Anyone who has veered into darts TikTok in the last few months may well have come across the account of Jessie Sale, a Salford-based journalist who chronicles her time playing the sport.

But what viewers might not have noticed is the role UDUK has played in Jessie’s journey.

“I joined the darts team at Sheffield Hallam University in 2017 because I had played quite a bit in the kitchen with my dad growing up and thought it would be a great social activity,” Sale explained.

“Despite being the only girl in the team, the boys were so lovely, hilarious and supportive and never made me feel like the odd one out.”

“I found out later on that when I signed up to the club at freshers’ fair, Charlie, who was running the stand and is now one of my good friends, had said that there is no way he thought I’d turn up.”

“But I attended every week and to all the competitions against other unis in the North. Most of my best memories at uni were from darts.”

Jessie later moved to the University of Salford, where she set up her own team, and continued to play throughout the duration of her degree. And as her TikTok followers will be well aware, she has kept playing ever since.

“I’m still mostly the only girl when I go to competitions and it would be amazing to see more girls involved,” she posited. “I’ve always said that it doesn’t matter how good you are, even if you want to just turn up for the drinking side of it and have a chuck.”

“I do a lot of darts TikToks now which seem to be going well as I believe (although there are some really successful female players) that girls in darts is still a niche.”

“Darts is a sport for everyone, it’s an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else and I’ve met some of the best people through it.”

Jessie is not the only example of a female player who has found her feet in the UDUK system. Emily Woods of Nottingham echoes a similar experience.

“When I first joined darts, I was very hesitant as I knew I was going to be only one of two female members in the group and thought this would make me an outsider,” Emily explained.

“However, this was far from the case, and I was accepted just like everyone else. Darts has always felt like a common ground for all players, no one is at a disadvantage so there is always that competitiveness whoever is playing.”

Woods then went on to join fellow Notts players in Bucharest, competing at the WDF’s Romanian Open and Classic, where she made it past the first two rounds.

As well as several of our women’s players joining pre-existing teams, others have gone on to form women’s teams of their own.

Olivia Holder of Durham formed hers, having played within the university’s collegiate darts system and caught the bug.

“The collegiate darts scene in Durham has always been extremely accessible to women, with a multitude of all-girls teams, which is how I first became introduced to the game. After playing at a college level, I became aware of the deficit of a university level women’s team.”

She continued: “Due to the lack of women in darts nationally, I was concerned that there would be no interest in such a team, however both the university and the student body were extremely eager for the establishment of such a society, so Durham University Women’s Darts Association was born.”

“During my time as president, I have seen a whole new sphere of the game; I’ve witnessed pure skill and determination, stereotypes being shattered, and seen evidence that anyone can excel at darts, regardless of their gender.”

“The lively, often rowdy atmosphere of university competitions can be daunting, particularly when facing male dominated teams,” Olivia observed.” However, despite being the only all-female team in our league, we have experienced nothing but support and camaraderie from our opposition.”

Such case studies demonstrate that whilst we still face barriers to participation, the experience of UDUK’s female players is overwhelmingly positive. As Project 57 launches, our job will be to make sure that these barriers are a thing of the past.

A spotlight on women's darts