Winmau Sign 3 Disabled Darts Stars!

Winmau, the world’s leading darts brand, are delighted to announce new sponsorship contracts with 3 of the world’s leading disabled darts players – Ricky Chilton, Rob Franks and Phil Lees.

All players competed in the inaugural World Disability Darts Association (WDDA) championship at the Winmau World Masters this month, with Phil and Ricky reaching the final. It was Ricky who was crowned the first ever Winmau WDDA World Masters Champion, as he narrowly beat Phil in a final leg thriller.

Rob Franks is a superb dart player, an England international disabled cricketer, and he has recently been appointed as the WDDA’s UK Administrator.

Ricky said "To win the first ever Winmau WDDA World Masters is a genuine dream come true. Winmau worked tirelessly to ensure that a disabled event was included, and for them to recognise my talent and offer me a sponsorship contract on the back of my performance just shows what a big impact the tournament had on the world of darts. I am truly honoured to be working with them, and I already use one of their darts and their boards so it was an easy decision!”.

Phil added "I was obviously disappointed to lose in the final to Ricky, but just to have been a part of it was truly incredible. For Winmau to provide disabled players with this opportunity is a great credit to them, and I am so pleased that they have agreed to sponsor me. It has given me a huge boost and I’ve no doubt that, with their belief and support, I can only improve in the future”.

Rob said "I’ve only just started working with Winmau on behalf of the WDDA in the UK, but I am amazed at how passionate and proactive they have been to embrace the sport of disabled darts. I’ve always used Winmau equipment, and to be part of their illustrious player list is simply mind blowing. The Darts Performance Centre have been great supporters of mine and, in partnership with Winmau, I know that I can take my game to a new level. We look forward to working with Winmau to increase awareness of the WDDA and its global activities and to bring more opportunities for disabled players to play on the big stages”.

Ian Flack, Sales and Marketing Director of Winmau, commented "It was one of the proudest moments in my 15 year career at Winmau when I watched Ricky and Phil take to the stage at the Winmau World Masters. It has hopefully provided the international platform for disabled darts to grow from here, and the interest and reaction has been nothing short of breath taking. We have worked closely with Russ Strobel and the WDDA for the past 2 years, and we can’t thank them enough for their commitment and hard work on behalf of disabled players all across the world. Having met Ricky, Phil and Rob and seen their talent first hand, it was an easy decision to offer them a sponsorship contract. They are true ambassadors of disabled darts and have proven that they can perform at the highest level of the sport. They are an inspiration to us all and we are honoured to have them as part of the Winmau team.”

You can follow Rob Franks on Twitter: @robfranksphoto

You can follow Phil Lees on Twitter: @phillees6

For further information with regard to the WDDA please visit http://www.world-disability-darts.org/ or email [email protected]