Simon Flitton, Stadium Announcer
What is your connection to the club?
This will be my third year as Stadium Announcer
What does the role involve?
Pre-match, I read out notifications to the supporters, including details of our upcoming fixtures, recent results from the Women’s and Academy sides and information on our match sponsors and mascots.
During the game, I announce goal scorers and substitutions and now as a new initiative, I host the increasingly popular Shuffleboard competition as part of our half-time entertainment.
How did the position come about?
My daughter was doing a degree in Sports Broadcasting and Business at Wembley UCFB, and as part of the course she needed to secure a secondment to work in the industry. While searching for a position she saw the announcer role advertised at Dartford and suggested I apply. After initially dismissing the idea, I thought ‘why not?’ and I now thoroughly enjoy it.
So, I work at Dartford and she now works at Talksport!
Had you any training?
No, I’d had no training as such, but my previous job often required me to present in front of hundreds of people. And in my early 20s, a friend and I were mobile DJs!
What’s the secret to being a good stadium announcer?
Be confident in what you want to say and try to engage the crowd. My other team is Tottenham and their announcer ends his updates by saying “Up the Spurs,” so I’ve brought this to Dartford and when we win, you’ll hear me ending the match announcements by saying “and remember …….Up the Darts!” Hopefully I’ll have lots of opportunity to do that this season!
How long have you been a supporter for?
I first started supporting Dartford about 10 years ago when my daughter played for a Dartford girls team. I’d watch her play on the 4G pitch at Princes Park and then the same weekend, we’d watch the Men’s first team play.
What does the club mean to you?
Dartford is a great family club, always trying to engage with its supporters and the community. I enjoyed watching them as a supporter, but since I’ve been working here, I’ve seen how much effort the Board, staff and volunteers put in and I want to play my part in making the club successful again.
Do you have a favourite Darts memory?
My favourite game was over the festive period of 2022/3. Dartford were flying high in second place in the league but Ebbsfleet were running away a bit with the league. However, on Boxing Day we beat them 4-1 away and then on New Year’s Day, with me nursing a bit of a hangover, we smashed them 4-0 at home. Everything just clicked that day and we dared to dream of being Champions!
Favourite Player now?
Well, I’ll allow myself a few as we have a new squad. Sam Odaudu is starting to bring consistency and a threat down the left-hand side into his game. I like the look of Luther Williams – he can bring a bit of composure to the defence and Olly Box is an exciting talent and should really kick-on this season.
Thoughts for the season?
It’s going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride to start with as Ady beds-in a whole new squad of players. So, initially, we need to be a little patient, but that’s not to say I’m not ambitious. I think once the players build their relationships and understand what Ady wants from them, we’ll climb the table and I’d expect us to be pushing for promotion. With just one spot available for automatic promotion, it’s going to be tough to secure that, but I’d expect us to be pushing for it and as a minimum in the play-offs. Over to you Ady!
And remember, “Up the Darts!”
