The sport of darts is incredibly pleased with itself right now. It is patting its own back with such vigour that one fears a spark of friction-generated static might leap from its polyester shirt and ignite the highly combustible atmosphere at one of its showpiece events. (Imagine the hairspray and aftershave fumes wafting off the players during the World Championship. It would be like a scene from Backdraft.)
Darts is on the up, you see. For decades it struggled to shed its image as a pub game for lowly oiks with big bellies and bulging forearms obscured by smudged tattoos bearing the name of whichever grim industrial town in which they were spawned (Stoke, usually). And that was just the women.
No, the Establishment laughed, darts is no more a sport than dominoes or bingo. Pay it no heed, they chuckled. They are not chuckling anymore.
This week Prince Harry, the third-in-line to the British throne, enjoyed a night at the Palace. Not Buckingham Palace, where his grandmother lives, but eight miles away at the Alexandra Palace theatre, where the World Darts Championship (WDC) were taking place.
This was no official engagement (he tried to sneak in while the lights were down) but a private night out for the young prince and his well-heeled chums including Will Greenwood, the rugby union international.
Some observers claimed Harry's presence that night says a lot about the new breed of royalty. I claim it says more about the new image of darts.
Just as the early 1990s saw English football's shiny new Premier League phoenix rise from the ashes of hooliganism and crumbling stadiums, so the winter of 2010/11 has seen a darts butterfly emerge from its chrysalis.
Only last month, in another milestone of mainstream acceptance, darts legend Phil "The Power" Taylor took second place in a keenly contested BBC poll to choose the Sports Personality of the Year, beating contenders including world No 1 golfer Lee Westwood and former Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
So why darts, and why now? Partly it is a long-term yielding of the wise decision to follow snooker's lead in cleansing the sport of alcohol and cigarettes.
Partly it is the increasing skill of the players, led by the sublime Taylor. Nine-dart finishes used to be a rarity, but Taylor hit two in the Premier League final last year, and his protege, Adrian Lewis, rattled one off in the WDC final on Monday.
Partly it is the growing realisation that a night at the darts is what sport should be about: highly skilled showmen, unashamed theatricality, raucous crowd participation, sporting behaviour, and a pervading sense of … well, fun.
So I do not begrudge darts its belated acceptance and burgeoning popularity, but I do offer a word of warning.
You have a wonderful sport (or game, or leisure pursuit, or whatever the purists want to call it). In 20 years' time, when you are complaining about the gentrification of your sport, and the loss of its soul - rising ticket prices, the prawn-sandwich brigade, player power (when "Wuuuunhundddredandeighteyyyy!" is not a maximum-score celebration but the start of a weekly wage negotiation) - remember that you wanted this.
You opened the gates of your humble citadel to bask in the warm sunshine of mainstream approval. Now you may struggle to close them.
The question is, as your masters of ceremony like to bellow before every match: Are you ready?
An untimely death prompts cliches - and some warning bells
Warning: the following passage contains several whopping cliches, for which I make no apology. They have rarely seemed truer.
Gary Mason, the ex-heavyweight boxer who died in a road accident on Thursday, was a gentle giant (ding!). No mug as a fighter - he lost only one of 38 professional matches, to Lennox Lewis, no less - he was also a family man whose charity work continued long after his boxing career ended.
He was, for example, a founder member of the Bunbury Cricket Club XI (alongside Eric Clapton), which has raised £12 million (Dh68m) for charity.
Frank Bruno, his contemporary, once said that Mason was technically the better fighter but lacked the unwavering dedication necessary to reign supreme. In other words, he was too human to be a sporting legend, which sounds bad for the trophy cabinet but probably good for the soul.
His untimely death, at 48, proves that life is precious (ding!) and none of us know what lies around the next corner (ding!).
Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao should consider this cliche as their long-awaited bout becomes mired in legal nitpicking.
So, too, should David Haye, the WBA heavyweight champion. His long-awaited fight against Wladimir Klitschko was to have taken place on July 2, but Haye threw a tantrum when the Ukrainian announced a bout with Dereck Chisora on April 30, five weeks before the alleged date with Haye. If he insists on retiring before October, this setback could be his last.
Mason's death should remind these gifted and privileged men that we do not get long on this earth (ding!) and that quibbling over details should not derail what boxing fans long to see and they have trained so hard to do: fight. You are, after all, a long time dead (ding!).
sports@thenational.ae
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
More on animal trafficking
