Dartboard height and distance for child and adult

[solan goose]

I bought a new board and darts for my 7 year old son as he loves watching the darts on TV, as do I. I was going to buy a kiddies board, but he wanted a 'real' one! We both love playing now, but as you can imagine, the height of the board is an issue. I have it set at a height that he can reach the darts and throw comfortably. This is not good for me though. I have tried it at the official match distance and height which I really feel comfortable with. The board is in his bedroom which is the only place we can have it. The only thing I thought to solve the problem is to buy another board and have one above the other! The board is a Winmau Blade 4. It seems like a good enough dartboard to me and was cheap, so was thinking of maybe getting another of the same to keep costs down. Attached is a pic of our darts. Mine are a second hand set, the ones with the flag flights. Need advice on spares for these, maybe I will post in a new thread elsewhere.

[Getagrip]

Its an often asked question and many people have different ideas about it.

I personally think the best way is to have the board at a height he can reach for his darts and shorten the distance to around the 6 foot mark. As he grows you can increase distance or height or both.

I don't think anyone has an exact guide on this though, may be its something the Youth Academies have a better experience with and could be worth emailing one, such as Steve Browns Youth Academy.

The darts you have look fine and are a good classic straight barrel ring grip which will be perfect for a beginner. Do you know what weight they are?

[solan goose]

Its an often asked question and many people have different ideas about it.

I personally think the best way is to have the board at a height he can reach for his darts and shorten the distance to around the 6 foot mark. As he grows you can increase distance or height or both.

I don't think anyone has an exact guide on this though, may be its something the Youth Academies have a better experience with and could be worth emailing one, such as Steve Browns Youth Academy.

The darts you have look fine and are a good classic straight barrel ring grip which will be perfect for a beginner. Do you know what weight they are?

The flag flight darts that I use are 'Datadart Omega Tungsten 22g' . The flights spin though, so felt a bit odd at first until I got used to them! The other darts I am not sure, they feel a bit heavier and are brass barrels. I think they are a cheaper dart. It's not practical for me to play with the board set at my son's ideal height, I can't think of another way of us playing without having 2 boards fixed at different heights.

[stuart180]

I see someone post a photo the other day with a board under another board with a normal distance oche and and closer line for the kid to throw from, looked a good little set up.

[Getagrip]

Yeah I would get rid of the spinner shafts and just try some nylons for now, get a few sets in differing lengths to see what you like best.

2 boards will be the only way if your going to do it at different heights.

The brass set should be fine for your son.

[solan goose]

Yeah I would get rid of the spinner shafts and just try some nylons for now, get a few sets in differing lengths to see what you like best.

2 boards will be the only way if your going to do it at different heights.

The brass set should be fine for your son.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated. Do you think the board is ok, or should I choose something else?

[Getagrip]

No board is perfectly fine, good boards Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[uncle poop]

I would set up the two boards as you were thinking. Since board height for most adult men is around the head, set up the kid's board about the same height for him, head high maybe centered around his nose or eyes. Set him up at 5' and see how it works you can always move the line forward or backward depending on how he looks and feels throwing. As he gets older and stronger you can move him back and the board up and before you know it you will be both shooting at the official set up.

Good luck, yes the Blade4 is a good board and if you can get them cheap I would definitely get another.

[solan goose]

I am 6ft, and the centre of the board (bullseye) I have read is supposed to be 5 foot 8 which feels good to me. I will adjust the lower board to roughly match this as if I was throwing.

[Milkysunshine]

I think a good setup is 3/4 for both height and oche length. So 51" and about 70". You may have to adjust depending on the height and reach of you child. Great to hear a darting father and son. I bought my 4 year old a soft tip board, but I am waiting until his birthday later next month to give it to him.

[Beacon_Darts]

Its great youre getting your son into darts. I know a few fathers and sons that play, and wish my dad had played.

One thought, I usually use the point of my nose as a rough guide for where the bullseye should be, for a 6 ft tall or so adult. Maybe something like that height for your son?

[Beacon_Darts]

Thanks for your help, much appreciated. Do you think the board is ok, or should I choose something else?

IMO, the Blade 4 is a great board. Better than what's at some of the pubs I play at Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Milkysunshine]

I agree with the blade 4. For the price, probably the best around in my opinion.

[Aussie Kev]

I built a ochi up off the ground and my son stands about half a meter closer to the board. Also a step up Close to the board for him to pull his Darts. We Play only one a Standard hight board.
But a Training I give to my son is to throw a ping pong ball from one end of our B table into a cup or beer class at the other end of the table to try to get it into a Cup or beer glass .We have a bit of fun and It is teaching him to through straight . Have fun

A good Training tip for all

[DIRTY G]

Blade 4 is best on the market, and you wont have problems with bouncouts from hitting the wire as with the older style and cheaper wire boards.
When my kids were that age I had a board directly underneath mine, you need to get it as high as possible (touching each other) to do this you need to hook the bottom one on first then the top one. Once they developed their throw (couple of months or less) they wanted to throw at my board and had no problem doing so, The bottom board eventually came down as they never used it, I put a milk crate under the board so they could step up and retrieve the darts.
I also made them throw from the proper distance as a good bounce out may come straight back at them, plus the added bonus of getting use to the distance worked a treat (you dont have to throw them hard to make the distance anyway).
But the biggest rule of all was to always wear their safety glasses. This ensured there be no hospital from bounce outs, dropping a dart in there eye as they reached to retrieve them, or falling of the milk crate as they stepped off with darts in their hand.

p.s. Spinning flight do more harm than good, less stable through the air and cant use darts that are in the board as blockers as good.
Some would disagree but let the PDC BDO speak for itself as no major player uses them.