Unicorn darts
Unicorn Darts is an English company for the production of articles for darts . Some standards in current darts go back to developments by Unicorn. Unicorn is the market leader in sporting goods for darts. The brand owner is Unicorn Products Ltd. based in London . The company also owns other sporting goods brands for various sports. The company does not publish sales figures. The company's advertising slogan is “The Big Name in Darts”.
development
The company, based in Crockham Hill in Kent , England , was founded in 1937 by Frank Lowy . When founding the company, Lowy took the fact that until then darts had been sold individually "from the bin", i.e. not sorted by size, shape and weight. Therefore he made the first set of three darts called "Silver Comet".
The company was dedicated to improving the material for darts and was able to present some developments that are state-of-the-art in darts today. In 1949 Unicorn introduced arrows in various weight classes as an innovation. Later, Unicorn introduced the one-piece flights that are common today, and from 1955 also in printed form. Further innovations such as exchangeable steel shafts followed. After the patent protection for the sisal disc from Nodor had expired , Unicorn Darts manufactured its own discs, but also small accessories up to clothing.
Since 2008 Unicorn has been developing special darts, known under the name "Sigma". The players can adapt their darts to their throwing style and personal preferences regarding barrel shape, grip and weight. At the 2008/09 World Cup, Phil Taylor played the "Phase 5" darts, a further development of the "Sigma", in combination with "John Lowe" darts, and was thus able to win the tournament.
The modern darts sport
Unicorn Darts supported the professionalization of darts through early sponsorship. "The News of the World Championships" was promoted as early as the 1950s and its importance was increased to such an extent that the final games were already broadcast on the BBC radio. This tournament series ended with the 1989/90 season and was briefly revived in 1996/97. In 1975 and 1976 the "Unicorn World Darts Championship" was organized and these tournaments were equipped with high prize money for the time. As a result, the sport of darts came more into the focus of the public and especially the media (television). The sports program “ITV's World of Sport” broadcast and achieved higher audience ratings than the BBC with the broadcast of rowing competitions.
Today Unicorn is a sponsor of many top professional players and equipment supplier for many of the most famous and important associations and tournaments, such as the Professional Darts Corporation and the World Professional Darts Championship .
By 2016 (at the time of the title win) darts athletes under contract with Unicorn had won 26 world championship titles .