its Facebook page on the matter, LCD stated: ‘Darts as a whole has experienced a significant surge recently due to the rise of young professionals and Laois County Darts is eager to capitalise on this momentum by establishing a youth team.

‘The comments from YDS are inaccurate. Following our AGM in April, we reached out to their mentor multiple times. To facilitate YDS, we organised additional darts ranking tournaments, which the YDS mentor was informed about. However, despite this opportunity, neither the players nor their mentors attended. During the AGM, YDS were praised for their efforts and we expressed our hope that their mentors and players would join our county by attending our ranking tournaments. Our youth officers were voted in during the AGM after being proposed, seconded and present at the meeting.

‘Discussions began on 8 June between INDO, YDS and Laois County Darts, with INDO seeking an agreement for both sides to collaborate on this internal matter. However, YDS insisted on having an INDO representative present for any meetings between YDS and Laois County Darts, while Laois County Darts preferred to meet YDS independently. Unfortunately, this meeting did not occur.

‘Laois County Darts expressed their willingness to have YDS mentors and youth players collaborate with us. Despite several exchanges, YDS continued to insist on the presence of an INDO representative, which Laois County Darts felt was unnecessary for this internal issue. Ultimately, the INDO intervened, and based on advice from their governing body, the World Darts Federation, it was determined that Laois County Darts is the official county representative, not YDS.

‘It was never Laois County Darts's intention to exclude young players; rather, we were open to welcoming them. The decision to establish a youth team was prompted by inquiries from parents, aiming to benefit the senior team in the future. Historically, not all YDS players have transitioned to play for Laois senior darts. The formation of the youth team was made with the best interests of Laois County Darts in mind.’ 

 This prompted a response from YDS, who said: ‘If Laois County Darts organisation had approached this in the proper, respectful manner from the beginning, this could have been avoided and no youth would have had to suffer the actions of incompetent adults.’