Lawn Darts: America's Secret Backyard Pastime

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Lawn Darts: America's Secret Backyard Pastime

Filed under: Lawn

By: Whitey Miller

Do you remember lawn darts? The popular backyard lawn sport was a hit across the nation back in the early 1980's. The sport, also known as lawn jarts, was very enjoyable but as far as sports go it was not lacking in danger.

If you are too young to have heard about this lawn game then you may have missed out on the controversy that surrounded this backyard pastime. A lawn dart consisted of a metal shaft encased in plastic with 3 fins or tails to guide its flight through the air. The object of the game was to toss the projectile through the air and land it in one small circular ring or hoop that had been laid in the lawn. Tosses of lawn jarts were made approximately 12 strides from the target.

Sounds simple enough right? What could go wrong? Like adults, Americas' children enjoyed the outdoors as well. And they couldn't resist getting in on the fun of lawn jarts. And therein lies the problem. The lawn dart, with its pointed metal shaft, turned out to be a fatal weapon. So fatal in fact that 3 children lost their lives to lawn darts before the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) formally announced their ban of the dangerous jarts.

On December 19th, 1988 the CPSC was forced to ban the product. At one point, after the CPSC had become aware of the dangers of the product, the decision was made to reclassify lawn darts as a sporting good. In effect, the darts were removed from the shelves of toy stores and relegated to the shelves of sporting goods stores. Unfortunately for jart aficionados injuries from the sport continued to manifest themselves in hospital records across the United States. Despite their attempts to quell the problem outsiders were infuriated by the continued injuries inflicted by lawn dart tossers. This was a problem that Consumer Product Safety Commission could ignore no longer. Action had to be taken and it was at the expense of a little fun in the backyard.

The lawn dart was quickly banned. The debate whether these skull puncturing toys should be legally sold continues today. In fact, for many people the ban on the sport did little to stop them from participating. Every year, somewhere in America lawn jart athletes gather to test their aim and accuracy - children are not invited. The official website of the Jart Tournament offers up little information. The location of the event, as one might expect remains undisclosed.

The ban on lawn jarts was all inclusive. It is as a much a criminal offense to participate in the sport as it is to sell the darts. A quick search around the internet will result in the realization that lawn darts cannot be acquired very easily. Jarts are now a black market item, and complete sets can fetch upwards of $100 a piece. Indeed lawn darts is now a white collar sport - or crime?

Whitey Miller is the founder of Miller Publications, a quality article factory.