Men are often better than women at throwing sports because they are more skilled at concentrating on individual tasks, according to a former world number one darts player turned psychologist.
ADVERTISEMENT
Linda Duffy (formerly Batten) said her research shows the stereotype about how men are better at single jobs rather than multitasking is true to a degree.
After retiring from top level darts in 1987, she has enjoyed a successful career in academia at Middlesex University which included investigating gender differences in target throwing for her PhD thesis.
“I always used to wonder how men were better than women at darts because on the face of it, why would men be any better than women, it’s just throwing a little piece of metal against a target?” said Prof Duffy, an associate professor in sports psychology.
“And of course, when I did my PhD that was one of the questions I wanted to answer and when you investigate further, there are oddly enough gender differences in throwing which I was very interested to discover.
“Starting from a very young age, whether it is under or over arm throwing, or throwing for velocity, the boys are always better than girls across the age span until you get to older adulthood when your muscles and bone structure has changed.
“So, then you do start to see women get better than men in certain throwing tasks but that’s normally because of injuries or illness.
ADVERTISEMENT
“In healthy adults, from children all the way through to mid to late adulthood, men and boys are always better than girls at throwing.
“It doesn’t matter what task you give them, there’s just something and some reason and not just with darts, but balls and beanbags, throwing at a target in whatever way, the boys are always better.
“I still haven’t got to the bottom of exactly why this is, there’s possible reasons in brain structure and other psychological concepts related to field-independence and field-dependence that may come into play.
“It may be where people say anecdotally ‘women can pay attention to ten things at once, where men can only focus on one thing’ which is a joke, because it’s not true for everyone, but I do believe there’s some truth when you are looking at sports which require real focus and concentration such as darts, chess, bowls and archery.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I think men manage to block out a lot of the white noise, if you like, and focus on what they need to do a lot easier than women. That makes them better.
“That’s not to say a woman can’t beat a man, I’ve beaten loads, but when you look at the top of these sports the best men are always going to be better than the best women.”
Prof Duffy is currently researching ‘dartitis’ where players have a mental block which prevents them from physically releasing the dart and she says mindset plays a crucial role in darts.
“Psychology is a big part of darts because between the top players there’s not an awful lot of difference in regards to their skill set and actually throwing the dart and hitting the target,” added Prof Duffy.
ADVERTISEMENT
“There’s very little difference across the top 16 players in the world, but the one that wins the most tournaments is the one who has prepared mentally and is up for the battle, and that’s usually only a few people.”
When Prof Duffy first started playing darts in the late 70s in pubs around Enfield where she grew up, she faced opposition and was even banned from venues and competitions.
Among her honours, Prof Duffy became a World’s Darts Champion, held the number one rank between 1982 and 1987 and made 168 appearances for the London county team.
Along with Maureen Flowers, Prof Duffy blazed a trail for women in the sport and successfully campaigned to ensure women could play in World Darts Federation and British Darts Organisation events including the World and European Championships.
Her brother and father shared her passion for darts and her career began with the Windmill pub team in Enfield, where she was later spotted and recruited to the newly formed London women’s county team in 1976.
ADVERTISEMENT
Prof Duffy said: “The Windmill was quite a good place for darts, and they had a very good men’s team, and I started playing among the men and beating them, and very soon I became the best player in the pub, which completely blew everyone’s mind that a woman – or should I say girl back then – could actually beat all these men who were pretty accomplished darts players.
“The walls that came up when I tried to play darts, it was ridiculous.
“Not allowed, barred from pubs and darts leagues. The Windmill darts team couldn’t join the league because I was playing for them, so it was awful, really bad.
“To be fair, the Windmill kept on protesting and in the end the Enfield and District league and Lee Valley Super League decided to bring a rule which meant the team could have one woman signed up for them to play.
“Before then, there were no rules to say women couldn’t play but it was just a given that teams were made up of men. So as soon as a team came out with a woman there was uproar and rulebooks came out, which was crazy.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I turned up at clubs before and was not allowed in the bar where the dart room is. That happened loads of times, including an exhibition match where they had to get the committee to change the rules just to let into the room.
“And of course, the better I got, the more opposition I faced.”
After getting married and having two children, Prof Duffy decided to retire from professional darts in 1987 but continued to play at county level for another decade and remains a consultant for the Professional Darts Players Association.
Despite having no qualifications after leaving school aged 15, she has forged a successful career at Middlesex University, which used to have campuses in Enfield and nearby Trent Park, where she gained in a degree in Psychology in 1997.
ADVERTISEMENT
Since then Prof Duffy has taught at Middlesex University and carried out extensive research around elite performance sports.
She is currently developing an MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology programme and an online darts coaching course with her colleagues at MDX’s London Sport Institute. Thankfully, she said the world of darts is now a lot more welcoming for women.
“It was difficult for women back in the early days because it was a very masculine event, going into public bars and clubs and the majority of people at tournaments would be men,” added Prof Duffy.
“It wasn’t an environment that was conducive for encouraging women to play darts, but that has changed for the better and women even have their own PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) tour now. It is completely different.”
Writed by Paul Harper
I stumbled into the world of darts quite by accident back in 2013. For a Journalism School assignment, I had to produce a live sports report and as it happened, the European Tour event in Veldhoven was the only available option. That weekend, I caught the darts bug. The post-match interviews especially appealed to me, as darts players tend to be much more open and approachable than what you usually see with footballers on television.
After a few detours, I joined Dartsnieuws.com in 2017 as editor-in-chief. I don’t have much competitive experience myself, although I once entered a PDC Development Tour weekend just to experience what it’s like from a player’s perspective. I even managed to win a leg against a Tour Card holder and, quite by accident, earned £50 in prize money.
In 2022, I was also involved in the founding of the TOTO Dart Kings, a commercial darts team, where I worked as media manager for three years. Unfortunately, due to new legislation in the Netherlands, that project came to an end in 2025.
Through my work in darts, I’ve been fortunate to travel to some incredible events, from Premier League nights at Ahoy Rotterdam, to several World Championships, and even the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Beyond darts, I’m a passionate sports fan in general. You can always wake me up for a game of tennis or padel, and I love following football, tennis, padel, cycling, Formula 1, and ice skating.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He produced some impressive numbers in that qualifying campaign. I'm excited to see him compete at the World Championship once again, even if it will be difficult to replicate last year's success even with an improved performance, with the draw playing a huge role in determining his fortunes.Deduce635811-11-2026
- I often think about this very question. I think they should revive the format. They could even invite representatives from MODUS Super Series, with four series winners from the past year, and the ADC, with finalists from the Global Championship and perhaps other events. Why not throw in eligible representatives from the JDC and even the soft-tip game too?Deduce635811-11-2026
- So what if littler missed out, he doesnt have to enter everythingant10-11-2026
- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026