Bulls and beers

Though it's still not classified as a sport in Quebec, the province's darts scene is organized and growing

by JEFFERSON PARISH

Though Daredevil was an otherwise crappy film, there was something totally pimp about Bullseye responding to a barroom insult by throwing a straightened paper clip into the loudmouth's throat. Had Bullseye used his powers for good he might today be headed for Victoria, B.C., as one of the 16 men and women representing Quebec at the 2005 Canadian Adult National Dart Championships.

Often mistaken for little more than a pub distraction played over peanuts and Irish whiskey, the Quebec dart scene is actually organized, competitive and growing. "We have ups and downs," explains Maggie LeBlanc, president of the Quebec Darts Association and vice-president of the National Darts Federation of Canada. "In the late '80s, we were looking at 1,000 members. We went down to about 700 last year but now that's growing."

Officially founded in 1978, the QDA is the province's only association recognized by the World Dart Federation. With that recognition comes the responsibility of keeping records and rankings of its members, as well as organizing tournaments and getting our province's best to the nationals. Over the year, the QDA holds eight tourneys to establish overall rankings. Alongside these, there are four tournaments where regional leaders strive for the provincial team. Among the 16 who reached that goal this year was Lezlie Robinson, who placed second in the women's standings and will be the only female from the Montreal region competing in Victoria.

Having never picked up a dart before, Robinson started playing casually five years ago as a way to spend more time with her dart-throwing mother. Now, she plays even on the nights mom stays in and has made the Quebec team two consecutive years. Quite a turn-around for a person who first thought of darts in the same way so many do; asked if her first reaction to the notion of playing darts for some quality family time was along the lines of, "Oh, geez... not darts." Robinson pauses a moment before answering, "Yeah. Pretty much." And there's the rub. The non-darting public doesn't take the game seriously.

Glory not money

It's thought that darts evolved from a medieval archery exercise that had archers throwing shortened arrows into the bottom of a wine barrel. Today's players throw at a cork board mounted at regulation height and divided into 20 wedges, each narrowing toward the bullseye. Darts is not all about the bullseye, and most darters shoot for triple 19s or 20s. In Quebec, the rules are to count down from 501. To close, darters must hit a double, which is anywhere in the outer ring of the board.

"The two most important things are accuracy and counting," Robinson says. "Really, there are only a few combinations in which the bullseye becomes important."

Another unimportant factor is prize money. The provincial and national competitions offer no cash reward. Players are in it for the glory. What's more, the Quebec association is one of the few in Canada who pick up the tab for getting their players to the nationals. The QDA gets the money in part from entry fees to their own tournaments, as well as from beer sales.

"Dart players like to have a beer," explains LeBlanc. "That's just the way it is."

The darts workout

LeBlanc insists, however, that the image of the drunken darter is an erroneous one. Robinson feels that image is what prevents darts from being more respected as a sport. In the U.K., which has bred some of the world's top-ranked darters, darts has only recently attained sports status. Despite lobbying by the Quebec Federation of Recreational Games, the provincial government refuses to grant darts that status here - although they have given it to horseshoes. Sport status would qualify the QDA for government funding as well as lend darts some credence.

"People think darts can't be a sport because it isn't physically demanding and that all dart players are overweight and out of shape," LeBlanc says. "But let's see one of those people play for four hours and then tell me whether or not their elbows hurt or their knees are worn. Then they'll know what we go through."

So has LeBlanc ever thought to respond to such criticism by throwing a dart into the loudmouth's throat?

"Oh, God, no," she says. "We have rules against that sort of thing."

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE QDA, CONTACT MAGGIE LEBLANC AT MAGGIELEBLANC417@HOTMAIL.COM, OR VISIT HTTP://DARTSQUEBEC.HOMESTEAD.COM. FUNDRAISER FOR LEZLIE ROBINSON AND EVAN ROY, WHO'S THE ONLY MONTREALER ON THE QUEBEC MEN'S TEAM, WILL BE AT LASALLE'S BILLARD LE SKRATCH (7809 NEWMAN, LASALLE). REGISTRATION FOR MIXED TRIPLES AND DOUBLES ENDS AT 10:30 A.M., PLAY STARTS AT 11 A.M.