Luke Humphries and Rob Cross among darters giving back to community with school visit during World Matchplay for Bullseye Maths

During the recent World Matchplay in Blackpool, the PDC continued its creditable campaign, Bullseye Maths, a fun initiative that combines the joy of darts with mathematical education, successfully involving more than 150 children in the sport and helping their numeracy simultaneously.

Over four days, Bullseye Maths events featured special appearances by well-known darters to coincide with the 2024 World Matchplay. The Bullseye Maths sessions began on Monday, July 15, at Stanah Primary School in Blackpool, where 25 children had the exciting opportunity to learn and play with former Matchplay champion, Dimitri Van den Bergh. The day was filled with interactive math challenges and darts activities designed to improve understanding of math in a fun and engaging way.

Van den Bergh wasn't the only big name involved however, on Tuesday, Bullseye Maths visited the training ground of Fleetwood Town FC for two sessions, in which children from 10 local schools participated. PDC stars Chris Dobey and Rob Cross were present for these events, with Cross also competing against Fleetwood Town footballers in a special darting challenge to celebrate the club's hosting of the event in partnership with the Fleetwood Town Community Trust.

Finally, Wednesday saw another session where 12 children from Shakespeare Primary School visited the iconic home of the World Matchplay, the Winter Gardens. There they learned about darts and mathematics alongside PDC referee George Noble. Later that day, 16 children from the Burnley FC Foundation were treated to an engaging Bullseye Maths session with eventual World Matchplay champion Luke Humphries.

"We had a fantastic four days and this was another wonderful showcase for Bullseye Maths," said Gary Horsley, who runs the sessions on behalf of Nottingham College's Room 180 Academy. "Across the range of sessions we were able to engage with children of all ages and this showed the versatility of Bullseye Maths to work across a range of abilities in promoting numeracy. The children loved seeing PDC stars in action and loved being part of a maths lesson with a difference!"