PDC referee Huw Ware enjoyed a unique trip in August, visiting the Falklands and showing his support for darts' growth within the Armed Forces. Here, he looks back on a once-in-a-lifetime experience...
Earlier this year, I was part of an exhibition on board the HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth to celebrate darts becoming an official sport in the Armed Forces.
Following this event, I was invited by the BFSAI (British Forces South Atlantic Islands) to help launch their Mount Pleasant Complex Darts Club.
After telling them my father's story of being on board the HMS Antelope in 1982 during the Falklands War when it was sunk, they also invited him to come with me so he could give a talk to the troops about his experiences and see the Falklands 43 years after conflict.
I presented to the troops two Winmau dartboards, two stands, Polaris lighting plus Winmau and Red Dragon darts, flights and stems to get the new club started.
The base also put on a military dog show for us and I presented a dartboard for them to have in their department too.
The team from Bullseye donated gifts and prizes for the exhibition and also gave us the official Bully outfit - giving everyone a unique photo opportunity!
On our second day, my father and I went into the town of Port Stanley and visited one of the biggest tournaments - the Seafish Chandlery Open, which had 125 entries!
They are crazy about darts on the Falklands. I refereed the final where there was a 180, possibly the most southerly 180 ever called, and I also hosted the presentation.
The following day I went to see some penguins on one of the many bays in the Falklands, and my father and I went to find HMS Antelope - which is still visible, sunk in San Carlos Bay.
That night we conducted a Met Office Balloon Release where we wrote messages on a latex balloon which we released in conjunction with the Met Office. It was tracked and the Met Office gave us certificates of the balloon's path - it reached 89,347 ft!
The next morning I took part in a darts-themed circuit training with the Supply & Movement Squadron and Port 460 troops of the BFSAI.
We did darts-themed circuits with Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen categories, and we had to do three sets of 20, three sets of 19, two sets of 12 and overall 501 reps.
After that we had a tour of the HMS Forth, where I presented a dartboard to the first lieutenant on the bridge of the Forth to have in their mess.
We had a tour of a military A400, including learning how to lower the ramp at the back of the aircraft and a tour of the cockpit and attended a RIC briefing before my father gave his talk to the troops about his experiences during the war.
He was then presented with a Falklands Veterans scarf, knitted by the niece of the Chief Warrant Officer and presented to him by a man called Sharkey Ward, who founded FVF Liberty Lodge on the Falkland Islands, a place where veterans can stay for free should they choose to revisit the Falklands.
It was a life-changing experience, and I'm so thankful to the PTIs of the BFSAI led by Corporal Scott Worthing who treated myself, and more importantly, my father, like royalty.
We couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity for closure from the terrible conflict in 1982, and for my father to meet those who thanked him for saving their lives and making them better than they otherwise would have been.
On the darts front, it was my pleasure to provide the base with Winmau equipment to help the new Mount Pleasant Complex Darts Club - I hope the club will be a great success!