Darts Having a Moment in Oz
Sep 02, 2024
Darts is experiencing quite the "moment" in Australia at present. Once the domain of dart clubs and pubs it seems that dart boards are popping up everywhere now as a popular form of entertainment.
It used to be that you were either a steel tip or soft tip kind of player. But in the old school pub or bowls club you had to do your own scoring on a chalk board. In modern venues, all the scoring is done for you and while some would argue the games on offer at some of the venues I'm about to mention don't stack up against good old Cricket or 501, the one thing that is certain is that darts in Australia is getting a whole new lease on life.
Oche Melbourne & Brisbane seemed to start the ball rolling. Oche offer darts, dining and drinks. A favourite venue for corporate gigs but also birthday parties and the like.
Then Ballers Clubhouse (Melbourne, Carlton, Adelaide) popped it's head up. Ballers included darts as part of a wider offering that includes shuffle board, ping pong, shuffle court and karaoke. Add in great food and thumping music and you're in for a great night. Ballers have implemented the Dartsee automatic darts scoring system. In their own words "turning the game of darts into an arcade game". The best bit for dart players not in Melbourne or Adelaide is that Ballers aren't done yet. Venues at Geelong, Brisbane and Hobart are all planned to be opening in the near future.
As we scanned across the country we discovered Flight Club (great name!). They launched in Western Australia with two venues - one in Perth and one in Fremantle. Flight Club Sydney launched earlier this month. Like Oche, all the scoring is done for you and you play a variety of different dart games. In a super public relations coup they even managed to be the venue that Fletch and Hindy from the NRL Late Show used to interview (and play against in hilarious scenes - you can watch it here) teen sensation Luke Littler! Flight Club Melbourne, on Russell St, is set for launch in late November.
The latest arrival on the scene - interactive darts. Strike Bowling now offers Interactive Darts at Strike Melbourne Central (VIC), Strike Kings St Wharf (NSW), Strike Highpoint (VIC), Strike Chatswood (NSW) , Strike Cavill (QLD) and Strike Cannington (WA). Interactive Darts utilises a projection over the dart board to "enhance" your darting experience. The system uses a Unicorn Smart Board. (If you're interested in how it works you can watch a video here). Perhaps one of the great things with this system is that you can set a difficulty level for your players - something that was missing from the Dartsee system when Play Darts Australia first experienced it. Sporting Globe Richmond (VIC) is the latest to add Interactive Darts to their offering.
Whether you love or hate this new darts movement the one great thing is more and more people who may have never considered darts in their lives are now giving it a go. And who knows how many of those punters will end up falling in love with the sport like we have and end up joining a club, or maybe, just maybe, being our next Damon Heta!