OUT NOW | Interview with @RollsNick! 🇩🇰 Stories from the Denmark Open weekend 💰 A record Women's prize fund 2⃣ Rules on playing at Ally Pally and Lakeside 😢 Cancelling the 2021 World Masters Listen now 👇 open.spotify.com/episode/47UVnv…
WDF Secretary General Rolls on prize money increase for ladies at Lakeside: "It felt as though they were being harshly treated"
WDFWednesday, 13 October 2021 at 11:00
The World Darts Federation (WDF) will host their first World Championship early next year at the iconic Lakeside and for Secretary General, Nick Rolls, he revealed the reasoning behind an increase in ladies prize money for this edition.
"One of the reasons that I took on the role within the WDF was that Richard and I spoke in April of last year and we have felt this for a while that the ladies fund wasn't right. We've always felt that was incorrect. We wanted to give the ladies the opportunity, it felt as though they were being harshly treated from a prize money point of view," said Rolls on Inside the WDF.
"The ball is firmly in their court. We need the ladies to come to the tournaments so they're helping to fund the tournaments across the world. If that can happen, we will be more than happy to continue supporting the ladies."
World Masters
The first edition of the World Masters was due for Assen in December but that has now been cancelled and according to Rolls, there was no 'Plan B'.
"From the World Masters point of view, we always wanted it in Assen. As soon as the NDB said they would like to do that, that was where we wanted to go. We had some small conversations around did we want to come elsewhere but the honest truth was that we really wanted to have it in Assen. There wasn't a real plan b in place to move it."
Lakeside rules
A lot has been queried as well on the chance for players to play at both World Championships but Rolls has now confirmed that will only be the case with the ladies.
"From the men's point of view, if a guy plays at Ally Pally, they can't play at Lakeside.
"We don't feel they get the wider opportunities that the men get. So we wanted to give them the chance to play at both. Let's assume that it is Lisa and Fallon, Lisa is a Tour Card holder so that does prevent her from playing at Lakeside where as Fallon is not so we're saying that if Fallon does play at Ally Pally, she can still be invited to Lakeside as well. That's our current thinking."
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