Every dart player has experienced it at one time: you have ordered darts, flights, shafts and a dartboard, ready to start darting! But how to hang a dartboard? How far do I need to stand from my board? And how high do I have to hang my dartboard? Don't panic: we list the rules for you here. And of course we'll include some handy darts tips!
Not sure how to hang your dartboard correctly? In the video below we show step by step how to mount a dartboard properly, what the correct dartboard height is and how far you should stand from the board. This way you can easily set up your dart setup according to the official rules.
Fortunately, in the 1920s the National Darts Association of England devised fixed rules for all these questions, dart board measurements. It is standard for a dartboard to have the center of the Bull's Eye, the red circle in the middle of the board, 1.73 meters (or 5 feet and 8 inches) above the ground. It is important that the ground in this case is at the same height as the spot from which the darts are thrown.
If there are rules for the height of the dartboard, then also for the dart distance of throwing. Throwing is done from the so-called "oche", pronounced "ocky". This is the throwing line which the players must stand behind. The oche is 2.37m from the surface of the dartboard, so not from the wall the board is attached to.
An easy way to get the oche right is to add the thickness of your dartboard to 2.37m from the wall it hangs on. If you have a cabinet in which your board hangs, don't forget to add the extra thickness of the cabinet.
If you have done all this correctly, you should be able to draw a line from the Bull's Eye to the oche, which comes out at 293cm. If this is not correct, then you know that the height or distance is not quite right yet.
A convenient way to check or measure this is to use a tape measure or, for example, the Target Oche Tape. This shows the correct height and distance from the dartboard. This way you don't have to search between millimeters on a tape measure but only pay attention to the marked length. By means of a dart arrow you can easily fix the tape in the Bull's Eye and this way you can make an accurate measurement to the ground.
"But what about the kids?" You would say that a dartboard at 1.73m height is difficult to use for a kid. However, the same rules apply to children as well. But remember: this is mainly about competitions.
If you have children who want to play recreational darts in the garage, you can of course let them go wild on a board that is at eye level. This is more or less what the height is based on in official matches, so to teach children how to play darts, a dartboard at eye level is a good start.
Knowing where to hang a dartboard is helpful, but how do you do it? If you just want to hang a dartboard, it's simple: choose your surface to hang it on, measure and mark exactly 1.73m high a point on the wall, where the bull's eye will be in front.
At this point it depends on what kind of board you want to hang: if you have a normal dartboard with wall bracket, you mount this wall bracket so that the hole of the bracket is at the same height as the mark. You can also order a separate bracket.
Some signs come with a professional hanging system, which you can also order separately. These systems make hanging (and especially adjusting) your sign just that little bit easier and more precise. A clamping system for example ensures that a dartboard does not rotate when you bump into it. A simple level bracket system makes it easy to hang your board perfectly straight.
You should be ready and able to have the dartboard height and distance correct by now. Do you still have questions? Feel free to contact our customer service!
