Lawn darts

Lawn darts (also known as Javelin darts, jarts, lawn jarts or yard darts) is a lawn game for two players or teams. A lawn dart set usually includes four large darts and two targets. The game play and objective are similar to both horseshoes and darts. They are typically 12 inches (30 cm) long with a weighted metal or plastic tip on one end and three plastic fins on a rod at the other end. The darts are intended to be tossed underhand toward a horizontal ground target, where the weighted end hits first and sticks into the ground. The target is typically a plastic ring, and landing anywhere within the ring scores a point. After many injuries and deaths caused by lawn darts, they have been banned by the United States and Canada.

A package of lawn darts with metal tips

Rules
A man throwing lawn darts

There are a number of variations of lawn darts, including Traditional and Handly Cup Style. Either variation can be played one-on-one or in teams of two. In the team version the players stand with one member from each team at each end (when throwing, they should be sure to stand well back when the other side is throwing) and toss the darts to a target about 35 feet (11 m) away (with variation based on the players' skill and the venue in which the game is being played).

In Traditional Lawn Darts, points are scored when a dart lands in the target area. Usually if a player from each team lands a dart in the target, the scores cancel each other (so if Team A got 2 darts into the target, and Team B got 1 in, Team A would get 1 point and Team B would get 0). Also, some versions of Lawn darts include a smaller "bulls-eye" ring for additional points.

In Handly Cup Style Lawn Darts, scores are based on darts in the ring plus darts closer to the ring than any of the opposing team's darts. Darts landing inside the ring, or "ringers", are worth 3 points each, and can be cancelled by an opponent also throwing a dart into the ring. Additionally, any dart that is closer to the ring (but outside) than any other dart by the opposing team is worth one point. This means that if neither team managed to place a dart into the ring, but Team A had two darts closer than any of Team B's darts, Team A would score 2 points. If Team A had one dart in the ring, and one dart closer than any of Team B's darts, they would score 4 points. If both teams have darts in the ring it is impossible for a dart outside the ring to score any points (as it is farther from the ring than the opposing team's dart that is inside). If Team A and Team B each had a dart inside the ring, and Team A also had a dart outside the ring but closer to the ring than Team B's other dart, neither team would score any points for that round. Handly Cup Style matches typically are played in teams of two, with the pairs alternating, until one team's total score is 21 or more. In addition, for a point to count the dart must stick into the ground.

In terms of reigning champions....you are only as good as your last game, e.g. if you have won 2 games in a row but lost your 3rd game you lose your title as champion.

Safety and bans in the U.S. and Canada
Image from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notice

In October 1970, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that R. B. Jarts, Inc. add labels to its line of lawn darts noting that they were for use by adults only.[1] In December the FDA required all lawn darts to bear the label "WARNING: Not a toy for use by children. May cause serious or fatal injury. Read instructions carefully. Keep out of reach of children."[2][1] It also required that lawn darts could not be marketed as a toy for children or be sold in toy stores or toy departments.[1]

In November 1970, Consumers Union and the Children's Foundation petitioned the US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to use emergency provisions of the Child Protection and Toy Safety Act of 1969 to ban outright "outdoor games with 13‐inch pointed darts weighing more than five ounces each."[3] On 18 December 1970, a federal judge failed to uphold the proposed ban.[4][1]

In April 1987, seven-year-old Michelle Snow was killed by a lawn dart thrown by one of her brothers' playmates in the backyard of their home in Riverside, California. The darts had been purchased, unintentionally, as part of a set of several different lawn games and were stored in the garage, never before having been played. Michelle's father, David Snow, began to advocate for their ban, claiming that there was no way to keep children from getting their hands on lawn darts short of a full ban.[5][6]

Due in part to Snow's lobbying, on December 19, 1988, the CPSC instated an outright ban on lawn darts in the U.S.[7] In the previous eight years, 6,100 people had been sent to the emergency room due to lawn darts in the U.S. Out of that total, 81% were 15 or younger, and half of them were 10 or younger. On the week the commission voted to ban the product, an 11-year-old girl in Tennessee was hit by a lawn dart and sent into a coma.[5]

Jarts with plastic tips

In Canada, lawn darts resulted in at least 55 serious injuries.[8] They were banned for sale in the country from July 1989.[9][10] The sale of second-hand lawn darts is also illegal under the Hazardous Products Act.[11] Since then, alternatives have surfaced that are available for sale in Canada and are made of plastic.

It is possible to import parts of a lawn dart – plastic flights, metal bodies, and steel spigots – as well as a complete set of replacement parts to repair damaged lawn darts, into the U.S. and Canada. However, fully assembled individual darts, sets, and kits are banned from entry by U.S. and Canadian customs authorities.

As of 2020, a modified version of lawn darts can be purchased in the United States. Current lawn darts are furnished with a modified blunt tip design as a safety measure.

Similar games
  • Crown darts is a variation using the same equipment in which the darts are tossed towards a target dart instead of a plastic ring target.

See also

References
  1. "R. B. Jarts, Inc., Petitioner, v. Elliot L. Richardson, Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and Charles C. Edwards, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Respondents, 438 F.2d 846 (2d Cir. 1971)". Justia Law. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1971. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. Morris, John D. (19 November 1970). "Consumer Groups Seeking Ban on 8 Toys". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. "U.S. Judge Refuses To Enjoin the Sale Of 9 Disputed Toys". The New York Times. 11 December 1970. p. 61. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. Soniak, Matt. How one dad got lawn darts banned. Mental Floss, 2012-07-12.
  6. "CPSC Votes Lawn Dart Ban". CPSC.gov. 25 May 1988. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  7. "Lawn Darts Are Banned and Should Be Destroyed". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 1997-05-15. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2011-01-25. Pointed lawn darts, intended for use in an outdoor game, have been responsible for the deaths of three children. The most recent injury occurred last week in Elkhart, Ind., when a 7-year-old boy suffered a brain injury after a lawn dart pierced his skull.
  8. "June 13, 1989: Lawn darts tossed from store shelves". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 June 2017.
  9. "Canada Consumer Product Safety Act Quick Reference Guide". Health Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  10. "Health Canada has warnings for garage salers". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 May 2012.
  11. "Health Canada reminds Canadians about the safety of items sold at garage sales". Recalls and safety alerts. Government of Canada. 7 May 2004.
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