Cool, calm and composed Canadian chucker Jim Long rather fittingly possesses the perfect surname to describe the length of the journey for a man who seems to spend half his life undertaking transcontinental migratory expeditions to play darts.
His regular temporal displacement from Ontario to Leicester for PDC ProTour duty requires the traversal of several thousand miles and, quite possibly, a minor perturbation of the space-time continuum itself. Personally, even if a fully operational interdimensional wormhole generator materialised in my back garden and eliminated the journey entirely, I still wouldn’t fancy a trip to that East Midlands metropolis.
Still, Jim makes the arduous trek most weeks, leaving behind his loved ones. Yet on the other end, has the comforting consolation of the delightful Derek Coulson as company for a few days. Nonetheless, it’s incredibly time-consuming and mentally draining. In fact, there are brightly orange-faced airline stewards, pilots and exorbitantly priced drinks trolleys that probably spend less time on aeroplanes than the 58-year-old.
But all jokes aside, it’s not easy. Apart from not knowing what time zone you’re in half the time, and the mental fatigue that goes with negotiating all the fun of airport security, Jim has my undying sympathy. I still can’t be arsed getting my laptop out of the case, yet begrudgingly oblige.
So, all in all, how is he finding it? I thought it would be amusing to wake him up and ask. Turns out it wasn’t. But he’s Canadian. Those lot are impossible to upset. Here’s what he had to say on sleep deprivation after I’d just deprived him of sleep:
“Last year, jet lag was terrible from April until October, and the endless bookings are draining mentally. So it’s very hard to be mentally sharp all the time.”
One can imagine. My mum nods off on the ten minute bus trip into town, and she doesn’t have to face Gerwyn Price shortly afterwards. But was relocating to the UK ever an option?
“No, there was no consideration to move.”
If only politicians were that blunt, hey. Refreshing.
Then there’s the other factor – cost. Flying from Ontario across the Atlantic isn’t cheap. Just for context, it’s about the same price as buying a round of drinks at the Mattioli Arena and a rather questionable-looking sausage roll. So I asked Jim whether he’d robbed a bank or suddenly discovered via email that a rich, unknown Nigerian relative had died and left him an entire fortune. Turns out, neither:
“I have sponsorship money that pays for my trains and the odd flight in Europe or hotel, but the rest (flights back and forth from Canada, hotels and spending money) is all on me.”
Sensing that chatting about flight times and finances was never going to be a subject he was willing to continue with, I changed lanes. Now into year two of your PDC Tour Card, how much pressure do you feel trying to keep hold of it?
“No, I’m not concerned with keeping my card, and if I go back to Q School, it will only be to play the Challenge Tour, where there’s less than half the travel.”
Yep, totally makes sense, I guess. The Challenge Tour events are played in blocks of five. Fewer flights and less time measuring out under 100ml of shampoo – not that hair products are a primary concern for Jim. So, what about his performances over the last eighteen months? What has pleased him most and what has disappointed him?
“Biggest disappointment is my consistency, and I’m most pleased with the fact that I started this year more at the level I would’ve hoped for.”
Ah, that word – consistency. Every professional can throw a ton average. It’s the ones who do it most often who separate themselves from the rest. Last year, on his PDC World Championship debut, Long went out in the first round to James Hurrell. Should he make a return to London this year, is he better equipped:
“I was caught off guard by how into the darts the crowd was so early in the afternoon session. They were sooooo loud on every dart.”
Tends to be the case, mate. I’ve never seen a quiet six-foot, shit-faced traffic cone in my life. Well, except at the darts. Moving on to the North American scene, what are the chances we see more players from that continent break onto the PDC Pro Tour soon?
“There’s loads of great players in North America, and some have relocated without success. I feel it has to be the perfect combination of age and freedom to be able to move over comfortably. The PDC schedule is way too busy to be a top 16 player without living in the UK, in my opinion.
“The talent is there for a lot of players, but who could do it, I couldn’t say because of the previously stated issues.”
Right now, the mainstream darting media websites and platforms pretty much cover the PDC, with token scraps given to the other organisations, as well as the Women’s and Youth circuits. Is that a fair statement, Jim?
“We [North American darts] certainly get less coverage than the Asian Tour or the German Super League. I just feel it’s only the ProTour that, deservedly, gets the right amount of press.”
We then spoke about Long’s recent Euro Tour debut. After a few days in Wigan, it was off to Bratislava. For those who have spent a long period of time in the Lancashire town, a trip to any war-torn nation can hold a certain appeal. But for a bloke who spends more time in the air than most NASA astronauts, how did he find his Slovak Darts Open experience?
“The Euro events are so cool, seeing a different country and the fans that love the darts. But they are extra travel and compound the problem of living in North America.”
I sensed that waking Jim up earlier was beginning to test the patience of even a passive Canadian. Something that is hard to do, even if you sleep with their wife and then ask him to fix the bed you’ve just broken. So I wrapped things up by asking about this season’s goals:
“I would like to qualify for the Worlds from the ProTour. Otherwise, I just want to prove to myself that I fit in on the tour while I have my card.”
Well, the proof is in the pudding. Even an exhausted and mentally exhausted Jim Long fits into the tour perfectly well. Popular and on his day, more than capable of going toe to toe with the elite.
But ultimately, it’s a results business – something Jim is fully aware about. There’s a big second half of the year looming for the Ontarian. Bang On Target not only wishes him the very best, but also solemnly promises not to wake him up again to ask silly questions before lunchtime. The End!
