Dart Throwing Stances

Darts is an activity that can provide hours of entertainment. Whether your goal is to play a friendly game at the local pub or fine tune your skills and join a league, you'll want to work on some basics. Learning the proper stance and throwing technique will provide the start toward a successful game.

Significance

Before you get into your stance it's important to know the rules about throwing. Official dart regulations provide that the throw line, also called a toe line or ocho, should be 7 feet, 9 1/4 inches from the dart board (measured along the floor). The toe line is denoted with a raised bar or piece of tape.

Identification

A typical dart-throwing stance is lead foot forward. If you are right-handed this means that you'll put your right foot forward and plant most of your weight on the right foot with just enough weight on the left foot to balance. Your foot should be touching the toe line. Your left foot would be the front foot if you're a lefty. The target that you're aiming for on the dart board should be in a direct line with both your arm and your eye and you should try to maintain close to a 90-degree angle between your shoulder and the dart board. A 90-degree angle may be quite stiff and uncomfortable so a 50- to 80-degree angle is recommended based on your personal preference.

Function

Keep your shoulders and body still and use your arm to project the dart. Pull back and project forward in one quick, fluid motion and throw the dart while focusing on your target. Avoid side-to-side motion of the arm and follow through the throw with your arm.

Misconceptions

The dart-throwing stance is unlike most other sports that involve throwing. For instance, throwing a baseball entails stepping into the throw with your leg and body and following through with your upper body. Darts is a much quicker, more concise throw in which your arm is solely responsible for guiding the dart.

Considerations

While the correct stance will be a great start, being proficient at darts comes from practice. You'll need to develop your grip, aim, throw and release point to maximize your skills. You may also adjust your stance a bit to provide a more comfortable, accurate throw. It's really a matter of what works for you. Like any endeavor of skill, darts will take a lot of practice, but you should soon see marked improvement.