The England Darts Organisation (EDO) is the only organisation officially recognised by the World Darts Federation since its establishment in 2006, following the transfer of responsibilities from the British Darts Organisation.

As an amateur organisation run entirely by unpaid volunteers, our primary goal is to support men, women, boys, and girls in competing in international team events representing England at the World, European, and British Championships across both senior and youth levels annually.

The organisation receives no funding from Sport England or the National Lottery. Instead, it relies on the modest profits generated from tournaments held throughout the year to fund our teams. We firmly believe that representing England should be based on ability and merit, not financial means, and we are dedicated to providing opportunities for talented players regardless of their economic background.

Being a volunteer-led organisation, we uphold a strict “Zero Tolerance” policy towards any form of abuse directed at England officials, whether physical or verbal, including through social media. Any individual whose actions violate this policy and seeks to participate in our events will be refused entry to protect the safety and integrity of our officials.

In 2024, we barred a transgender player, Samantha Lewis, who had posted abusive and untrue statements about Deta Hedman. The social media abuse by Lewis prompted further negative comments from others on the original thread. Deta, a youth executive of England Darts, our National Ladies Captain, and the official WDF Athletes’ representative, is highly respected within the sport. She was recently honoured with an OBE for her dedicated services to darts and her charitable work over the past 40 years.

Our decision to refuse Lewis’s entry to the England Open was solely to safeguard Deta’s reputation and to uphold our commitment to a respectful and fair sporting environment. This action was taken in response to the social media abuse and had nothing to do with Lewis’s gender identity.

Lewis claimed that the decision was discrimination because of gender reassignment and an infringement of Lewis’s human rights. It is important to clarify that this was Lewis’s first attempt to participate in an England Darts event.

For over a year, we have been involved in legal proceedings initiated by Lewis. We had no choice but to contest these claims, which have placed significant financial strain on the organisation. To date, we have already incurred approximately £10,000 in legal costs, threatening our ability to support our international teams effectively, with the future of our company at significant risk of survival, should we fail to raise the funds to contest this action by Lewis.

At the first hearing in March 2025, we were awarded costs; however, Lewis has not paid them and has no means to pay. We are currently facing further legal action from Lewis, with an estimated additional cost of around £45,000 if the case proceeds to trial. Our legal advisors have indicated that recovering these costs, even if we succeed, is unlikely. We cannot afford to continue contesting this case without your support.