It was doubles all round at the Canal Tavern as regulars stepped up to the oche to take on darts ace James Wade, as part of a charity night event at the Kidsgrove pub.
Wade, a current world top ten player and one of the most highly decorated stars ever to have played the game, made the special guest appearance at the Canal Tavern thanks to Lodge Tyres and their Falken Tyre brand.
Lodge Tyres, a well-established business providing automotive services to customers from 50 centres including a depot at the Queensway Industrial Estate, Stoke-on-Trent, donated the James Wade appearance as a prize to a charity auction after requesting it from Micheldever Tyre Service (MTS) which supplies them the Falken brand.
The prize formed part of a fundraising event for Kidsgrove Athletic FC, allowing darting regulars at the Canal Tavern the opportunity to make a donation to secure their place on the oche with ‘The Machine’ Wade at the darts night.
Wade’s appearance at the darts night also forms part of his role as a Falken Tyre community ambassador, which also saw him join forces with Falken Tyre in 2022 to promote the brand and engage with dealers and consumers across the UK.
James Wade, said: “Since I came on board in 2022 as a Falken Tyre ambassador, I have been involved in various charity initiatives, including the ‘501 Charity Rally’ where I visited nine Falken Tyre dealers as part of a UK nationwide drive to fundraise for the Bipolar UK charity.
“The Canal Tavern darts night was another fantastic charity event to be involved with and what better way to raise money for a good cause, such as the local football team, than a game of darts down the pub.
“There were some decent players on the night, and it was an enjoyable evening throwing a few legs of darts with all those involved.”
Ian Cooper, Vice Chairman at Kidsgrove Athletic Football Club, said: “We were thrilled to receive the donation of £500 for our football club which will go a long way towards the running cost of fertiliser for the pitch. Thank you to James Wade, Falken Tyres and everyone else who got involved on the night, your support is greatly appreciated.”
Steve Crane, MTS Regional Sales Manager for the North and Midlands said: “It was fantastic to have James Wade as a special guest at the charity event and both Lodge Tyres and MTS were delighted to play their part in helping make the event happen.
“It was good to support a local cause such as Kidsgrove Athletic FC, as many of the tyre retailers MTS work with similarly support other local sports teams and community groups in their respective areas.
“The charity darts night seemed to go really well, and it was good to offer the opportunity for those involved to enjoy a once in a lifetime experience of playing James Wade at darts in their local pub.”
The ambassador role and sponsorship agreement that was agreed in 2022, saw the Falken brand visible on James ‘The Machine’ Wade’s shirt in PDC events (across channels including Sky Sport, ITV and BBC), as well as utilising James high profile social media channels and providing tickets and merchandise for Falken dealers.
In September 2022, James Wade hit the fundraising bullseye for Bipolar UK by completing an epic ‘501 charity rally’, which saw him drive from Scotland to the charity’s London office. Having been set the challenge of driving 501 miles in a car purchased for £501, The ‘James Wade 501 charity rally’ car set off from Inverness on its epic three-day journey.
It also saw Wade and his driver support team achieve a ‘9 dart finish’ – visiting nine individual Falken tyre dealers on the route, who supported the fundraising efforts with special customer promotions. The ‘501 Charity Rally’ raised over £5000 for Bipolar UK – the biggest single donation to the charity that year.
