As we move towards the conclusion of another season, we have to start making plans for next year. Last season as you are all aware we introduced the Super 8’s which was a invitation event, I would be the first to agree that the Super 8’s isn’t for everyone, but I have made enquiries from the majority of teams who took part in this, and have received only positive feedback, it was always my intention to expand the Super 8’s to another division, where the teams will once again play best of 7. We have to be in front of the game so to speak, as I believe The Premier Division in the Counties will also move up to best of 7 this year.
In the last 18 months we have moved the organisation forward at a pace, these are just a few of the many issues we have been able to achieve.

1. Reduce the costs to the players representing the County from £39 to £20  49% Reduction
2. Reduce the cost to wives/ partners/spectators by a similar margin, making the County trips more affordable, to all.
3. Double the prize money in the Super League from £5,000 to over £10,000 this year
4. Designed a new stage setting for County matches which is unrivalled in the BDO
5. Introduced the most comprehensive website and database site in the BDO with 500,000 visitors in less than 6 months
6. Produce the best match programme in the BDO
7. Researched and published the History of Lancashire
8. Purchased equipment to enable us to show our County matches live on the Internet
9. Set up The Lancashire Darts shop, to bring in much needed revenue to enable us to secure  the future of the Organisation
10. Run the first Internet Blog on County match & Event days, no other County has done this.
11. Create the facility for on-line entries for our events, no other county does this.
12. Most importantly we have been very fortunate in attracting people with skills onto the Committee, which were lacking.
13. Begin to organise events in different areas of the County i.e. County matches in Bolton, events in Fleetwood, Burnley & Blackburn.
14. Secure sponsorship to run our own Open, which we expanded this year to include a Ladies Open, a Youth Open and a Mens Classic, 2 years ago none of this was in place. The prize money paid out this year was over £8000+.
15. Set up a Ranking system with £1500 prize monies.
16. Secured a sponsorship deal with Winmau worth £7500 over three years, to which all the teams received a brand new Blade III dart board.
17. Increased the travel allowance for our members only Play-off Qualifiers by 300%

I just wanted to point out some of the things which the hard working officials of Lancashire have done is such a short space of time. The reason I have mentioned this is because there is an issue which we need to sort out.
With all of the above, which we will develop further, year by year, we cannot accept the situation where players, play in another County Team but raid our Lancashire Super League of its riches, the Lancashire Super League should be a place where we look after people who are committed to the system, playing for another County as far as I am concerned is not making that full commitment, on the contrary these players could ultimately stop the Lancashire County team from achieving it’s goals.
I have resisted making Lancashire a closed shop for a very long time, but the situation as it is presently, where our senior County players and players on the verge of being selected are being actively targeted to go to Cheshire, we cannot  allow this situation to compromise what we are trying to achieve. Players must be made aware, that should they choose to go and represent any other County, then they will relinquish their rights to play in Lancashire Super League and any organised members events.
Lancashire has always been committed to the BDO system, youth, Super league, County, & Country, other counties may not be committed to that, and that is their choice. I have spoken to a lot of people and as a result the following will be implemented from the beginning of next year.
No players representing a County other than Lancashire will be allowed to play in either the Super 8’s "Elite" or Super 8’s, leagues.
I am quite aware that we may lose a couple of teams, with this change, but we have to look at the big picture, unless we do something, we could find ourselves running our organisation for the benefit of other counties who do not choose to develop and invest in their own systems, why should these players get practice in what is the best Super League in the country, and then ply their trade elsewhere, to the detriment of us.
I resist making this ruling to the other divisions as we could give players the facility of playing in a lower league for one year only to try and get their averages for potential selection to Lancashire the following year, thus not closing the door completely, on players who may in the future wish to embrace our system fully.