TSV OCHE-METER 1.0
Setting up a darts area looks simple, but different boards, sound insulation and dartboard surrounds change the key measurements. With the OCHE-METER 1.0 you can work out the correct position of your dartboard and the right oche length for your individual setup.
CHOOSE SETUP
HOW TO
Choose board, sound insulation and mounting from the database or enter them freely in centimetres. Wall distances, build length and check diagonals are calculated live according to WDF/PDC/DDV standards.
| MEASUREMENT | VALUE | NOTE |
|---|
THE OCHE IN THE RULES
WDF / PDC PRACTICE
- Bullseye height above the floor1.73 m
- Throw distance (back of oche → board plumb line)2.37 m
- Diagonal bullseye → back of oche2.93 m
- Oche length (min.)61 cm
- Platform: width at the oche (min.)1.525 m
- Platform: standing area behind the oche (min.)1.22 m
- Stepping on the oche while throwingnot allowed
- Height of a raised oche38 mm (fixed)
DDV – SPORTS & COMPETITION RULES
- Bullseye height above the floor1.73 m
- Throw distance (back of oche → board plumb line)2.37 m
- Diagonal bullseye → back of oche2.93 m
- Oche length (min.)61 cm
- Platform: width at the oche (min.)1.525 m
- Platform: standing area behind the oche (min.)1.22 m
- Stepping on the oche while throwingnot allowed
- Oche height (Standleiste)3.8 – 5.0 cm
- Side distance bullseye → wall (DDV only)min. 90 cm
- Distance between two bullseyes (DDV only)min. 1.80 m
COMMON QUESTIONS
1 · How high should the dartboard hang – and why exactly 173 cm?
The centre of the bullseye hangs exactly 1.73 m above the floor. The value comes from the imperial system: 5 feet 8 inches equals 172.72 cm and, around the 1920s, was considered the average height of a man in England – so the bullseye symbolically hung at the thrower's “eye level”. When the metric system was adopted, the awkward 172.72 cm were rounded up to a neat 173 cm. In 2012 the World Darts Federation also recognised a board height of 137 cm for wheelchair players.
2 · Why is the throw distance 237 cm – and why is it called the “oche”?
The throw distance is 2.37 m, measured horizontally from the face of the board to the throw line. This value is also a converted imperial measurement: 7 feet 9¼ inches. There is a popular pub legend about the word “oche”: three beer crates from the brewery “S. Hockey and Sons”, laid end to end, are said to have marked the throw line and given the word its name. Darts historian Patrick Chaplin, however, has shown that no brewery of that name ever existed; he considers a derivation from the old word “hocken” (to spit) more plausible – the throw line would then originally have been “spitting distance” from the board. The only thing that is certain: the origin is unclear, and the term probably emerged in the 1920s. Incidentally, soft-tip darts (e-darts) were long thrown from 2.44 m; on 1 January 2016 this distance was aligned with the steel-tip measurement, and since then both disciplines have used 2.37 m.
3 · How do the pros play – what are the standards?
The standard at almost every major tournament is 501 double out: both players start on 501 points and must reach exactly zero, with the last dart hitting a double or the bullseye (which counts as a double). Players throw alternately, three darts per visit; anyone who goes below zero or lands on exactly 1 “busts”, and the whole visit doesn't count. Matches are played in legs and sets: a leg is one game from 501 down to 0, and several legs make up a set. On the PDC Pro Tour matches are usually “best of 11 legs” (first to 6 legs), while the World Championship final is first to seven sets. On top of that come the fixed measurements this tool is based on: bullseye at 1.73 m, throw distance 2.37 m (also for soft-tip since 2016), steel-tip darts at most 30.5 cm long and 50 g in weight.
Board set up? Then it's time to finish: the checkout trainer lets you practise every double-out route from 170 down to 41.
