| A successful businessman in his own right, Olly has devoted
his entire life to establishing the BDO as governing body for
the sport of darts in Britain, and is recognised by the global
darting fraternity as the leading administrator in world darts.
It was his foresight and guidance that led to the formation
of the British Darts Organisation in January, 1973. He was
a prime mover in the concept that darts should be played in
a properly organised and controlled manner worldwide. And such
was his dedication that initially the BDO was run from the
front room of his own home in Muswell Hill, North London.
Initially, this gave birth to the BDO Inter-County system
– which now comprises 66 British counties – and as the very
backbone of the BDO, is responsible for producing the high
standards of competitive play and players for which the BDO
is universally famed.
It was the BDO which formulated the rules by which darts
is played globally today, and again with Olly’s remarkable
foresight the BDO became founder member of the World Darts
Federation in 1976. He has been its Secretary General from
then until the present day, and is proud that the WDF has
over 60 affiliated national darts bodies.
He also instigated the very first WDF World Cup, played at
Wembley Conference Centre in 1977.
It was Olly Croft who fostered and encouraged the interest
of darts bodies in The Netherlands and Greater Europe. When
Dutchman RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD won the World Professional Darts
Championship for the first time in 1998, it was he who welcomed
Dutch TV station SBS-6 to Lakeside.
They returned in 1999 to see Raymond win yet again – and they
have been back every year since!
Today, the sport of darts in The Netherlands is so strong
that the BDO has liaised with Dutch darts promoters, the Netherlands
Darts Federation and SBS-6 to support two more major televised
tournaments: WORLD DARTS TROPHY (first played in 2002) and
INTERNATIONAL DARTS LEAGUE, launched in 2003.
He was also the main instigator in creating the first stand-alone
Women’s World Professional Darts Championship at Lakeside in
2001.
TRINA GULLIVER became the first ever Women’s World Champion
and has remained unbeaten ever since. She is regarded as the
most successful women’s darts player of all time, and again
it is Olly Croft and the BDO who have been responsible for
the growth of women’s darts.
Today, the BDO and its members organise, promote, stage and
administer hundreds of darts events annually for men, women
and youth. |
DARTS SUPREMO