PDC Referee Paul Hinks has been a regular fixture in TV tournaments since 2003 and has just been involved in another World Championship.
For Hinks though it could have been different with his refereeing career only coming by chance after a semi successful playing career.
“When I was playing there was no such thing as the PDC.
“I used to work for the Department of Health and Social Security. I used to play in their darts championships and the civil services championships and won three national titles with the civil service.
“I got into refereeing and got noticed. Somebody said why don’t you do it at county level, so I contacted the local county, which was Yorkshire. They took me on and I progressed from calling county B to county A matches and did that for quite a few years.
“I used to do some exhibition work with Dennis Priestley and one time we went out to California. Dennis mentioned the PDC were looking for a fourth referee to link up with Russ Bray, Bruce Spendley and Freddie Williams.
“Dennis asked me if I was interested and I said ‘yeah, why not?’ He had a word with Tommy Cox, who was the tournament director at the time. A little while later me and Dennis were at a BBQ and we rang Tommy up and he said ‘yeah, I’ve not forgotten. We’ll listen to him in Blackpool.’
“Well I thought it would be in a public house calling, but Tommy said ‘no, you’re going straight on live television at the World Matchplay!'”
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